Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

A
science graduate from The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania and a postgraduate
in management from Harvard Business School,
Nisaba was instrumental in accelerating GCPL’s domestic
organic growth through Project Leapfrog in 2007. She
emphasised on innovation and consolidation, and paved
the way for GCPL to extend its footprints globally by
investing in emerging markets outside India. With her
design-driven thinking and strong business acumen, she
brought a 20-fold increase in GCPL’s market capitalisation
in the last decade. In 2008, she was appointed as the
board member of Godrej Agrovet. She has a keen sense
of developing a strong, dedicated and ambitious team
and has led the evolution of the organisation in not only in
terms of products, but human resources too. Well known
as a foresighted businesswoman, she was instrumental in
GCPL’s merger with Sara Lee with a focus on upgrading
the brands in the eyes of her customers by providing
them exceptional products which offer value for money.
She refreshed the brand portfolio, and hired a lot of young
employees to bring a fresh perspective towards work
and consumers. She encouraged her employees to think
innovatively and create advanced products at reasonable
prices. GoodKnight Fast Card, a mosquito repellent costing
at Rs 1 and Godrej Expert Creme Hair Colour packaged in
sachets priced at Rs. 30 are two cases in point.
“She has played a key
role in the expansion
of GCPL to the United
Kingdom, Indonesia,
Latin America
and Africa and
registering almost
half of its total
2017-revenue”
leadership and supervision, the GCPL group has extended
its client base to 1.15 billion consumers worldwide in
various business segments. Following a 3 by 3 approach to
international expansion, she has enabled the company to
gain significant foothold in across 3 segments (home care,
personal care and hair care)in 3 emerging markets in the
Asia, Africa and Latin America. She has led the company
to attain top position in household insecticides and hair
care products and is currently leading the Indian and the
Indonesian market. These ground-breaking and ambitious
steps taken by her have established GCPL as a pioneer in
serving the hair care needs of women of African origin. A
strategic visionary, Nisaba has been a driving force behind
the launch of products in premium segments, including
a range of hand wash and sanitisers products under the
Protekt brand.
Contribution to Social Responsibility
Nisaba is also leading the Godrej Group’s ‘Good & Green’
initiative of creating a more employable workforce,
innovation for making more sustainable manufacturing
processes, and making their products eco-friendlier.. She
made these goals achievable by devising the processes that
help the company to reduce carbon footprint, eliminate
waste to landfills, promote renewable energy sources and
minimise water wastage and energy consumption.
Extending Global Footprints through
Merger and Acquisition
Having acquired significant experience in managing
different projects for Godrej Industries and its associate
companies, Nisaba was appointed as the executive
chairperson of GCPL in 2017. Carrying out mergers and
acquisitions, she has played a key role in the expansion of
GCPL to the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Latin America and
Africa and registering almost half of its total 2017-revenue
of Rs. 9,584 crores through these international business
arms. In her new role, she devises the corporate strategy
and oversees the human capital functions for Godrej
Industries and its associate companies. Under her able
Nisaba Godrej
Reviving a Legendary Business House with Innovative Strategies
A key strategist behind the transformation and growth of Godrej Consumer Products
Limited (GCPL) in the last decade, Ms. Nisaba Godrej has been leading from the front
to turn the group into a more meritocratic, innovative and highly performance-driven
organisation expanding globally, while keeping the group’s values and ethics at the core
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