Driving the Show

The brand 'Marico India' and its 12 products (Parachute, Saffola, Sweekar, Revive, the newly established Kaya Skin Clinic across cities, to name a few) are probably more renowned than the man behind its success, but he is not complaining. In fact Harsh Mariwala, chairman and managing director, Marico Industries Limited, is proud of it. Says Mariwala, rather emphatically, "It's great to know that today my products have a position and place. We at Marico have worked hard towards building up our brand, despite the ups and downs that go with the word business. We have a strong organisational culture which is open and informal, based on meritocracy and is highly decentralised. Even if I am not around for a month, the operations function smoothly. My investment has been in the people and processes.”

Enter the Marico office and the words of the chairman seem to translate into action. It is an open office truly, without any walls and obstructions. No closed door cabins, no wood walls or partitions. The chamber of the boss is also separated only by a glass wall. His secretary Lalita, who began her career with Marico, calls Mariwala “focused, compassionate and clear in thoughts”. She adds, “He is a disciplinarian who comes in on time at 9 am and rarely sits back late. His work is structured.”

With regional offices and factories in India and well established set ups in Bangladesh, Middle East, Dubai and the United States, one would expect Mariwala to be a jet lagged hop-in hop-off kind of a business traveller in line with many of his counterparts. Surprisingly, his business trips are minimal and even if he has to travel, it is rarely unplanned or abrupt. “I have a structured travel programme and well, I will not call myself an hectic business traveller. I visit my regional offices once in a while and most of my trips within India could be day trips, which may happen twice in a month. On an average I may travel 30 days a year on business, both in India and abroad,” says Mariwala.

Ask him about his airline preference, and he replies that he is not hung up on any specific airline brand. “What matters is convenience. I prefer day travel, hence the schedules of Air-India suit me fine. On long distance journeys I do travel first class,” he says. Does he mix business with pleasure during trips and the answer is a no. He says, “I would normally not like to combine business with pleasure. Instead I make time for my holidays. I like to take at least two holidays in a year and they are not more than 15 days long. I prefer shorter holidays than going in for one long break.”

And on such breaks it is the call of the mountainous terrains that he hears. A physically active holiday, backed with ingredients such as trekking, hiking, and walking, sums up as the prefect vacation.

The other aspect that keeps him recharged is his love for the game of golf. Without fail he plays the game on weekend afternoons in Mumbai. Why afternoons? He explains, “Throughout the week, I make it a point to reach work by 9 am and leave by 7 pm to catch up on my exercise regime (walks twice in a week, visits the gym thrice in a week). Weekends are also parceled with visiting family and friends, hence I indulge in waking up later than usual in the morning. Hence, an afternoon of golf suits me fine. It could be anywhere in South Mumbai or Central Mumbai. I love to keep myself active. Even I carry work home, I can only get to it after my workout session.

Any memorable adventure trips? Mariwala obliges us with two, personally organised with a group of friends and their wives. He says, “The first trek which I had organised was to Pindari Glacier. This happened around eight years ago for eight days. A 100 km walk, living in a guesthouse that was unkempt, the entire trip had its own charm. The second memorable trip followed the next year and it was to Haridwar, from where we went to Dev Prayag, where we trekked and stayed in tents. And then rafted back to Haridwar. I personally did a lot of research and planning for these trips. Apart from these two, I have had different kinds of holidays to various destinations. A holiday that I would like to share is the one that happened 15 years ago to Australia. I had to go there just for a three-hour meeting but I took my 12-year-old son Rishabh and it ended up being a great 10-day holiday.”

He also recounted his family holiday to Kashmir, just a year before it shut down for tourism in the late 80's. “On the international circuit, I have travelled across continents. I like visiting different places, rather than going to the tried and tested destinations. I make it a point to savour local cuisine and I don't mind roughing it out a little on the food aspect, as long as it's vegetarian cuisine. Though it might be surprising to many, Japan is a place where I have experienced outstanding vegetarian food. All you need to do is a bit of inquiry,” he says.

Though he does not like to repeat destinations, there is one place - Coonoor - that stands out as his hot favourite, which he visits regularly for four to five days. “It is one of my favourites. An easy drive from Coimbatore airport, Coonoor houses a golf course and the entire place is a scenic treat,” he says.

He sums up his holiday experiences by sharing his most recent holiday experience. He said, “Recently in June 2004, my wife, my daughter and myself, visited Leh-Ladakh on a 10 day trip. We had to spent the first one-and-a-half day acclimatising to the region and just resting. It turned out to be fun-filled treat. My next journey could be probably to Beirut.”