Vinita Bali, managing director of the Rs 3,500-cr Britannia Industries, is not one to believe in empty slogans. In the past six years, Bali has consciously focused on activating the company?s credo of ?eat healthy, think better? through a thorough focus on nutrition. Bali tells Shreya Roy and Darlington Hector about how a realignment in marketing strategies, streamlining and product innovations have given the once ailing company a healthier life.
Having led large teams in a blue chip corporation over a period of time, Britannia MD Vinita Bali is among the bunch of people who are always chasing the rainbow of excellence, pushing the envelope rigorously. The industry regards her as a demanding soul, who pushes herself as much as she pushes her various teams. She does not look imposing at the outset, but her control over proceedings will not go unnoticed.
Her deftness at steering conversations would have you believe that she is one to plot her moves and strategise her every course of action. But Bali, whose career has taken her to corners as unexpected as Africa and Latin America at a time when these were not the markets that they are today, says her modus operandi is quite contrary to that belief.
?I have always gone with the flow,? she asserts, explaining why she made the choices that she did, be it her decision to move to Mumbai for her Masters, or her choice to take off to the UK to work for Cadbury’s, or her casual shot at being awarded a Rotary international scholarship upon a friend’s suggestion.
Bali’s image, her educational background, which includes a Bachelors in economics from Delhi University, a Masters from Mumbai University, her aptitude for languages (she speaks multiple foreign languages), her knowledge of the performing arts?all of this leads one to believe that she would have been the bookworm sort. On the contrary, she was, and continues to be an adventurer. Curiosity and a need to be in the thick of things have driven her more than anything.
?I was always very curious. That was innate. I am not one of those people who like status quo. I like to take things apart and put them together. A transformation is what I like,? she says. ?To that extent, I think I have a sense of adventure, which has taken me to places,? Bali adds.
?I like being thrown into the deep end, and I like being asked to figure out how we fix it,? Bali says, explaining her thirst for challenging assignments.
As director (sales & marketing) for Cadbury’s in Nigeria in 1992, Bali battled with the devaluation of the country’s currency by 150% three months after getting there. In South Africa, with Cadbury’s, where she landed as the country was beginning to rebuild itself after years of political mayhem, she was sent to figure out what the brand could mean to consumers in the context of their new-found optimism. In Chile, again with Coke, her job was to figure out how to grow in a market where Coke’s presence was close to saturation. As a worldwide director for marketing with Coke, Bali was asked to figure out how to align strategies of 200 countries where Coke operated and also define Coke’s strategy of sponsoring large sporting extravaganzas such as the Olympics.
One of India’s largest FMCG companies, Britannia, got her on board after she had returned to India due to personal circumstances. At that time, the company was losing its way and struggling to keep afloat. In the past five years, Britannia, under Bali’s leadership, has more than doubled its business, entered new market categories and brought about market innovations.
So why did these companies, multinationals with the magnitude like that of Coca-Cola, pick Bali? This was, after all, not a time when very many were picked to work abroad in such highly regarded leadership roles. Why did they choose to entrust, in some cases, the well-being of their global sales and marketing, into the hands of this Delhi girl.
In all modesty, Bali says with a smile, ?You will have to ask them why they did that.? But if she were to take a wild guess, she would say it is her attitude, her innate ability to not be rattled by the downs or get carried away by the highs, and her knack of getting the best out of people.
?If you ask me what do I do, I don’t do anything directly. But I ensure we’ve got the right strategy, the right people, and the right environment to make the most and excel, no matter what happens outside,? says Bali, stressing on her intrinsic need for excellence in what she does.
The personal quality of striving for excellence has, to a large extent, shaped her corporate leadership style as well. While it drives a spirit of competitiveness in her, it also makes her a demanding and a tough leader as well.
?In general, I work with the assumption that wherever you are working, you have got to take ownership for a problem, for results and for the action. You have to be held accountable for all of that. To that end, I am demanding, I am tough?on my team, and on myself,? she adds.
But does she find that excellence in every team she works with? As a manager, how does she ensure that she gets the best out of everyone?
?It’s tough. There are some who naturally strive for excellence, there are others who need to see it. You need to create an environment where people feel excellence is not just something that is recognised, but also rewarded. In the corporate world, it’s a complex web of factors that have to work together to motivate people,? she feels.
When not saving companies and brainstorming on the next market innovation, Bali lives a life that reflects both her sense of adventure and her intellectual cravings. Walking through the mountains, travelling, sports, immersing herself in nature and wildlife occupy much of her free time, as do dance and theatre.
A trained Kathak dancer, she is now a patron of the arts.
?Even as a child, while studies were important, life outside my books was equally important to me. I was always curious to learn things, be it history or tennis or horse riding. I have always loved to travel, to immerse myself in different cultures, to learn from them.
And I still do all of it as much as I can,? Bali says.
Perhaps she will one day pick from her life less ordinary and put her thoughts down in a book? ?I used to write and I enjoy it a lot. But before I can think of writing a book, I will have to get back to the practice far more seriously. So, I don’t know,? Bali says with a smile.