Ex-Cadbury South Asia head Bharat Puri named MD of Pidilite

This is the first time that a professional has been appointed to the position, held so far by members of the promoter family...

In a move that will reduce operational responsibilities of the promoter family, the Parekhs,  Pidilite, maker of the Fevicol brand of adhesives, has appointed former Cadbury South Asia head Bharat Puri as its MD. The appointment is effective April 10.

While the Parekhs have been inducting professionals into senior roles for the last few years, this is the first time that an outsider will occupy the corner office at the company.  Pidilite's current chairman & managing director, M B Parekh, elder son of company founder, the late Balvant Parekh, will step down as MD on April 10, taking over as executive chairman instead.

N K Parekh, brother of Balvant Parekh, who represented the first-generation promoter family, will step down as Joint MD on April 1, becoming non-executive chairman, a company statement said.

Ajay Parekh, younger son of Balvant Parekh, and cousin Apurva Parekh, son of N K Parekh, both executive directors, however, will continue  in their current positions. The company statement said that they would work with Puri on key issues and oversee and strengthen various business divisions and functions.

Puri, who has been part of Pidilite's board since appointment as independent director in 2008, will bring  his over 30 years of experience in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), to his current assignment.

Prior to this, Puri was president - global chocolate, gum and candy at Cadbury, (now Mondelez International),  based in Zurich and with worldwide responsibility for these categories.

Puri, an alumnus of IIM, Ahmedabad, began his career with Asian Paints in 1982 and rose to the position of general manager - sales & marketing. He then moved to Cadbury India in 1998 as director of sales and marketing. In 2002, he was appointed as MD South Asia at the company. Later, he moved to Singapore in 2006 where he was responsible for strategy, marketing and sales for the Asia Pacific region.

Interestingly, the trend of appointing professionals to run home-grown companies has been growing in the FMCG industry. A year ago, Harsh Mariwala, chairman & managing director, Marico, stepped down as MD, paving the way for professional and company veteran Saugata Gupta, to take over the position.

By doing this, Mariwala's Marico, where he continues to be chairman, joined firms such as Dabur and Godrej Consumer, where professional CEOs such as Sunil Duggal and Vivek Gambhir (who is the MD of Godrej Consumer), have been in charge.