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Chairman
Godrej Group
Mumbai, India
When Adi Godrej left India at age 17 to enroll at MIT, he planned to study mechanical engineering. But after taking a few courses in economics and business, he switched to the combined SB/SM then offered in management.
The consequences for his family's business were far reaching. More than a century ago, Godrej's great–uncle developed locks and vegetable–based soaps that were the first indigenously manufactured products to displace entrenched foreign brands, and consequently the Godrej Group has long symbolized Indian independence and initiative to the people of its country.
Today the Group is a diversified consumer and industrial products company whose origins are represented in its major security and personal products businesses.
“I am thankful that I decided to study management early and at MIT because it has added great value to my family's business,” Godrej says. “It was a superb education that opened my eyes to new opportunities.”
Returning to India, Adi Godrej was the first business graduate in the company. As a young family member, he faced the management challenge of bringing about change. Much of his work was devoted to modernizing and systematizing management structures and implementing process improvements.
Another great challenge until the 1990s was running a private–sector business in a government–controlled economy. Godrej has also been involved in the company's philanthropic efforts, which center on the environment, family planning, and education.
Not only is the Group a major supporter of the World Wildlife Fund in India, it has developed a green business campus in the Vikhroli township of Mumbai, which includes a 150-acre mangrove forest and a school for the children of company employees. The Group has also helped set up the Confederation of Indian Industry Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Center and the Indian School of Business, both in Hyderabad.
Godrej notes with satisfaction that the Godrej Group has continued to stay in the forefront of Indian business and has begun to globalize its operations. In the early 2000s, the Group completed a 10–year restructuring process through which each business became a stand–alone company with a CEO/COO from outside the Godrej family.
The family itself now acts in a supervisory capacity, setting overall strategy, policies, and human resource development programs. As a result, the more focused individual companies have become some of the best performing in India.
By partnering with world–class corporations — including Sara Lee, Procter & Gamble, and General Electric — the Godrej businesses have remained in the vanguard of management practices. Additionally, the Godrej companies have emphasized brand building to an extent uncommon in India, where intangible assets have historically been undervalued.
Adi Godrej is devoting much of his attention to the future. India is now the fourth largest economy in the world, he observes, and will become the third or perhaps the second largest.
The Group has set aggressive growth targets, and management's challenge now is leveraging its assets for faster growth both inside and beyond India. With 85 percent of its business still within India, the Group is emphasizing both organic growth and acquisitions outside of India, says Godrej.
He also makes time to stay involved with MIT Sloan, hosting student trips to India and helping recruit Indian students for the MBA Program.
