Employee Profile

Mohit P.

Name: Mohit P.
Title: Marketing Director & Senior Trader
Career Area: General Management, Trading
Location: Singapore
Education: Post Graduate in Business Management (MBA)

“The most rewarding aspect of my job is the opportunity to work closely with customers and help them grow and succeed in their businesses.”


I was hired as an intern, and over the course of the last 21 years I have evolved into a well-rounded leader with domain expertise in international trade and one with global work experience building, managing and leading businesses in India, the U.S. and Asia. I treasure my career with Cargill, and have a great sense of pride and satisfaction. I have been able to get where I am by leading my own development and by constantly seeking new opportunities, accepting challenging assignments across multiple businesses and geographies, consistently expanding my perspectives, and building a high degree of self-awareness and agility.

Describe your work responsibilities and the importance of your role.

I am responsible for leading the feed grains business in Southeast Asia and manage the country businesses in Malaysia and Vietnam. My key work responsibilities involve building market access and customer engagement strategies to achieve our targeted volume share, manage risks on trading positions and business execution risks, deliver targeted earnings from trading positions and value-added customer solutions. My role is critical in delivering financial performance for our business. I lead the product line strategy for long-term competitive positioning, building customer relationships and delivering profitable growth.

Describe your day-to-day activities and the skills needed to perform well.

My day-to-day activities involve formulating and executing trading plans by analyzing supply and demand, developing market insights by assessing overall macro-economic factors, determining the risks and rewards on the trading positions, and formulating appropriate risk management strategies. I also engage key customers and manage customer relationships, lead the destination commercial team and build sales and marketing game plans, assess the risks and opportunities in the logistics and supply chains, and uncover efficiencies in the execution of our game plan.

The skills needed to perform well in this role include thought leadership, strategic thinking, building collaborative relationships, tenacity to achieve results, and strong customer engagement and relationship management skills.
 

Describe your career path. Where did you start and how did you get to where you are today?

I joined Cargill as an intern in India and worked for 10 years across various commercial roles in the foods and grains business. After gaining a well-rounded experience of building businesses in emerging markets, I moved to Minneapolis and worked for three years on the grain and oilseeds desk, where I learned best practices, developed a global outlook and built diverse perspectives. I moved to Singapore in 2009 to lead the feed grains business in Asia, and for the past seven years, I have been leading our business growth in Asia by building market access, a strong customer network and talent in our destinations.

What do you find most rewarding about your work?

My work involves building businesses across multiple markets in highly challenging and rapidly evolving environments in Asia. It requires a high degree of agility to adapt to the cultural diversity, languages, traditions and business practices prevalent across Asia. I find the opportunity to work across such diverse and challenging markets extremely exciting and an enriching experience. The most rewarding aspect of my job is the opportunity to work closely with customers and help them grow and succeed in their businesses. I also find the opportunity to lead business growth and to build talent in destination markets to be an extremely rewarding experience.

Why did you choose to join Cargill and what keeps you here? In other words, how has a career at Cargill helped you to thrive?

I chose to join Cargill because I believed it would provide me a diverse experience, challenging environment, global opportunities and an engaging work culture to maximize my learning and growth. I have stayed with Cargill due to the high degree of work satisfaction and personal engagement. Over the course of my 21-year career with Cargill, I have constantly grown and have evolved to become a well-rounded leader. The opportunity to work across multiple businesses on a global platform, navigating cultural challenges, managing businesses at various stages of evolution and working with teams in diverse circumstances has defined my professional growth and engagement with Cargill.

What advice would you give someone interested in a career at Cargill like yours?

I would advise you to focus on maximizing your learning opportunities by taking direct charge of your own development. Develop wider perspectives, a broader outlook and a high degree of personal agility by being self-aware and exploiting opportunities to work in different businesses. Maximize exposure to global best practices and systems and build personal networks to gain leadership exposure and mentoring support. I would above all advise you to push the limits by taking on new challenges, always be accountable for your own actions and consistently deliver results. All of these things will help you build a successful career in Cargill.

Share an interesting tidbit about yourself such as hobbies, volunteerism, favorite foods or activities, accomplishments inside or outside of work.

I believe in work-life harmony, strong family values, health and fitness. I am passionate about discovering different cultures and living in different places. Having had the opportunity to live in different countries, I have ensured that my children are exposed to various cultures and develop an appreciation for cultural diversity and adaptability. I believe in chasing my dreams with relentless determination but at the same time having compassion and treasuring the love and care of family to build a meaningful life around my professional goals.