The Economic Times

Govind Iyer reckons that marketing talent from the top drawer is always in demand simply because there aren’t too many honchos in that elite cluster. A consultant at Egon Zehnder International, Iyer would know. Way back in 1999, the search firm poached him from foods company Heinz. When Iyer made the switch to headhunting 13 years ago, after 11 years in marketing (Coke and P&G were his other employers), marketing hotshots bounding from their comfort zones into alien sectors was a rare phenomenon. Not anymore. A fortnight ago, when Rajesh Jejurikar announced that he would be joining Zee Entertainment as president by February 2012, he clambered onto a rapidly growing list of marketing whizzes plunging into uncharted waters. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Currently designated as chief of operations at Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M’s) automotive business, Jejurikar has spent over a decade at the utility and tractor maker after joining as vice president of sales & marketing. “A shift across sectors helps improve the ability to grasp new concepts. There is cross deployment of learning and one is not stuck within the conventional wisdom of one particular industry,” says the 47-year-old Jejurikar. Like Jejurikar, there is a clutch of chief marketing officers (CMOs) seeking “cross-deployment of learning” and jumping the ship of conventional wisdom. In June 2011, Srikanth Srinivasamadhavan moved out of consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to head marketing at HSBC India. At HUL, Srinivasamadhavan worked across a range of marketing functions, from media planning to brand management to category head. “I do believe India is one of the best places for recruiting marketing leadership not just for local needs but for even the global markets. I do see this phenomenon getting stronger as India as a market matures and grows,” says the HSBC marketing head. Such growth and development particularly in sunrise service sectors such as telecom, organised retailing and aviation have given birth to marketing professionals who consciously seek new industries. Consider, for instance, Milind Bade who recently quit Bajaj Auto after three years to join Vodafone as senior vice president for sales & marketing for Maharashtra and Goa circles. Bade has a total working experience of 16 years, which includes two stints at Kimberly Clark Lever and HUL. Indeed, HUL has provided a springboard to many marketing managers. However, a chunk of those moves would be within fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), be it soaps or cosmetics or liquor or foods. These days, however, marketing executives are more willing to check out opportunities in other services sectors. Shubhranshu Singh spent a decade at HUL and then moved on to liquor maker Diageo India for a year and a half. In August 2011, Singh made a clean break — he joined Visa as marketing director for India and South Asia. If CMOs are open to changing tracks, it may be because the fundamentals don’t change, only what they’re marketing — and to whom — does. “It is the understanding of the consumer, the target audiences and the brand and its core values that make one assignment different from the other,” explains Anupama Ahluwalia. The head of marketing at Coca-Cola India has a chance to gain that understanding all over again in a new milieu. She joined the beverages giant in June after moving out from Idea Cellular as a senior vice president for marketing. Ahluwalia is the only woman on Coca-Cola’s leadership council, which reports into president & CEO Atul Singh. Ahluwalia may have just been inspired by Joseph Tripodi to change industries. Tripodi joined Coca-Cola at the global headquarters in Atlanta in 2007 as CMO after over a quarter of a century of selling everything from insurance and credit cards to oil and liquor with some of the world’s most respected brands. On a recent visit to India, Tripodi told ET that he’s used the “industry, geographic and function experiences” from other firms liberally to change mindsets and philosophies at Coke. As an example, he said he brought along from one of his previous employers, MasterCard, the culture of creating “lifetime consumer value” to Coke. Shifting industries at a time when brands, categories and consumers are evolving may be a great opportunity for marketing folk — but only if they are willing to keep up with the rapidly changing times and trends. In March 2011, Shailendra Katyal left consumer goods company Marico after heading a category for 12 years to become director, marketing, at Lenovo India. A shift from selling hair oil to personal computers can prove tricky. But Katyal says he recognised the differences between the two sectors, and that has stood him in good stead. “In FMCG it is about ensuring brand loyalty while in technology the landscape is more competitive — it involves, for instance, consumers shifting from desktops to laptops to iPads. The sheer pace of change is different in each sector,” says the man who played a key role in crafting Marico’s hair care strategy. A larger responsibility — and with it of course a fatter pay packet and a higher profile — is one reason why most people move out of their comfort zones. On occasion, however, it’s the sheer expanse of the fresh canvas that persuades executives to bail out of cosy marketing niches. Consider Rajiv Dube, who quit the country’s largest conglomerate, the Tata group, after spending more than 25 years with it. The last 12 of those were with Tata Motors, from where he drove out in May 2010 when he was president of the car operations. Dube moved into yet another huge conglomerate, the $35 billion Aditya Birla group, as director, group corporate services. In his exit interview to ET, Dube said, “It is always tough to leave a company after 27 years, but from running a car operation my new role offers an exposure to 14 different businesses in different industries.” There are cases of marketing honchos who make the switch because they’ve reached the end of the road in their organisation. But in a consumption-led, rapidly-growing

At least eight senior and middle-level executives have quit Hindustan Unilever over the past two months after spending more than a decade with India’s largest fast moving consumer goods company, indicating a festering dissatisfaction with pressures both within and outside the organisation. Among those who have quit are Sandeep Kataria, global brand director, Comfort who is joining as CMO, Yum Restaurants; Rishi Pardaal, GM, South, who is moving to Marico Bangladesh as CEO and Anuradha Agarwal, marketing manager, hair, who has joined Vodafone as VP, brand marketing (See graphic). At one level, senior employees find growth opportunities limiting even as competing brands are giving HUL’s brands a tough time in the marketplace, said a company official who did not wish to be quoted. [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] The HUL spokesperson, however, said the attrition rate was significantly below industry level. “What we have is natural attrition, which is essential and healthy for all organisations in terms of both talent management and development,” the spokesperson said. HUL has been facing pressures from competitors like P&G, Godrej and L’Oreal across categories like detergents, toilet soaps and hair care at the top end and from indigenous brands like Ghari, Godrej No. 1, Santoor, Chik and Dabur at the next level. Another reason for the dissatisfaction is the division of the brand manager function into brand building, brand development and customer marketing roles over the past decade. The new roles have restricted a brand manager’s exposure, said the official quoted earlier. Moreover, multiyear plans laid down for brands have been changed, and local brand managers are being asked to report on 30-day schedules, adding to the pressure. “The organisation is a pyramid, and when you reach a certain senior level you want more acceleration in the decisions you can make, but there is a lack of velocity I have to deal with, which is disappointing,” said an executive who did not wish to be quoted. The disquiet has not gone unnoticed at HUL, which has devised the ‘multi-lane progress’ as a sort of antidote. While it will take some time for the process to come into effect, it allows for professionals to choose between brand building, brand development and sales functions in the earlier stage of their career. Once they have identified what suits them, the best performers are given larger responsibilities at regional or national levels in their respective functions. In the world outside, there is something that still works for HUL: it is a sought-after employer on B-school campuses. The company was rated as the dream company to work for by graduating students across the top 20 B-Schools in India as per AC Nielsen’s Campus Track Survey, says the company spokesperson. Today, companies like Nokia, Dabur and Cadbury are shining examples of what HUL “alumni” have achieved outside. Perhaps it’s time the organisation needs to take a long, hard look at itself, says the executive. In the world outside, there is something that still works for HUL: it is a sought-after employer on B-school campuses. The company was rated as the dream company to work for by graduating students across the top 20 B-Schools in India as per AC Nielsen’s Campus Track Survey, says the company spokesperson. Today, companies like Nokia, Dabur and Cadbury are shining examples of what HUL “alumni” have achieved outside. Perhaps it’s time the organisation needs to take a long, hard look at itself, says the executive. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/senior-executives-head-for-exit-at-hindustan-unilever/articleshow/5736988.cms