Rani Puranik, Co-Owner, Worldwide Oilfield Machine (WOM)
Co-Owner and Global CFO of Houston-based Worldwide Oilfield Machine (WOM), Rani Puranik thrives at leading innovation and inspiring collaboration. Over the course of 15 years, she has developed and implemented the framework for communication, standardization, operations and business development at WOM. Puranik along with her father have led WOM, the privately held corporation, to grow to more than $350 million in annual revenues and 11 locations around the world.
Puranik’s father founded WOM in April of 1980, on Puranik’s birthday. Born in Thane, India, (near Mumbai) but raised in Houston since she was an infant, Puranik spent her childhood shadowing her mother and father as they ran their oil and gas equipment manufacturing firm from a tiny garage. As the eldest, she was in charge and oversaw excursions to a treehouse that sat outside the window of her father’s makeshift office where her siblings loved to play. Growing up, Puranik spent her days at WOM headquarters, and by the time she was 12, her summer vacations were “trips” to the office to help her mother in the accounting department and her dad in the manufacturing workshop.
Puranik moved back to India to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Pune. In 1996, at the age of 24, inspired by a need in the community and passion for the arts, she started her first company Integral Search for Harmony through Art (ISHA). ISHA’s mission was to give young underserved girls in India, who are often overlooked and simply unheard, a platform and a voice.
Leveraging her training as an Indian classical trained vocalist, musician, dancer and yogi, she served as the CEO for nearly two decades acting as the principal choreographer, program designer, and mentor. Students were taught to use dance as a way to communicate, connect and de-stress. ISHA provided a safe platform for them to create, build confidence and embrace their uniqueness. Winning many awards for its Broadway-style productions, enrichment programs in movement therapy, cross-cultural exchange, and leadership, ISHA soon gained notoriety and began working with homemakers, college students, and executives — around the globe.
Moving back to Houston with vision and a great sense of purpose after additional life experiences like marriage and motherhood, Puranik began working at WOM, working wherever help was needed. She studied every aspect of the business and decided to apply to Rice University to further develop her skills. In 2014, at 40 years old, she obtained a Master of Business Administration in Finance and began leading major changes in the departments of Finance, HR and Administration at WOM.
In just four short years her programs, strategies and initiatives gained major traction within and outside of the company resulting in positive metrics and growth. In 2016 she made a case for promotion to a position she outlined, called Global CFO. She considers this advancement her “golden moment” as she took it upon herself to establish a plan to bring individuals around the globe together, with a unified focus on strategic planning, execution, leadership and standardization. That same year, she was named one of the Top Leading Women in Energy by the Houston Business Journal and Business Woman of the Year by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston.
As CFO, she directs and oversees financial controllership, strategy, investments and enterprise growth for WOM with more than 3,000 employees. Her contribution to WOM has brought about financial clarity and transparency amongst all of its global locations and her skillset extends beyond the boardroom.
Puranik invests a significant amount of time in India as the Executive Director of the Puranik Foundation, a nonprofit organization that operates a private residential school called the Vision International Learning Center for under-resourced children.
K-12 students receive academic instruction, living quarters, meals, uniforms and enrichment training in mindfulness, critical thinking, and leadership training. Encompassing 27-acres, the school is fully sustained by using solar, bio gas and water recycling systems to protect and preserve nature. Twice a year, high school and college students as well as teachers, professors and mindfulness practitioners from around the world are invited to visit the campus to participate in one of three week-long Global Service Leadership Programs hosted by the Foundation.
The Puranik Foundation recently collaborated with the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and is a founding member of HISD Abroad, an initiative that will award an additional $50,000 in scholarships to 10 Houston students to participate in the Global Service Leadership program in 2021. Over the course of the school’s establishment, Puranik has coordinated the issuance of 24 scholarships to teachers enabling them to travel to Pune, India and work with Vision International students on campus.
The Puranik Foundation was founded by Puranik’s mother 20 years ago and serves as the corporate social responsibility arm of WOM. A model for generation leadership and legacy, her eldest daughter, Bhakti, now serves as the Managing Director. Recognized as a leader, innovator and creative, Puranik has found the strength to reinvent herself in order to overcome challenges in her personal life and in her family’s business.
Puranik’s debut book titled “Seven Letters to My Daughters” is slated to launch in 2021. This life lessons-focused memoir is from the perspective of a mother writing letters of encouragement and advice to her daughters. She realized her life has been lived in seven-year transitions and openly shares the role of a female and womanhood changing within each phase. This is not a rags-to-riches story; it is a full journey of a young girl who grew up between two countries, who experienced many lessons and unexpected events, but who always persisted in learning and moving forward. She shares her stories and wisdom to help others find acceptance, joy, and freedom in their own lives.
As a seasoned motivational speaker and Master Coach in leadership development, Puranik is passionate about mentoring the next generation of leaders. She recently hosted a mentorship day at the Energy Leadership Institute of Houston High School where she paired seniors with WOM company executives to help them refine energy product innovations. Additionally, she serves as a ROSES mentor, supporting HISD’s new program to empower female students. She has spent the last four years working with graduate students as a Cares Mentor with the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business, and Rice University often engages Puranik to speak in leadership and training events. She serves on the Rice Business Council of Overseers and has been invited as a judge for the 2020 Raymond Ideas Challenge at Texas A&M and the 2021 Rice Business Plan Competition. In addition, Puranik was invited to participate in the 24th annual Table Talk luncheon as one of the University of Houston’s Friends of Women's Studies’ Conversationalists for 2021. Puranik recently launched “WOMEN at WOM,” a virtual event series to provide strategies and resources for female employees to advance both personally and professionally.
Puranik also continues to support the art and dance community, and is currently launching special projects in both Houston and India involving digital Kathak dance offerings, the coordination of cultural festivals and events that inspire connection and positivity, as well as research projects to preserve and document classical forms of Indian dance. Her indefatigable positive energy and exuberance transcend Puranik’s deep study, intensive training, and broad experience, which has, in her own words, groomed her to be a ”heartist," and not just an artist.
She is a businesswoman on a mission to help people realize, “There is Always a Way!” As an inspiration to many, Puranik’s story will be featured in Bloomberg TV’s American Dream, a series about ambitious individuals who make their vision a reality, airing in 2021. Additionally, Puranik has been named as a Maura “Women Helping Women” Award recipient by the Texas Women’s Foundation and honored as an “Enterprising Woman of the Year.” Ponts of Light recognized Puranik as a Daily Point of Light Award honoree for her outstanding volunteer service with the Puranik Foundation.
She recently joined the Advisory Board of the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston and is a member of Club 24, a philanthropic organization with a mission to build bridges and connect communities, serving on the outreach committee.
She wears many hats on any given day but is most proud to be a mother of two grown daughters and two rescue dogs. Puranik enjoys scuba diving, traveling, reading multiple books a month, yoga and spending time with family.