THE TRANSFORMATION OF NESTLE

AFTER PUTTING THE MAGGI CRISIS BEHIND IT, NESTLÉ INDIA PLACED ITSELF ON A HIGH GROWTH PATH AND IS NOW ON TRACK TO TRANSFORM INTO A WHOLESOME GOODS AND SERVICES COMPANY

- ARNAB DUTTA

NESTLÉ INDIA'S HEADQUARTERS on Gurugram's Jacaranda Marg is striking in its minimalism. Spread across seven floors, the triangular building is dwarfed by skyscrapers of other large corporations. While most other multinationals share offices with peers across the Millennium City, the country's largest food & beverages company keeps its affairs private in an isolated building. The simple office interior, packed with a few hundred employees who ditch fancy corporate suits, reflects its austere culture.

In contrast to his peers in tailored suits, Suresh Narayanan, 62, Chairman and Managing Director of Nestlé India, appears in a dark grey blazer and sports a smile. Unlike other top CEOs who hold MBA degrees from IIMS, Narayanan holds a master's degree in economics. His dream of becoming a bureaucrat by clearing the UPSC civil services exams changed course when campus placements at the Delhi School of Economics landed him a job at Hindustan Unilever (HUL). After nearly a decade at HUL's food & beverages division and a short stint at Colgate-Palmolive, Narayanan spent the next two decades with Nestlé and, clearly, its culture has rubbed off. Yet, he has completely transformed the company's India operations to reflect a more aggressive persona.