Home-grown FMCG firms now attract top talent from MNCs

Family-owned businesses are recruiting top talent in what is a growing trend in segment

Not so long ago, the ultimate dream for an executive in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business was a posting with a multinational company. There were reasons for this. It assured an aspirant international exposure, access to best practices and, of course, a good pay package. While that dream has not fizzled, there is a growing bunch of people who do not mind making the jump from a multinational to a home-grown company.

In the past six months to a year, Kolkata-based personal and healthcare major Emami has hired at least four senior executives from companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Colgate and Heinz in an attempt to strengthen its top management. Most of them are division heads with full responsibility of a department or vertical at Emami.

Examples include Ajith Babu, former vice-president for marketing at Colgate, who joined Emami as head of its health care division. Another example is of Mohan Panchabhai, who joined Emami as president, operations, from Hindustan Unilever, where he was head of innovation, technical and planning. His colleague, president, information technology, KS Arun Kumar, also comes from Hindustan Unilever, where he was infotech director. Emami has a new human resources head on board in Shantanu Das, who came in from Heinz a little over a year ago.

The Kolkata-based Emami is not the only company to be witnessing what human resource experts call a "reverse brain drain". Companies such as Mumbai-based Jyothy Laboratories and Godrej Consumer, the FMCG arm of the Rs 13,500-crore Godrej Group, have seen senior and mid-levels recruits joining them from multinationals in recent months. "We take pride in being an inspiring place to work and are constantly striving to be able to attract and retain the best global talent," Rahul Gama, executive vice-president, human resources, Godrej Consumer, said when contacted.

Godrej Group is increasing its 15,000-strong workforce by 20 per cent in the next three years and will be strengthening its staff at all levels within group companies. Godrej Consumer is expected to lead the charge since it is the largest company in the group with a consolidated 2013-14 turnover of Rs 7,583 crore. Gama said Godrej Consumer fostered a culture of entrepreneurship and quick decision-making, which was helping candidates from multinationals make the switch. He declined to specify how many people had joined the company from international firms in the last few months.

Harsh Agarwal, director, Emami, on the other hand, pointed to the growing ambition of domestic firms and how it was, in turn, fuelling individual ambition. “The view about Indian companies has changed in the last few years. They are aggressive and want to grow. Managers (from international firms) yearn to be a part of this process and are hence prepared to join them,” he said.

The freedom that family-owned businesses are providing professional managers in day-to-day operations is not lost on potential candidates, human resources experts say, which is pushing many to consider jobs with local companies. Many of them are tasting success as well in their new roles. Jyothy Labs' chief executive officer S Raghunandan, for instance, has been going strong with the firm for two-and-a-half years after quitting British consumer goods major Reckitt Benckiser in early 2012. He has hired new people in the last two years in an attempt to strengthen his team, some of them from multinationals, such as Rajnikant Sabnavis, who joined as vice-president, sales and marketing, from Hindustan Unilever.

Experts say this trend is expected to grow as Indian firms aspire to become global majors. So what is a trickle now will soon become a flow.

DESI MAGNET

• In the past months, Kolkata-based Emami hired at least four senior-level executives from firms such as Hindustan Unilever, Colgate and Heinz in a bid to beef up its top management
   
• Companies such as Jyothy Laboratories and Godrej Consumer have all seen senior and mid-levels recruits joining them from MNCs in recent months