?Relationships are important for me?

Amir Kuckreja is a relationships man. Though the managing director and CEO of Nirula?s Corner House has a packed schedule with a series of business meetings, client calls and outstation tours all the time, he makes it a point to spend time with his family and friends.

Says Samir, 42, ?Weekends are for the family. I spend time with my wife and twin daughters Kimaya and Nanki, aged 10, helping them in their home work and projects, indulging in shopping and going out for meals. I also meet up with a large number of friends.?

He has a big friend circle. He is still in touch with friends from his primary school days. ?I always had a lot of friends from different walks of life. For example, I grew up in Kolkata. I am still in touch with those friends who were in our neighbourhood. Then there are friends with whom I went to school before going to Doon. I am a people?s person. Friendships and relationships are very important for me.??

Schooling in Doon, Dehra Dun, was followed by St Stephens in Delhi. Subsequently, he went for a hotel and restaurant management course at Cornell. Today, he has over 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He started his career with the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia, USA. He worked at Nirula?s in Delhi for nine years and looked after its operations, business development and marketing. Then he moved on to Yum Restaurants in New Delhi as its business development manager for the Indian subcontinent. During his three-year-stint, he was responsible for setting up over 70 Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in four countries. His next stop was as the joint managing director of Mars Hotels and Restaurants for close to two years. He was responsible for their hotels, restaurants and cake shops.

He says, ?So, there is no job in the hotel restaurant business that I haven?t done. I worked in different departments through my career. I believe that one has to be really hands on and practical in the hotel and restaurant business to succeed. Success in our business is also very much dependent on standardisation. It is process- and detail-oriented.??

Samir adds, ?In fact, I started working at the age of 14 when I did a summer job at Nirula?s in Vasant Vihar, Delhi, for just Rs 200 per month. I used to wash dishes and clean tables. It teaches you the dignity of labour. No job is mean. Anyone who does any kind of work must get respect. All jobs in our business right from dish washing, cleaning, cooking and serving to managing are important.?

The turning point in Samir?s life came two years back when he along with Malaysia-based private equity fund Navis Capital Partners acquired the Nirula?s Group of companies. Navis has a majority share in Nirula?s and Samir was appointed as managing director. ??That?s how it happened and I took over the company in June 2006.?? He couldn?t have asked for anything better.

Nirula?s was established by Samir?s maternal grandfather in 1934. Later on it was run by two of his uncles. Nirula’s is a pioneer in the family style restaurant business in India. The group has a presence acrossvaroius places like Delhi and NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

Today the happy-go-lucky managing director has a grin on his face when he admits that his childhood dream to run the company one day has come true. ?It was a family business and we had too many people around to manage it. But, in fact, I did dream of running it on my own some day. It has come true.??

Though he heads the family restaurant chain today, he is still firmly rooted. ?I am a very down to earth person and hands-on person in my approach. I truly believe in walking the talk.?

Soon after taking over, Samir gave a face-lift to the restaurant chain by revamping the menu and opened other outlets, growing the business. He diversified into casual dining with outlets like Pot Pourri. A new retail format was created in the form of Express outlets. Food courts were set up. Under him, Nirula?s has held its own even as several international players have entered the market.

After the acquisition, a new senior management team was created by hiring the best talent in the industry. Samir prefers a participatory approach in his working style. He loves to delegate. He says, ??I have a great team that works for me. I have delegated a lot of work over the last couple of years. I like to give authority to the people who work with me so that they independence and can take decisions.?

The new team at Nirula?s undertook a massive brand revamp exercise. While retaining the brand name and logo of Nirula?s, new sub-brand logos were created for Nirula?s ice-creams, pastry shops, delivery business and others.

New graphics, logos, menu panels and packaging were designed. Changes were also made to the servicing section by placing female guest response executives in outlets. The Nirula?s retained the USP of the brand in terms of wide menu and affordable prices, though.

?In the last two-and-a-half years we have done a lot in terms of revitalising the brand, creating new formats very successfully and giving Nirula?s a new look and feel.?

Moving forward, the managing director plans to take the company across the country and overseas. ?I want to launch it in other parts of India where the brand has salience and recognition. I wish to make it a truly national brand, which has a got a better penetration. We intend to take the brand abroad in the next three to five years.?

Though Samir has spent a major part of his life away from his home and family, he still enjoys travelling around the world. ?I simply love travelling with my family. We went to Bali during the last summer. We often take short breaks and go out.??

He gives credit for his success neither to his hard work nor luck. He attributes it to his wife Tandip, who he fell in love with at college. ?My success is also my wife?s success. She has been a big support.?