How Harsh Mariwala ‘Groomed’ Marico – Suresh Rao (PGP 1969)

HOW HARSH MARIWALA ‘GROOMED’ MARICO

Co-authored by Mr Suresh Rao (PGP 1969) He was Chairperson, Centre for Entrepreneurship at SPJIMR, following a career in corporate entrepreneurship. He completed a stint as CEO of a start-up telecom company before he took to academics. Professor Rao has participated in global programmes conducted by Harvard Business School and Babson for Entrepreneurship faculty and is among the pioneering faculty for Entrepreneurship in B-Schools in India.

Synopsis The book is an eye-opening account of Harsh Mariwala’s vision, management style and actions taken to shape the organization. Just out of college, he joined Bombay Oil Industries Ltd (BOIL) as the fourth generation scion in his family’s traditional spice trading and consumer oil manufacturing business. He learned the key drivers of growing a profitable consumer product business on the field in the inhospitable hinterlands of Maharashtra and Gujarat – the first Mariwala to do so. Alongside, through reading and taking the initiative to learn from mentors, national and global, he soaked up the essentials of building sustainable brands and creating a multi-channel network in sync with the times. He demonstrated vision and leadership in transforming the quality conscious, traditionally run, family commodity business to a professionally managed, branded consumer goods giant – Marico – in the face of well managed international competition in the Indian market. Marico is today an emerging market multi-national with a noticeable presence in the domain of branded health and beauty products, making a difference to peoples’ lives in 25 countries.