Crew, Caddie and a Jockey

“You never, never leave a wingman!” – Top Gun (1986)

This line from one of the first Hollywood movies I ever saw has stayed with me. While many people contribute to your professional success behind the scenes, wingmen are right there on the field, facing the heat alongside you.

Wingmen often start as the pit crew in car racing. They service the car during the race, and while drivers owe their performance to the crew’s speed and efficiency, the crew rarely gets the spotlight.

Some of the best evolve into caddies in golf. They walk the greens with you, acting as critiques and strategists. They are as crucial to the win as the golfer—much like Steve Williams, who was by Tiger Woods’ side for 13 of his 15 major championships.

The very best graduate to being jockeys, driving results themselves and winning with multiple horses over long careers. Often, they become even more renowned than the horses they ride, sometimes spanning decades (like Lester Piggott or Laffit Pincay Jr.).

At Oxyzo and OfBusiness, our wingmen are the Key Account Management (KAM) team. While the sales team hunts for new customers, the KAM team farms those relationships—ensuring sales realizations, margins, and repeat volumes. They are essential to our operations. As we say at Oxyzo: “We got there because of sales, but we stayed there because of KAM.”

While we have pit crew teams across our North, South, and West regions, many members have grown into great caddies, and some into jockeys.

I would like to honor two of our jockeys: Ashok Marshall (Chennai) and Jalaj Gupta (NCR). They have been awarded our version of the green jacket (in OfBusiness/Oxyzo colors, inspired by the Masters) for being the group’s standout performers of the month.

To wrap up, we hold fast to one of our most critical values: We never, ever leave a wingman.

Once an OFBIan, forever one:

Asish Mohapatra