‘I like to be continually challenged’

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: I was very lucky to have become managing director at Bausch and Laumb at 33. At 36, I was running a public company like Timex. I got those milestones early. Some people think that I had smooth ride because I was from IIM. But it’s not true. My stint at Nestle as a sales representative and then as a sales director have been great teachers.”

But he is frank enough to admit that he appreciated the tough Patna experience only after he was out of it. “It made for lovely stories. It was not like war wounds but like war medals of sorts that none of my friends had. It’s like a diver wanting to show off his shark bite,” he chuckles.

In 1991, Kapoor thought it was time to take up another challenge and this time around it was launching a brand that didn’t exist in India. Kapoor joined Bausch and Laumb. In fact one of the reasons he left Nestle was that it had become a cushy job after the initial harsh training, something that the young Kapoor didn’t enjoy after a while. In fact, it was a six-week leave from Nestle that made him decide to put in his papers. “I came back and nothing had changed. And that’s when I wondered if my being around was really making a difference. Nestle was too big, too process driven and my ability to make a difference at the level I was at was very limited.”

Also in 1991, things were changing rapidly. Companies were coming in, job opportunities were opening up and Kapoor had a chance to bring a brand into the country that didn’t really exist. It was just the kind of challenge that the daredevil in him needed. “ If I look back at my early days in Bausch and Laumb, it was an exciting, passionate, kind of a place. It was a great feeling to launch a business. And the sense of being able to contribute was a great feeling.”