Brittle and ready to be crunched makes a fine description for biscuits. But that was also how biscuit major Britannia looked in January 2005, following a major management shake-up and competition snapping at its heels.
It was then that Vinita Bali, Business Woman of the Year, boarded the near-rudderless firm and went on to turn around its fortunes, and take it to its deserved position, of being a market-leading, innovative and trusted foods company.
Britannia is the crown jewel in Wadia’s empire, and for close to 18 months after Alagh’s departure, it drifted without proper leadership. National and regional players were eating into Britannia’s market share. When Vinita Bali joined the company in January 2005, Britannia was well and truly on the ropes. The cookie had all but crumbled.
The imposing initial journey of Vinita Bali
Vinita Bali was born on 11 November 1955 in Bangalore. She is an Indian businesswoman and Women Entrepreneur who was the Managing Director and CEO of Britannia Industries Limited.
Vinita obtained a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College for Women from the University of Delhi in 1975. She earned a scholarship to Michigan State University in the United States. She received her Master of Business Administration – MBA degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. Vinita served as an intern at the United Nations Headquarters.
Bali says she hails from a “typical educated middle-class family” with a well-read mother whose family had moved to India after Partition. “My father was the director at Air Headquarters at the ministry of defence and a very cerebral guy. He wouldn’t talk much about his job, and dinner conversations would revolve around the latest book we had read.” She, however, credits her mother for her lifelong interest in music, theatre and dance. “Both of them complimented my right and left-brain development.” And despite a strong focus on education, Bali found time to train for 13 years in Kathak— “though I don’t dance now”.
Vinita says, “I have a schedule in the morning where I do pranayam and my stretches. I also spend 30 minutes in the gym, either in the morning or in the evening. I think people make too much of the work-life balance thing.”
Vinita Bali’s Impressive Intellectual Career
Vinita’s first job was at Voltas. She worked for the Indian division of Cadbury for 14 years. In Voltas, she worked on the launch of Rasna, India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of soft drinks and instant drinks. Rasna is one of the famous soft drink brands in India. In Cadbury, she expanded the company’s markets in India and Africa. While at Cadbury, I got a fully paid scholarship from Rotary International in 1982 to study abroad and jumped at the opportunity. It was a great experience to be a student all over again in the US and she loved the flexibility and eclectic nature of education there.
She later did an internship at the United Nations in New York and for the first time perhaps, began to appreciate the vastness of our world, as well as the common and uncommon issues countries, were trying to address. She also made friends from around the world and talked to people about their experiences in Vietnam, South Africa, Cambodia etc. Soon after, Cadbury offered her a Senior Brand Manager role in Bournville, at the Cadbury headquarters in England, UK, and she launched the first aerated chocolate called “Wispa” which also was an instant success.
“More than anything, I loved the location as Bournville is 22km from Stratford-upon-Avon, where I watched every possible Shakespeare play. I gave full vent to my theatre interests.”
In 1994, a soft drink manufacturer, Coca-Cola hired Vinita as its Marketing Director. Later, Bali was appointed by Coca-Cola as Vice President of Marketing for Latin America. Vinita Bali also worked as Vice President of Corporate Strategy, during her nine years at Coke. In 2003, Vinita left Coca-Cola to work at the Zyman Group and left in 2005.
In 2006, Vinita takes the position of CEO at Britannia Industries Limited, an Indian food company where she was eventually appointed Managing Director. Britannia’s revenue tripled to $841 million under her direction. Forbes named Vinita on its list of “Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen” in 2011. In 2014, Vinita received a Forbes Leadership Award.
Vinita is excellent in Time-management and is a perfectionist
“It used to drive me crazy that when you call for a meeting at 9.00 am, people thought it was anywhere between 9.00 and 9.15 a.m. The first few times I closed the door and said if you are not here by 9 a.m., you don’t attend the meeting. Deadlines are so stretchable in India and that drives me completely insane even now.”
“I lose my temper sometimes, but we still don’t have that level of discipline as a culture. It is hard if you are looking for near perfection and you don’t get it.”
“The analogy I use is that you say you are Sachin Tendulkar and so you don’t need to practice. But you are great only because you practice. I admire that in artists and sportspeople. They polish and chisel away till they get it perfect.”
In India, Vinita serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Kasturi & Sons Ltd, Titan Industries Ltd, and CRISIL Ltd. Vinita Bali has extensive experience in leading corporates both in India and overseas.
Bali founded the Britannia Nutrition Foundation in 2009. The foundation combats child malnutrition through fortified biscuits distribution to Indian school children. With the Britannia Nutrition Foundation, Vinita won a Corporate Social Responsibility Award for her work. Bali also won “Economic Times Awards” as the “Business Woman of the Year” Award in 2009.
Vinita Bali’s expedition with Britannia
Numbers tell the story: Britannia’s topline revenue has doubled in the four years between 2005-and 09. The company has been growing at around 20% annually, and its market share, in the Rs 6000-crore biscuit market, has stabilized around 35% after losing some ground to new rivals, sometime back.
Vinita Bali’s experience in Cadbury’s and Coca-Cola did her a world of good in taking on the competition in the FMCG sector. But it was her first crucial domestic assignment after considerable time overseas. The challenges were many. She had to build a new team and set up a competent organizational structure after the old team’s exit. She has been successful in creating a sense of excitement and challenge within the team to reach aspirational and ambitious goals.
Britannia’s portfolio has been diversified with innovations in each brand keeping changing consumer needs and habits in mind, and Ms Bali has vigorously pursued a healthier lifestyle positioning for the brand. Britannia now has significant non-biscuit revenue streams, with cakes, bread and rusks chipping in with about Rs 400 crore, doubling over the past two years, and growing.
Strong Women Of Substance- Vinita Bali
Passionate about women’s issues and the rights of the deprived, Ms Bali has previously served on the boards of the American Foundation for the Blind, New York and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. She was also a guest lecturer at Emory University, Goizueta Business School, as well as Jamnalal Bajaj, her alma mater, and SP Jain Institute of Management Studies.
Addressing members of the Young Ficci Ladies Organization (YFLO), she said it was fine not to choose any career too.
“You should enjoy doing what you like. Many women think about everybody else before thinking about them. You should put yourself first,” says Bali.
Referring to entrepreneurial ventures, she said the path is dotted with obstacles. “But those who see the road will find a way to tide over obstacles,” she said.
Referring to fear of failure in business ventures, she said the perception of failure needs to change and success should be judged on one’s own terms but not based on someone else’s expectations.
Sometimes, unconventional decisions may be taken. Citing her own example, she said:
“I did not plan my career but took bold decisions. When I preferred to work in Nigeria in 1992, which was not preferred by most of the men as well, it was an unconventional decision.”
And this did not stop there. Even though she was offered the chief position in Cadbury India later, she again chose to go to South Africa to head sales there as the attraction of learning in a new place was greater. She said companies need to take women directors seriously and induct them into work.
“Intention to involve women matters more than numbers.”
According to Vinita Bali, “I also believe that each of us and especially, the privileged among us is responsible for building a good society where there is equity, where rules are transparent and followed, where people feel understood and respected, where there is clarity in terms of governance and dignity of life for all. And, I strongly believe that good business and good society cannot be divorced.”
