October 10, 2025

Spotlighting the Quant veterans: Vipul Kumar

It’s 2015, and a young engineer walks into Quant’s very first UAE facility, ready to tackle reliability challenges. Fast-forward nearly a decade, and that same engineer has become a key player in Quant’s regional expansion, transforming not just operations but safety cultures along the way. This is Vipul Kumar’s story, a journey of resilience, growth, and the kind of determination that turns obstacles into stepping stones.

Since joining in 2015 as a Planning & Reliability Engineer, he has worn many hats – Site Manager, Regional HSE Manager, and now Senior Business Developer. But Vipul’s journey isn’t just about climbing the corporate ladder; it’s about the defining moments in between.

From reliability engineer to growth driver

“Some moments define you. Others redefine everything you thought you knew about yourself.”

When COVID-19 brought the world to its knees in 2020, most industries scrambled to figure out remote work. But in maintenance? There’s no working from home when critical operations hang in the balance. While others debated Zoom fatigue, I found myself leading a high-stakes fuel conversion project, switching a facility’s entire gas system without any OEM support.

That crisis became a turning point. More recently, driving multiple strategic partnerships in 2023 and 2024 helped position our team as Growth Contributor and Sales Contributor for two years running. Sometimes the most challenging circumstances reveal your greatest strengths and set the stage for your biggest victories.

Milestones that defined the journey

When I stepped into the Regional HSE Manager role, I inherited more than just safety protocols, I inherited skepticism. The customer site was undergoing management changes. I listened. I spent weeks on the floor, understanding not just what wasn’t working, but why people had stopped believing it could work.

The transformation didn’t happen overnight. It happened in daily huddles where safety stories were shared, in moments where near-misses became learning opportunities instead of finger-pointing sessions. What started as “safety as compliance” evolved into “safety as culture”, and the numbers told the story: engagement soared as incidents disappeared.

More recently, 2023 and 2024 brought new milestones that felt different from anything before. We signed multiple strategic partnerships across the UAE and Saudi Arabia, directly contributing to Quant’s growth trajectory. When we were recognized as Growth Contributor and Sales Contributor two years in a row, it wasn’t just a personal highlight it was proof of what a focused, passionate team can achieve when everyone pulls in the same direction.

From service partner to digital enabler

When I joined in 2015, Quant’s core focus in the region was on service partnerships such as Total Maintenance Partnerships, Maintenance Management Partnerships, and Maintenance Execution Partnerships.

Over time, digitalization became a powerful enabler, enhancing the way we delivered those partnerships and elevating the value for our customers.

We evolved from delivering services with excellence to combining them with data and technology, strengthening reliability, optimizing costs, and creating measurable impact.

I was fortunate to contribute to our recent portfolio alignment exercise, ensuring our offerings remain aligned with market needs. A clear example is the Reliability and Asset Management Services offering, first pioneered in this region, which proved so effective that it has since been adopted globally.

Lessons that shape how I lead and grow

Looking back, three lessons have shaped my journey at Quant, each one a catalyst for growth.

The Site Manager role taught me that leadership is not about control, but about creating clarity and trust. You are accountable for delivery every day, but results only come when the team understands the direction, feels supported, and takes ownership with you.

The HSE role reinforced that cultural change cannot be mandated. It takes patience, consistency, and the ability to nurture new behaviors until they become part of daily practice.

Business Development brought a different kind of learning: the need to translate technical solutions into strategic value. Aligning operational improvements with customer business goals sharpened my ability to sell outcomes, not just services.

Perhaps the most enduring lesson is the power of persistence and the importance of relationships. Many of our strongest partnerships began with a single meeting and grew through steady engagement and delivery, a reminder that long-term growth is built on trust, one step at a time.

Pride in solving real problems

I am proud of every day I have spent at Quant, but the moments that truly stand out are when we’ve worked together to solve complex problems for our customers. Whether it was improving operational efficiency, reducing downtime, optimizing costs, or installing a new plant, these challenges have been my real milestones.

What drives me is the process itself, that moment when you finally understand the problem, rally the right expertise from across teams, and deliver a solution that makes a measurable difference. There’s something deeply satisfying about seeing a customer’s operations run smoothly because of the work we did together.

Living the values every day

For me, passion shows up in the way our teams approach challenges. Whether it’s solving a technical problem, delivering a project under tight deadlines, or finding a better way to serve a customer.

Professionalism is reflected in the discipline of how we work, from safety protocols to data-driven decisions, from planning to execution.

Pride comes from seeing the results of our work, knowing that we have created value for our customers and for Quant.

Tap into the power of collaboration

If you are starting at Quant, know that you are not alone, opportunities for collaboration are all around you with global teams. When you combine strong individual performance with collaboration, you multiply both your growth and your contribution.

Be the brand you want to represent

Treat yourself as a brand. Everything that carries your name, whether it is an email, a report, or a project, should meet the highest standards, because you are the brand. When you deliver quality consistently, you strengthen both your personal reputation and the Quant brand.

This mindset builds trust with colleagues, customers, and leaders.

Resilient

If I were to describe Quant’s journey in one word, it would be “resilient.” Over the past decade, we’ve navigated global crises, adapted to changing customer needs, and transformed our service delivery through digitalization. At every stage, we’ve faced challenges head-on and emerged stronger, without losing sight of our values.

Resilience is not just about enduring difficulties – it is about using them as a catalyst for growth and improvement. That spirit has defined Quant’s journey and continues to drive us forward.