'I Look For Opportunities In A Challenge'

Taking over businesses in challenging circumstances and turning them around is nothing new for Hindustan Unilever Chairman & MD Sanjiv Mehta. In a conversation with Prosenjit Datta and Ajita Shashidhar, Mehta talks about how he turned the slow-growing Indian operations into India’s highest valued FMCG major. Edited excerpts:

- Prosenjit Datta & Ajita Shashidhar

You took over when growth dipped significantly. What was the mandate given to you?

A: I completed 25 years with Unilever last October. I started in Dubai when Unilever had come onshore in the Middle East. We were operating like a start-up, launching several new brands. Then, an opportunity came to go to Bangladesh, where our business was in dire straits. We were losing market share to a competitor who was propagating ‘Halal’ products. We turned around the business and in two years I went on to become chairman of Unilever Bangladesh. From there, I moved to Unilever Philippines as chairman and then to Unilever North Africa and Middle East. When I first joined Unilever in the early 90s, it was an operating company called Unilever Arabia. When I took over, it had expanded into 20 countries in the region.

During this period, we went through the Arab Spring. The challenge was not only to protect people and assets but also to grow the business. I always look for opportunities within a challenge. During the Arab Spring, I called my Managing Director and asked him to make a revised plan and increase investments in Egypt. When the country came to a standstill, the only thing people were doing was watching television. While competitors struggled for growth, we continued growing in double digits. Our Egypt business flourished and in 2013 we won the Compass Award, the highest award in the Unilever world that is given to the best performing business during the year.