The Guest Lecture was another major event in the list of numerous such academia-industry interactions organized by the HRM&LR; forum (the industry relation cell of Human Resource Management course at TISS). Mr Mariwala began with the times which saw the Marico stemming out his desire to make out of his own. With a core team and loads of belief he started out which is now a lean and agile trans-national company and one of the fastest growing FMCG company in the Indian Subcontinent.

He canvassed through the times when Marico was one brand dependent with Parachute, about the changing tides they faced in Kerela and candidly admitted the troubled moments they warded off when another giant FMCG threatened to bulldoze them over. But those tests were fought off gallantly mostly with ‘uncommon sense ‘and Marico today not only boasts of plethora of successful brands but over the years has acquired brands from bigger competitors. Mr Mariwala stressed that throughout this enduring journey what has differentiated Marico from the rest is understanding common Indian consumer’s wants. Once that is known, the organization goes out all guns blazing to fulfill that demand. Closing all exit routes is the key. A high degree of accountability and empowerment is given to the employees who execute the projects.

Today Marico has firmly established itself in the wellness sector as well. Its brand suffola is the hallmark of health awareness in edible oils. Kaya has enabled Marico take the next step with opening wellness clinics. Marico is now a force to reckon with as it is making inroads in the European and American markets with Sundari and Kaya. Marico boasts of an open and energetic work culture where positions and roles are fixed in accordance with people’s strengths. Awards have come in by the dozen both for Mr Mariwala for his commanding leadership acumen and well as for Marico for astounding performance.

The session was full of meaningful insights about how HR played a stellar role in shaping this journey. After the lecture Mr Mariwala took numerous questions which ranged from strategy to policies to the next Chairman of the family run organization with aplomb. It was thus , some great learning for the future HR managers.