‘Boss asked me to check horoscope', says Nestle India ‘crisis man' Suresh Narayanan, who dealt with 2015 Maggi fiasco
Speaking to news agency PTI on his legacy, Narayanan noted that he had faced so many crisis at different stages with the company, that his 'boss' once asked him to consult his astrologer and check his horoscope.
The report noted that Narayanan was an aspiring civil servant, who became an accidental corporate executive and eventually Nestle's 'crisis man'.
Credited with steering Nestle India from the 2015 Maggi fiasco that led to an 'existential crisis' for the company, Narayanan's advice to successor Manish Tiwary is to remain vigilant as 'crisis does not come with a calling card'.
'There is opportunity even in crisis, and engaging with community, people and focusing on the goal of satisfying the consumer is a leadership I learnt from my experiences, including in Egypt,' he told the agency.
Notably, Narayanan who also helmed Nestle Singapore during the Lehman Brothers collapse, and Nestle Egypt during the Arab Spring, shared that once his 'boss' asked him to consult his astrologer and check his horoscope.
'We don't like to invite a crisis. But when they happen, they become times when you can do a lot of revolution and a lot of reforms in the organisation. I think that has been the satisfaction,' he added on a serious note.
Recollecting his 26 years in Nestle in various roles globally, Narayanan said, 'I have had a whole series of different crises.'
He has built a reputation for managing the tough times, and called his stints as MD of Nestle Singapore, Chairman and CEO of Nestle Egypt Chairman and then CEO Head of NEAR along with Nestle India CMD as 'the defining movements' in his journey with the company.
Narayanan termed the 2015 Maggi disaster in India a 'difficult time', but credited 'help and support of numerous colleagues, partners, and well-wishers, and the consumers' for helping the company stage a comeback.
'The only example of a brand that went from market leadership to death and back to leadership in three months' time and from then on, it has been a journey that has been upwards despite the crisis that we have faced,' he said.
'When I was posted as the Managing Director of Nestle Singapore, it coincided with the Lehman Brothers collapse. Singapore was the first country to go through a recession. I had a difficult and challenging task. They were holding the water for the company, in terms of the growth and profitability. That was a big challenge. We did well, but it was a challenge,' he recollected.
Then he went to North Africa, Egypt, and everything was peaceful. But not for long. 'Within a few months, the Arab Spring struck. So the whole region, which I was responsible for — Egypt, Libya, and Sudan, went into turmoil. But again, I think one of the lessons I learned in leadership was that you really engage the community, engage with the people and you focus on the goal of satisfying the consumer, there is opportunity even in a crisis,' Narayanan said.
He further said, 'We grew double-digit for five years in a row and we invested more in those five years than we invested in the previous 15. We were a company of choice for Egyptians. I think I had one of the best years of my career during that period.'
After four months of leading Nestle in the Philippines, which was 'a peaceful and calm posting', Narayanan was called to India to bail out Nestle India from the Maggi crisis.
When asked what advice he had for Tiwary, Narayanan was emphatic: 'The next crisis is always round the corner. So you cannot rest on your laurels and wish that nothing is going to happen. Something will happen — it doesn't come with a calling card. The next crisis is always around the corner and (it is important) to keep the organisation vigilant for such moments.'
Manish Tiwary will take over as Nestle India CMD from August 1.
An economics student at Delhi University, Naryanan said he had 'every intention of being a bureaucrat', but things changed when FMCG major Hindustan Lever (now HUL) came for campus placements.
He added that the head of the placement committee convinced him to apply, 'and lo and behold, as fate was to beckon me, I got selected as a management trainee in the company'.
He was 24 years old when he decided to go for the corporate world, Narayanan said, adding 'I have no regrets'.
'I tell young people that sometimes accidents happen in life and you have to learn to live with the circumstances and live with what fate holds for you rather than always trying to mould it,' said Narayanan.
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