Addressing the company's annual general meeting, Dadiseth said ``Our quest for growth is underpinned by a strong belief that the next millennium will be the millennium of knowledge. This inevitably means that people, as carriers of knowledge, will be an organisation's most important asset.''

``The millennium of knowledge calls for a new paradigm - business growth through people growth. The better we harness the potential of our excellent people, the faster HLL will grow. Equally, the faster Hindustan Lever grows, the more opportunities we can create to excite and retain our talent.''

Speaking about three pillars which will support this model, Dadiseth said the key to sustaining business growth isto combine insight and foresight with creative application of technology to develop markets and meet evolving needs of consumers.

``Information must be converted into distinctive knowledge and capabilities for an unbeatable competitive edge. Most importantly, to win in the millennium of knowledge, the company must continue to attack, excite and retain the best talent in the country,'' he observed.

In the new business model, HLL will provide its management with unparalleled powers to imagine, innovate and implement new ideas, fully supported by investments in technology, research, marketing and people development, he said.

A day after announcing its decision to sell its dairy product business, Dadiseth justified HLL's decision to exit from the dairy and animal feeds businesses given the declining market in the former and need for increased technology in the latter.

Given Unilever's core businesses (which does not constitute animal feeds), HLL would be a stand-alone entity if it were to continue, hesaid, adding that globally the animal feed business was undergoing forward and backward integration.

``We will dispose of the business only if we receive commercially acceptable price for it,'' he added. Commenting on the FMCG major's export performance for the year, he said ``it was difficult on account of the East Asian and Russian crisis.''