FAMILY BUSINESS SPECIAL ....Business Family Scions Innovate to Lead

Business Family Scions Innovate to Lead





They are young, but have come of age quickly. They are hungry for growth and not afraid of taking business risks. They have an entrepreneurial zeal and are reinventing ageold practices and promoting technology to meet challenges and take their companies to the top. They are the younger generation in family businesses, who mostly have a foreign degree and global exposure.

The way in which the younger generation in family businesses are functioning today are different from the older generation as the steady expansion and maintenanceoriented approach of the past gives way to younger professional teams, speed of doing things, heavy dependence on technology and huge onus on performance.

Take the case of Namita Thapar, CFO, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, who feels that with the younger generation taking over the mantle of leadership, there is a shift towards a younger team.

“My father (Satish Mehta, promoter and CEO of Emcure Pharmaceuticals) who founded the company had a strong and loyal team to support him. As the younger generation takes over and we look at scaling the business, the focus is gradually shifting to a younger team and more system-driven culture,“ says Thapar, a CA by qualification and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. As executive director, her key responsibilities are finan ce, HR and domestic marketing, and Thapar has focused on building strong teams and processes in these areas.

K Ramachandran, executive director, Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise at ISB, says that with the coming of the younger generation, there's a shift beyond loyalty to looking at the numbers -the topline and bottom line -and there is more of the performance-focused culture.

The next generation promotors bring in a fresh perspective of running the business by making effective use of global best practices. “They primarily bring in focus on innovation and integrating technology in “whatever they do“. In terms of talent management, efforts are being made to induct `young blood' with global outlook and transforming them into tomorrow's leaders,“ says Rohin Kapoor, director at Deloitte in India.

As we move on from an era where scarcity was the norm to an age where everything is in abundance, the younger generation displays a greater appetite for risk taking. Amit Rathi, managing director, Anand Rathi Financial Services, says, “My father was a fantastic execution guy and in that generation they would think from a oneto two-year perspective. My strength has been the ability to build a big picture and a long-term strategy and taking risk. Today , people are far more confident about themselves and the future.“

Anant Goenka, 35, son of RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka, and managing director of Ceat, has drawn heavily v from his global exposure. One of the key initiatives that he has undertaken after becoming MD about five years ago was the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in Ceat.

“In 2007-08, I was inspired by the business models adopted by Japanese companies, especially Toyota. Today , we have reached a very high level of implementation in TQM which broadly follows three metrics --taking challenging customer-centric goals, having the right systems and processes, and to implement all this with 100% employee involvement,“ says Goenka, an MBA from America's Kellogg School of Management and a BSc in economics from The Wharton School.

Nandini Piramal , executive director, Piramal Enterprises and daughter of Ajay Piramal, looks at old problems in new ways, and believes in identifying and tapping opportunities. In her role overseeing the HR function, she initiated a five-year HR transformation strategy that includes building a group talent architecture, setting up processes and systems to identify and develop high potentials.

Many of these family scions have also forayed into new projects. Tara Singh Vachani, daughter of Max India group promoter Analjit Singh, says Antara Senior Living, which she founded, was her first step towards carving her own niche in the business to continue the group's legacy . “There was a substantial need to create a new vertical and a whole new strategy around senior living in Max Group, which is what I took a lead on,“ she says.

Given that the concept of organised senior living isn't a proven concept in India, starting this entrepreneurial journey was a bold step for Vachani. When she tabled the idea of Antara Senior Living, the board had divided views on the idea. Convincing the board required a strategic intent and progress plan on the business which Vachani managed to deliver.

Rica Bhattacharyya & Prachi Verma Dadhwal

Mumbai | New Delhi: ET26MAY17