Next Gen Business Leaders: Nandini Piramal and Anand Piramal

Inheriting the reigns of a family business is one thing, but to secure its future is another. This was exactly the challenge that the siblings, Nandini Piramal and Anand Piramal faced. At a time when Indian businesses were impacted by a stagnant economy, Nandini and Anand, heir to Ajay and Swati Piramal, joined the US$ 10 Billion Piramal Group, a global business conglomerate.

Under Nandini’s astute leadership, Piramal Healthcare’s OTC products are now ranked first or second in their respective product categories. She has also played a pivotal role in the record sale of Piramal Healthcare’s branded generic-medicine business to Abbott Laboratories at 30 times EBITDA. Global drug regulators are extremely strict about compliance in the pharmaceutical sector. While leading Indian pharmaceutical companies such as Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s and Ipca Laboratories have been scrutinized, Piramal Pharma consistently remains unaffected. Nandini plays a significant role in the success of these regulatory audits due to her involvement in laying out stringent risk and compliance policies within the company.

Inspired by his philanthropist father, Anand Piramal, Nandini’s younger sibling, initiated a rural health care and tele-medicine startup in 2011. Post establishing a strong foundation for the start-up, Anand decided to pursue his own passion by founding Piramal Realty, the real estate business of the Piramal Group.

He launched world-class commercial and residential projects across Mumbai for which he collaborated with the world’s bestcompanies in design, development and construction. One thing that the siblings share in common is their belief in the tenets of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’. Several quotations from the Gita are engraved on the walls of their multi storied corporate office located in the heart of Mumbai’s commercial hub, Lower Parel. “One has to do their best, give their best shot and leave the rest. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Hence, one may not be rewarded in the short term, but success is a result of our struggle and perseverance in the long run”.

Young leaders at the helm of businesses

India has several examples of conglomerates run by young leaders. According to a survey by TimesJobs. com, around 65 percent of India Inc. employees prefer younger leaders aged between 25 to 40 years. Contrary to the popular belief that a significant tenure and experience make for a good leader, today’s young leaders are gaining popularity as they are deemed to be more practical and approachable. Similarly, the young Piramals have their own business philosophy, that is, the purpose of business is not only to make profits but to also make a difference to society and leave a mark. This is the mantra that they follow within their respective roles

Infusing contemporary in tandem with the old: Nandini Piramal

Owing to her strong understanding of the human psyche, Nandini Piramal has always been interested in people management. She firmly believes that improving the quality of work and introducing mentoring programs can contribute to a larger success rate in productivity and business efficiency. With this in mind, she set out to transform the Human Resources function in 2010 and increase the focus on talent development and management. She hired global consultancies - McKinsey and Aon Hewitt, to help create new leadership programs. Being a young leader, managing millennials at the workplace comes naturally to her. Over 400 million millennials—those born after 1982— account for 46 percent of India’s workforce. According to a new report by Morgan Stanley, in spite of their young age, income from millennials contributes to 70 percent of the total household income, making them the primary wage earners. However, with millennials gravitating towards the startup culture and an urban working style, larger corporates have to constantly adapt their people processes and work environments in order to attract young talent. Most organizations claim that millennials comprise more than 60 percent of their workforce. In comparison, 70 percent of Piramal Group’s workforce consists of millennials. This proportion is likely to further increase by 2020. As a result, Nandini has introduced several millennial-friendly policies and practices within the organization. “We are beyond the phase of working till early evenings. Sometimes one may even need to work past midnight. Hence, we do not expect our employees to strictly report by 9:00 am every day. New age employers must understand that flexibility is now key to retaining employees,” said the Stanford graduate, Nandini, who has been recognized as a ‘Young Global Leader’ at the World Economic Forum.

Driven by passion and Bhagavad Gita: Anand Piramal

Anand acknowledges that he is blessed with great opportunities and keeps his calm in stressful situations. “I focus on giving my best and making the most of every situation.

While narrating his meeting with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former president of India, Anand recalled an interesting conversation about how a bumblebee flies despite having a disproportionately large body in comparison to its wings. The lesson to be derived from this was that people have phenomenal capacity and if you believe in yourself, you can aim for the stars. Destiny is not written in the lines of your palms but by the grasp of your hands.

With this belief, Anand Piramal set up Piramal Realty at a time when the real estate sector was facing a slump. A major reason for this was the trust deficit towards the sector. However, today, it is one of the most admired real-estate companies. Anand was instrumental in securing two international equity partners - Goldman Sachs and Warburg Pincus, to invest approx. US$434 million in the company at the entitylevel. This is one of the largest private equity investments in Indian real estate. These global investors have helped Piramal Realty accelerate its growth. With an aim to launch world-class commercial and residential projects across Mumbai, In May 2017, the Board of Piramal Enterprises, approved Anand’s appointment as non-Executive, non-Independent Director.