The Hindu Business Line : Going up the ladder after `hard' Indian stint

The recent months have seen a number of top moves by heads of MNCs operating in India across sectors as varied as automobiles, FMCG, consumer durables and even media and advertising, moving on to high-profile assignments with their respective parent companies.

Agreeing that a stint in India provides a "fillip" to an executive's career, Mr Ravi Bhatia, Managing Director, Gilbert Tweed Associates, says that, "local challenges are immense and require a different kind of strategy. Further, India is an important and growing market for companies across sectors, be it manufacturing or IT."

HR experts point out the promotions are in recognition of the manager's ability to spearhead the company in India, which is largely seen as a "hardship posting" by many multinational firms.

Recent high-profile movements in MNCs include Hyundai Motor India's Managing Director, Mr Byung Ho Sung, who has been promoted as President of South Korea's second largest steel manufacturer, the INI Steel Company (Hyundai-Kia Motor Group company), which clocked profits of about $477 million last year.

Nestle India CMD Mr Carlo Donati's move to Switzerland to head Nestle's global water business was another high-profile move.

Mr K.R. Kim of LG Electronics India was promoted as President of LG in South West Asia, and in the process he joined the league of top five people running LG Electronics' operations globally. Mr Kim is largely credited with turning LG Electronics India into a Rs 6,500-crore company within a short span of seven years.

"The trend is more so in the case of European and American companies. India is looked on as a hardship posting due to bottlenecks related to bureaucracy and infrastructure faced by companies operating here," says Dr Y.V. Verma, Director (HR), LG Electronics India.

This phenomenon is not limited to the top slots alone. Ms Punita Lal has moved from Pepsi India to head the marketing operations of the company's South Asia Beverage Business Unit, while Mr Rohit Bhandari has moved as AXN's Director-South Asia last month, from his previous assignment as Assistant Vice-President in AXN (India).

The advertising world too has had its share of upward movements. Grey India's erstwhile Chairman, Mr Nirvik Singh, got a promotion as the President of Grey's South Asia operations in January, while McCann-Erickson India's National Creative Director and Executive Vice-President, Mr Prasoon Joshi, recently moved as the Regional Creative Director of South Asia and South East Asia.

Kodak India's Mr Shankar Subramanian has moved into a more senior role in the company's South Asia operations as the Senior Vice-President and Outpost Business Manager - South Asia Cluster.

Says Mr Abhijeet Virmani, Director, Positron Advisory Services, "Senior managers coming to head Indian operations generally have to attune the company's business processes to the distinct and difficult market condition here. Those successful in adapting to the challenging conditions here are generally sought after for leveraging their expertise on a bigger platform."

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