Saroj Kumar Poddar Continues to Rise. From Bringing Gillette to India to Now Serving as Chairman of Major Indian Conglomerate, Adventz Group.
Indin conglomerate Adventz Group is highly diversified, with 26 businesses across the agriculture, engineering, real estate and services industries. At the helm is Chairman Saroj Kumar Poddar, who highlights that the major factor differentiating the group from others is how it operates. “All my businesses are completely professionally run,” Saroj tells The CEO Magazine. “I believe my job is to make sure we have good people running them.”
A LIFETIME OF BUSINESS
Saroj has been involved in the world of business since he was a child. His father, Badri Prasad Poddar, owned a large coalmine before the mining industry was nationalised in 1971. Further, the Poddar family-owned businesses in a broad range of industries, including textile mills, tea plantations and small steel plants. While at university, Saroj also worked in the family’s textile business.
As Saroj grew older, he made a name for himself in business. During the 1960s, he saw a gap in the Indian market for high-quality shaving razors. At the time, there were no triple blades or shaving gels in India and the brands that were available were made by Harbans Lal Malhotra & Sons.
In 1970, Saroj reached out to US-based shaving giant Gillette, in search of a joint venture deal. However, the company was reluctant because it believed India was too difficult to enter. Gillette’s hesitance was further bolstered by Indian laws that placed several restrictions on foreign businesses wanting to operate in the country. Nonetheless, Saroj was relentless in his pursuit and, after being invited to initial meetings with Gillette in London, he finally secured a meeting with the Gillette CEO in Boston in 1973.
This story is from the October/November 2018 edition of The CEO Magazine India.
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This story is from the October/November 2018 edition of The CEO Magazine India.
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