V Narayanan: Reminiscences

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

1 JUN 2021

2

JUN 2021

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

SR Venkateswaran

T

he year was 1984. Venue: Connemara Hotel, Chennai. The Function: “Finance Star Awards”. It was here that I bagged my first award in corporate life from VN (Mr V

Narayanan). Ever the motivator, VN used to organize this annual function for Finance team.

His speeches would provide re­assurance to the Finance team members about the importance of their role in building a profitable organization supporting the Sales & Marketing efforts.

Much Sought‐after AGMs Pond’s AGMs were much sought­after events in Madras calendar in the 80s, particularly due to the persona of VN. I had the good fortune of being a ‘proposer’ or ‘seconder’ for many of the resolutions passed at those AGMs and enjoyed a ring­side view of his managing the show. He was literally a demi­god in the eyes of shareholders.

The moment he commenced his speech in his typical baritone voice, the entire hall in Taj Coromandel would turn to rapt attention. Unlike many corporate AGMs, Pond’s AGMs used to be attended by entire families of shareholders. VN used to take pride at the sight of visibly happy shareholders walking out after the AGM, carrying their gift packs and showering praise on the company’s performance. It was a unique relationship VN enjoyed with shareholders that was built on mutual trust and respect.

Eye for Details As a Financial Accountant responsible for USSR exports, I have had a few interactions with VN working on ICN planning. His eye for details, penchant for understanding the profitability of each consignment and precise instructions on what information he was looking for, made for a learning experience every time. Despite being the CMD of the company, his ability to find time to get into details on topics he considered important has been a lesson in time management and prioritising.

For me, the stand­out characteristic of VN’s personality has been his “clarity of thought and purpose”. These seem to have been his guiding principles in arriving at decisions. In one meeting, a proposal was presented to him that was commercially justified, largely based on the accruing Income Tax benefits. Not only did he reject the idea but also went into great lengths to explain to some of us—young managers seated around the table—that business decisions should never be taken purely based on tax considerations. He was a true leader with very clear thinking and articulation!

Caring for All Stakeholders While the concept of ‘stakeholder management’ gained popularity in the last couple of decades, VN had been a pioneer much earlier, though he may not have theorised it as such.

Shareholders as stakeholders: The dividends paid out from Pond’s, including a couple BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

3 JUN 2021

of 1:1 bonus issues had made Pond’s shareholders, who were largely middle­class families, rich. The bonus shares helped them conduct their children’s marriages in a grand fashion.

Employees as stakeholders: VN did not look at employees as just salaried resources. He recognised the ‘investment’ being made on employees. His initiatives included extending housing loan (catering to the dreams of most Chennaiites to own a property) and providing medical insurance cover, critical for the family’s health).

Suppliers as stakeholders: VN believed in collaborative growth with suppliers. Instances of lending to Metal Box for their capacity expansion is a clear example of such win­win approaches

 Excerpts from the virtual memorial service for late Mr V Narayanan, held by MMA for Pond’s veterans to recall their association with VN ­ their legendary boss.

V Balaraman

W

e often ask this question—Did we in Pond's look upon Narayanan as a god or a guru?

He was both. Does that mean that he was never a boss? We called him a bossman.

He was the one and only boss for us.

Kannan Sitaraman

V

N was a wonderful human being. I joined Pond's in 81 and worked with him for ten years till 91 when he retired. I was part of the team which helped him prepare the AGM

speeches. It was a challenging experience, as the entire script had to be manually written and re­written after editing. We had to prepare 35mm slides.

Fairness, not Kindness Matters He had told me several times that a leader's duty is not to be kind but to be fair. It has helped me to decide on many occasions. He was convinced that to build a successful company in India, we need to have an Indian style of Management, rooted in Indian ethos. His role model was the 'joint family system' where different family members come together and the family grows from strength to strength. It was very different from the US style of management.

The big turning point was when Unilver acquired CP Inc. Narayanan knew that things would be very different, and he was more concerned about what would happen to members of his team. He told me what happened when Brooke Bond was acquired by Unilever. The then Chairman of Brooke Bond had resisted the acquisition and as a result, it harmed the careers of people at Brooke Bond. He was clear that this should not happen to us in Pond's.

I recall one incident when Director Personnel from Unilever (KK) came to visit us for 4

JUN 2021

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

the first time. Narayanan wanted to impress upon KK about the quality of the team at Pond's.

He made a brief presentation to KK and during the lunch, KK said he was amazed at the talent pool at Pond's. That was the power of Narayanan. He could precisely deliver his messages.

The Legendary Notes VN had a habit of sending handwritten notes of appreciation to his team even for small achievements. I last met him in 2019 when I had gone to his house to invite him and his family for my daughter's wedding. It was like stepping into my family once again. We exchanged memories and we were overwhelmed by his affection. He said he could not attend the wedding in Bangalore. He later remembered the occasion and I got his handwritten wishes for the marriage and the couple.

 Ravichandran

I

stayed in Pond's for seven years from 1974 to 1981, out of which, I spent three years at Head Office. For me, he was an enigma. He was a colossus in the office. He was a guru as

he taught us through every motion of his little finger, every word that he spoke and every gesture of his eyebrow. We would debate the meaning of his gestures and learnt a lot from them.

In 1980, I bought a car with the company loan and on my table was a note handwritten

by VN, "Ravi, Congrats on your acquiring a car. I hope I can ride with you sometime." Such gestures set him apart. He often threw tasks at us, not related to our jobs and they made us work harder.

I remember handling three such challenging assignments and they helped me in developing as an individual. The four big takeaways from him are: attention to detail, meticulous planning, flawless execution and recognising success. The personification of all these four happened in the sales conferences. He shaped my initial corporate life and many of my subsequent successes.

 MS Narayan

P

ond's was recognised by my friend working in another company as a Teddy Bear—warm and fluffy, in contrast to one more company that he termed a 'shark.' If someone left

Pond's, we would look at it as a seismic event and wonder why they would ever leave the company. That was the unique culture in Pond's, thanks to VN's leadership. There were three Narayans in Pond's ­ VN, myself and one more J Narayan and all were called 'Nari.' The Chesebrough people had a tough time in understanding what these Narayans meant and in BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

5 JUN 2021

communicating to us. He regularly played tennis and golf. He was also very fond of cricket.

That had perhaps something to do with our banner advertising of Pond's Dreamflower talc in Madras Test matches. In the summer of 1990, VN and I had been to London and after finishing our office meeting, we spent sometime in the sunshine watching an Indian cricket team collapse against England but we could enjoy seeing a young lad called Sachin Tendulkar score some magnificent runs.

The Century that Mattered VN was a product of Lever Brothers. In those days, thanks to the Colonial mindset, Indians in the Lever Brothers felt like outsiders or impostors. One day, it all changed for VN. There was a last minute withdrawal in a company cricket match and VN was asked to fill in.

He did and scored a century. He was never again treated the same way in the company.

Not just due to his cricketing prowess he was held in high esteem in Lever. VN recounted to me when I was the brand manager in UK, how he made a study of the water hardness in different regions and its impact on the efficacy of 'Persil' detergent. As a result of his study, Lever had reformulated the Persil detergent in UK. He made a lasting impression on Unilever too. They were in awe of his abilities and it culminated in his appointment as Director of Hindustan Lever.

The Historic Presentation In 1981, he travelled to make a presentation to the Board of Chesebrough Pond's. Perhaps, it was the most important presentation ever made and it chartered the course of the company for the next 40 years. I can still remember the first three slides. VN said that in the three years since Pond's India was established, the new company had sold more and earned more than what it had done in all of the previous 30 years.

He attributed this to the bold and visionary leadership of CP Inc to dilute their equity.

He then went out to set a business strategy for the company. VN later told me that after he finished the presentation, there was a stunning silence in the board room of CP Inc and then applause broke out. One of the VPs even asked him for a copy of his speaking notes. He returned to India with a path that completely transformed the fledgling company and led to many business decisions.

Strategy in Six Words VN was the ultimate strategic thinker. Early on, he asked me the key strategic question —What business are we in? We debated and VN took it further and said that our business is "to generate employment, earn foreign exchange." In those six words, he brilliantly encapsulated the strategic roadmap and vision for the company. He was the smartest corporate leader I have ever met.

6

JUN 2021

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

 Pandit

I

joined as a management trainee in 1975. At that time, VN was the marketing manager.

My formative years in career were spent with him. I went on a tour of Andhra and on

return submitted a report to him. He made notes in the report and called me to his room and asked about the personal details of the sales people like where they lived, how many members they had in the family and so on. I was blank. The next time, I was thorough with the details about sales people. But questions from VN now were about the business. With those probing questions, he truly mentored us and developed in us a sense of curiosity.

Working on his presentations to Ernst & Young or CP Inc or on other occasions helped me to structure my thoughts and realise the importance of communication in leadership.

The next aspect that struck me was his meeting with ad agencies. The agencies would bring in their retinue of managers so they could learn from how VN handled them.

He had a great respect for employees who were with the company for long years and did not want to unnecessarily disrupt them. His judgement was uncanny. Pond's had a culture of respect for one's dignity. I saw his delegation skills when he left to me the entire job of coming out of the failure of Pond's toothpaste and tooth powder launch. He asked me to chart out a plan and report to him periodically on the progress. I would send my reports, and he would acknowledge them.

 Ravishankar

V

N was the most charismatic and positive person I have ever met in my life. He had a golden voice and never talked in a demotivating way to anyone. We always came out

of his room fully charged and with positive energy, though we would walk in with anxiety.

In these days of the pandemic where there is so much of negativity, we truly miss him. He never talked negatively.

People would die to do anything for him. He was a non­bureaucratic and charismatic leader. I could see his concern for every employee from the day one I joined. He personally hand­drafted my 7­day induction programme. He asked me to personally sell a dozen Pond's Dreamflower talc on my first day, so that I could understand the challenges of a sales person.

He was keen that we should know about the personal background of our team members without getting into gossip. That was a great learning. Later, he crafted my entire career plan in Pond's. I was handling Accounts in one of the factories when I got a call to go and set up a factory in Khandla. I was surprised how an accountant can suddenly become a factory manager. He just trusted people. He was the epitome of corporate governance. He followed BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

7 JUN 2021

both the letter and spirit of law. He was once termed by a magazine as the No 1 Independent Director in India because the market capitalisation of all the companies on whose board he was, reached 200 crores. When my deaf and dumb sister got married to another deaf and dumb person, he came to know of it from a Tamil magazine. I was just a junior manager at that time. He called me and asked me to narrate the entire story. He spent half an hour in understanding my sister's background. VN once said to me, "Nothing moves without Divine will." I realise the importance of his words, more so in this pandemic.

 Nandu Nandkishore

I

spent a short period interacting with VN, first as a summer trainee and, later on, in close quarters as a full time employee in Pond's. I last met him in 1983 and my association with

him was very brief. His understanding of business, caring for people and compassion—all came together in the form of his charisma and wisdom.

Many years later, Jim Collins talked about level 5 leadership. I believe VN fits it very well. He had a steely determination and a capacity in building people and organisation. In some ways, he has touched us all—as people, leaders and managers.

For the culture of character and competence, VN has been my inspiration in my work outside Pond's. Many times when I was in a difficult situation, I would ask myself, like an Eklavya, "What would VN do in this situation?" and then decide. I got an opportunity to rejoin Pond’s, but I did not join and it is my greatest regret that I could not reconnect with VN. He will live through us and the people whom we have shaped.

 Atul Vohra

I

was with Pond's only for seven years but I feel as if I had spent my seven life times, and I mean in a positive way. He epitomised empathy and engaging with excellence. He

understood what we needed like a father. He doubled my salary when I got married. I can recall his visiting one of the cleaners' home on a bereavement in the family.

Many years after I left Pond's, my wife and I had been to Chennai for a business conference and we met VN and his wife in Hotel Trident. My wife being on a business trip had only western clothes and she was a bit upset that she did not have Indian dresses. The next morning, Mrs Narayanan sent her a beautiful silk saree! Empathy ran in their family.

VN had an uncanny ability to engage with people one on one. It was not just with employees but with vendors and ad agency personnel too. We punched far more than our weight because he got the best brains working in sync for us.

He would say, "In any relationship, you should first start liking people, then respect them 8

JUN 2021

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

and finally trust them." When I was in American Express, I asked him if I could poach Mr Kannan from Pond's. He was very graceful. He was known for excellence and he had an unbroken record for profitability and growth. He was entrepreneurial, much before the term became fashionable. His greatest mark of excellence was his investment in people.

 Kandy Anand

O

n Jan 4 this year, my father passed away and on Jan 21, VN passed away. I lost my father who guided me in my personal life and the father who guided me in my

professional life, both in the same month and that made me to reflect so much.

I met VN first in 1979 when I started my summer job in Pond's along with Deepak Chandnani. Atul and MS were our guides. We met VN just on a couple of occasions—when we joined and before we finished. He was so interested in us, had tremendous amount of humility and did not tell us what to do. He made us think by asking questions. When I finished the summer job, I decided that this was the company that I would join. In 1980, I joined Pond's and was mostly in Sales. For the next ten years, I met VN frequently and learnt a lot.

I tried to imitate the way VN led. I couldn't. In ‘86­87, when Levers acquired Pond's, he positioned us so well.

I moved over to Levers as Branch Manager (South) and tried hard to bring the Pond's culture to Levers, at least in the south region. I left Levers in 97. Between 93 and 97, I was in Mumbai as Marketing Manager of Detergents. After 97, I left India and could meet him only a couple of times later. Whenever I met him, he was still the same person. The way he built business models and his nurturing the culture of character and competence were great takeaways for us.

When I joined Cola, before dealing with someone, I would ask, "Does this person have character before anything else?"—like how Cola would ask, "Does Coke flow in his blood?"

On the question of VN being a god or guru, let me tweak a Christian Saint's quote. God sent VN to be our guru and VN set the world on fire with his achievements and inspired us all.

 Eki

I

met VN in 1975 in the brand new Chennai office with a proposal. I was taking care of the Indianisation of a branch of Chesebrough Pond's. From then on, VN and I worked very

closely, spending endless hours in the office, discussing the legal aspects of Indianisation.

We debated if the name should be Pond's India or Pond's (India). VN listened carefully and was very clear about complying with all the regulations both in letter and spirit. He told the marketing team, "It is your job to make people forget about the company’s name and think BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

9 JUN 2021

only about the brands."

Our next task was to set up the company and I led the legal side. We had to get approval from the Controller of Capital Issues. VN brought in Corporate Governance. We had genuine board meetings that would last for two days. What SEBI is now asking people to do, we implemented in Pond's at the board level, 40 years ago. How could it be possible? It was because of the man—VN. If someone were to write the history of Pond’s India, I would be happy to talk to him/her, as I was there at the birth of the company, Pond’s going to capital market for raising capital and its marriage with Hindustan Lever.

 Deepak Chandnani

I

have fond memories of VN. After Atul moved from Pond's, I was handling the Russian deal based in Delhi. VN talked about the importance of ethics and how it can be different

for individuals, because dealing with Russians had its own challenges. Though I have many learnings from VN, the one on ethics has stayed with me for my life.

 Bhat (VN's personal auditor for a long time)

V

N was a thorough gentleman. He was a perfectionist to the core and excelled in whatever he did. He was very particular that all the facts were properly reported and taxes duly

paid in time. He kept himself abreast of the latest developments in tax issues.

Once I prepared a three page note on a tax issue, which took me quite some time to prepare. I thought of leaving it with him so he could ponder over. When I gave it to him, he merely took five minutes to go through it and discussed with me all the points I had raised.

It was phenomenal. He had great concern for the employees and their families. He was instrumental in the formation of Pond's Welfare Trust. He was a Trustee till his demise and the Trust continues to be functional even now.

 PKV

I

moved closely with VN, though I was quite junior to him. When his daughter Ashwini was studying in the US, he showed me a letter written by her professor that appreciated

VN for bring up his daughter so nicely.

One day, only VN and I were in the office when news came that MGR had died and there was violence in the city. I suggested that we should pack up immediately and offered to drive him home in a Maruti 800, instead of his Benz, as the damage would be less with Maruti 800 in case someone pelted stones. He agreed to leave in the Maruti but asked his driver to drive 10

JUN 2021

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

both of us home. Even in that tense situation, he was more worried about my safety than his own. That was the kind of person VN was.

 V Balaraman

N

arayanan remembered the tiniest of helps. Several years ago, I helped his daughter to get admission in Stella Marris College by giving an introduction letter to one of the

professors. Even after 20 or 30 years later, VN would talk about that gesture. On the other hand, he provided huge help to people but hardly ever remembered them.

 Shankar

I

joined Pond's quite later but had the opportunity of looking at the reflections VN had created. When I started my company CAMS, at some point, we wanted to add management

to our bench strength. There were concerns about the external reputation of people running the company. I asked Mr Balaraman and he kindly agreed to be our Chairman. Through him, I spoke to VN and he agreed to be a part of the advisory board of eminent personalities that Balaraman had created.

In that capacity, I could interact with him much longer than when I was in Pond's. Many people who later joined CAMS in the Management level are all products of Pond's. The commonality of the Pond's culture set us all working without any complications of getting lateral hires or such other issues. It was like a continuum from Pond's. The entire credit for that goes to VN and the company that he built.

 S.L.Rao

I

was in Hindustan Lever from 1957 to 1968. In 1963, when I returned from the UK where I spent two years with Unilever, Narayanan was a management trainee. I got to know him

and a few others of a similar age because we were Tamils; he had no airs in spite of his high family background.

He was what is called a soaps division trainee. He got his first regular managerial assignment in marketing toilet preparations (talcum powders, shaving creams, etc). He later joined Pond’s, which was then a tiny company in Madras, and built it into one of the most successful toilet preparations companies in India. He became the Chairman and recruited some brilliant people to work with him. By 1968, I had left and moved on to Delhi and elsewhere, but we were closely in touch. From the many invitations he received, he accepted one to become a Director of Hindustan Unilever.

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence

11 JUN 2021

This is a very brief history of a man who had achieved so much. However, the important thing is that Nari was a man with no visible ego, tremendous respect and attention for others, and ability to get to the core of any problem. He worked with me in organizing management conventions in Madras, Mumbai and Delhi. He was a man for whom I still retain enormous respect and affection, and I am sorry that he had to leave at an age less than me.

Madras Management Association is doing absolutely the right thing in associating with Pond’s Veterans in remembering him and honouring his memory.

 Arti (Daughter of VN)

D

ad was very supportive of us personally and professionally—in my medical career as well as my sister Ashwini's. He talked a lot about you all. Though we have never met

personally, I have heard all his stories and your names. We always knew that he had so many dimensions—intellectually and ethically. He has passed on that to us. It is great to hear the stories and they are truly heart­warming. It gives us a lot of new perspectives about dad. It is wonderful on your part. My mother also thanks you all for sharing so much of nice words about dad.



12

JUN 2021

BUSINESS MANDATE

fountainhead of excellence