Raghunandan Jagdish's journey from a young graduate to the CEO of Nandan GSE is a story of dedication, continuous learning, and strategic leadership. Born into a family with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, Raghunandan, fondly known as Raghu, was destined to join his father's firm, Nandan Enterprises, after earning his master's degree in mechanical engineering from the renowned Texas A&M University in the United States.

In 2003, at the age of 23, Raghu joined his father's firm, which then had a 25-member team. The company soon moved to a 25,000-square-foot industrial land in MIDC, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai.

Raghu began gaining practical experience in all departments. He realized that he needed an outside perspective to expand the company and made significant investments in his personal growth and development through learning, training, and coaching. From 2003 to roughly 2010, he established a solid foundation for himself, despite many difficulties.

The company made its first breakthrough in the defence sector in 2010, which elevated Nandan GSE to the next level. In 2012, Raghu had a chance meeting with Mr. Manmohan Shetty of Imagica Adlabs. Despite having no prior experience with similar projects, he took up the challenge of developing a theme park ride. 

Raghu's leadership saw the company undertake projects for prominent clients like Mr. Ratan Tata, ISRO, Brahmos, and more. They designed and manufactured car parking systems, missile handling systems, bridge inspection units, and rapid runway repair units.

In 2019, Raghu turned 40 and assumed the roles of Managing Director and CEO. He began building his second line of leadership and articulated the company's 10X growth strategy. In 2022, he added a PhD to his many achievements, becoming Dr. Raghunandan Jagdish, PhD, in Specialised Logistics Management in Aviation and Defense.

Today, Nandan GSE has over 250 permanent employees, with none on contract. The factory is now a prime example of a vertical factory with 100,000 sq ft of fully efficient space, making solutions for customers in Aviation, Defense, Material Handling systems, and contract manufacturing for high tech products for Make in India and Make for the world.

Dr. Raghunandan Jagdish's story shows that if you stick to the basics and work with dedication, grow your own competence, manage your time and energies, and empower the team, there can be fantastic growth. His story is an inspiring blueprint for holistic success in entrepreneurship.