Grand Ambitions

Legrand Group has a long and rich history of adapting to an ever-changing market. The global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures traces its origins back to 1865 when its founders built a porcelain factory in France.

By 1919, Legrand had started manufacturing electrical wiring devices, forming the foundation of the thriving business that exists today with over 36,000 employees and a presence in more than 90 countries. In Australia, Legrand designs, manufactures and distributes over 15,000 items under six premium brands: Legrand, HPM, BTicino, Cablofil, Netatmo and CP Electronics.

Its global teams are unified by one mission statement: to improve lives. They share a commitment to transforming the spaces where people live, work and meet with electrical and digital infrastructures, and connected solutions that are simple, innovative and sustainable.

“More than 2,600 people around the world work in the Group’s consulting teams and design offices inventing the solutions of tomorrow.”

Legrand Australia and New Zealand CEO Palash Nandy has been with the company for more than three decades. After graduating with honors in mathematics in his native Kolkata, India, he decided to pursue a different career path.

“I became a sales trainee for a company called MDS Switchgear in Kolkata in 1990. That is where my journey in sales began,” he explains.

“In 1996, Legrand Group acquired MDS Switchgear and I’ve been with the company ever since. I’ve been fortunate to work across several different business functions over my tenure, which I believe greatly assists me in my position of CEO today.

“From sales to product management to customer service to marketing and communications and strategic planning, having an understanding of how the different parts of the business operate through firsthand experience is particularly insightful and something I always consider or reflect on when making decisions.”

Leveraging R&D

Nandy happily took on the role of CEO of the Australia and New Zealand division when the opportunity presented itself in early 2022.

“It’s been great joining a region that has been recognized internationally for its innovation, consistent business growth and local manufacturing abilities,” he says.

Legrand Group stays at the forefront of innovation in a bid to fulfill its mission of improving lives.

“More than 2,600 people around the world work in the Group’s consulting teams and design offices inventing the solutions of tomorrow,” he reveals. “Legrand dedicates an average spend of four-to-five percent of sales per year to R&D and exploring new business areas, a strategy implemented globally and here in Australia.”

“The data center space is changing rapidly in Australia and New Zealand and globally, driven by digital transformations across organizations, cloud adoption and social media usage.”

Each year, the company releases a steady stream of new products and solutions that harness cutting-edge technologies. From connectivity and critical infrastructure for data centers to energy-efficient solutions for buildings, Legrand consistently delivers solutions that provide increased connectivity, sustainability, comfort and safety.

A key area of focus in Australia and New Zealand over the next two years will be expanding Legrand’s specialist data center offering.

“The data center space is changing rapidly in Australia and New Zealand and globally, driven by digital transformations across organizations, cloud adoption and social media usage,” Nandy explains.

“The dynamic changes that are taking place in the data center environment present new challenges when it comes to designing and futureproofing data center infrastructures. Building them demands a high degree of flexibility and an approach that incorporates efficiency, availability, scalability and security.

“Projects are also becoming more complex due to increasing globalization. Companies are looking for support and assistance from a well-informed and trustworthy partner in the space, and that is what Legrand can offer. Harnessing local teams across multiple specialist Legrand Group brands, we can provide innovative solutions for customers.”

Sustainable Ambitions

It is also squarely focused on meeting the demands and challenges of digitalization. “Through our digital acceleration program, we focus on three main pillars: customer experience, operational excellence and employee experience,” Nandy says.

“Customer-centricity across our business is a core driver of innovation. I’m a strong believer in empowering people by giving them access to technology, data, insights and resources, not only to fuel product innovation, but to find new ways of solving their problems and addressing their pain points.”

“We consider it our responsibility to provide concrete answers to societal challenges.”

The company’s commitment to CSR – sustainability in particular – is another reason its customers keep coming back.

“The Legrand Group has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact since 2007,” Nandy reveals. “We’re dedicated to reducing our carbon footprint and that of our products by reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions, enabling customers and buildings to reduce their energy consumption and supporting our suppliers to reduce carbon emissions.

“It is also Legrand’s ambition to reduce the environmental footprint of our products, through a circular approach, by reducing the quantity of materials used and promoting the reuse of materials.”

For Nandy, this focus on CSR does not stop at sustainability.

“I strongly believe that when customers are making a choice, they’re not only evaluating the products we offer, but the organization itself – its processes, ethics, transparency, environmental footprint, human rights policies, social impact and so on,” he reflects.

“We consider it our responsibility to provide concrete answers to societal challenges and this requires us to raise awareness not only in our own teams, but also among our customers and partners. We see financial, environmental and social performance as inseparable, with excellence in each area benefiting the others, in keeping with the Group’s purpose of improving lives.”