The Hindu Business Line : Magic chemistry

Anu Aga handed over the reins of Thermax to daughter Meher last year, and looks upon her as a `role model' on aspects such as her diplomacy and ability to manage conflict.

The chemistry between the mother and daughter is mind-blowing; there is immense love, warmth, bubbly laughter, respect, and the freedom to differ on something as sensitive as the vitiated communal scene in Gujarat.

Meher Pudumjee, the Chairperson of Thermax, has stars in her eyes when she talks about her childhood, her holidays with her parents and how her father made time for them; "I grew up in a very loving family," she says.

A postgraduate in chemical engineering from Imperial College, London, Meher joined Thermax as a trainee engineer in August 1990, and 18 months later, along with her husband Pheroz Pudumjee, took over the responsibility of managing a Thermax subsidiary in the UK.

On why chemical engineering, she says, "I chose it; my parents never told me what to do. They only said: `Whatever you do, do it well!'"

When she returned to India in 1996, she was appointed a director on the Board, then became non-executive director in 2001, and vice-chairperson the next year. In October 2004 she took over as chairperson from her mother Anu Aga, who became a beacon of corporate India after her bold stand on the Gujarat 2002 riots.

So how was it stepping into her shoes? "It wasn't easy. I was very anxious, but my mother gave me the confidence by saying, `believe in yourself and you'll never go wrong'."

On a woman being a top honcho in India Inc, Meher says, "Gender has never been a problem; in fact, I enjoy being a woman... you get so much of bhav everywhere!" Though she does admit that the gender bug prevails everywhere. "Even in the UK, when I would answer the phone they'd say: `Put me on to sales'; they couldn't accept that a woman could be in the sales division!"

Today she tries to recruit women engineers in her company; "but there is such a shortage of women engineers in the capital goods industry; you can find plenty in IT and software, but not here."

Anu, a postgraduate in medical and psychiatric work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, who had to step into her husband Rohinton's shoes after he died of a heart attack in 1996, says he was her role model. "I see a lot of arrogance and pompousness in the corporate world; I didn't find that in him. He was very humane, an intellectual, a visionary and a hero to my children and I. He was a good listener and anyone who entered his room came away challenged."

She says a lot of men only talk about women's liberation, "but he practised it; he genuinely encouraged me to differ. I wasn't working and was quite happy to be a social butterfly and he said, `you're so boring when you're not working. So get back to work!'" In many ways, says Anu, Meher is her role model too. "This might sound like back slapping, but the way she has adjusted in a joint family is great."

As Meher chips in that she finds this "a blessing", Anu continues, "She loves them; I lived with my in-laws too, but never liked it. I just about accepted it. She's positively for it. The way she can manage conflicts is another plus. She just stays out; if there is anything between her husband and me, she says: `You sort it out'. The minute she puts her head on the pillow she's fast asleep. In her own quiet way she is very determined without being argumentative. I am rebellious, reactive; she is not a reactive person. But she has a mind of her own but phat karkey nahi bolengi. She's diplomatic and thinks before she speaks, but is value-based. In many ways I learn a lot from her. And we enjoy each other's company; we have fun together. And, when you asked her whether it is possible to be ethical and do business in India today, I liked the way she said: `By and large in our business we stick to ethical norms'!"

On her retirement last year, when you comment that she looks very fit and full of beans, Meher chips in, "Oh, she is fitter than me." Adds Anu, "I have a lot of energy; that's not the issue. I was in HR and advocated a succession plan. I took over suddenly after my husband's death and didn't want the organisation to ever go through such an ordeal. I had to groom someone. I knew that Meher would do 10 times a better job than me; I had this confidence in my daughter. I knew she might do business in a different way but she'd do it very well. Also, I've seen many people holding on to their jobs for dear life until people wonder: Yeh buddhi kab jayengi? One can hold on and never find a successor saying nobody is good enough and I'm indispensable. It was important to go when I was wanted."

Being a social worker by training, Anu has turned to the NGO world and while she has taken on the task of helping 14-15 NGOs, the one closest to her heart is Akansha, an organisation that educates underprivileged slum children in Mumbai and Pune.

When one jokingly asks the mother if she harasses her daughter for money for social causes, Anu says in the last two years Thermax has earmarked one per cent of profit after tax for corporate social responsibility initiatives. "We have a good amount, so money is not a problem; but we have to find really good causes. Of course there are some very good causes but Meher rightly says, `let's build on something and see it grow than give a little here and there'. But there's a need to support good causes too."

And, Anu wants to spend some more time with her grandchildren; "my daughter always says that I'm a `hi and bye' grandmother, so I'm trying to improve on that."

The first step was to take the kids to an 8-day trip to Canada, after which Meher and Pheroz joined them.

The reading habits of the duo are very different; Anu loves to read books; a favourite is Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. But Meher's reading is confined to "general and business magazines and stuff to do with my industry."

When asked if she likes cooking, Meher turns up her nose and Anu chips in: "I never made Meher learn cooking, saying `when you have to do it you'll do it... ' or sewing or embroidery, all the things I was made to learn. But my husband couldn't bear my doing all that; he'd say: `Stop all this nonsense and spend your time more productively, let others cook, sew, etc.' But I'm a very good cook; I like to experiment with different cuisine."

Meher recalls that during her UK stay, once Anu visited them for six months and "would cook Thai, Chinese and different western cuisines every day. And she produced huge quantities, so we froze it and gifted it away to our visitors! Of course after she left, I had to cook, and I really enjoyed it; though I must say I don't miss it at all!"

Adds Anu: "She's not a foodie, her husband and I are foodies."

But one thing that Meher is passionate about is music and on every Tuesday goes for choir practice. "There's nothing that can hold me back from it." When she was younger, she used to play the piano, says Anu and "would have been a genius at it, had she persevered." Meher chips in: "My son plays the guitar and once in a way I play the piano and we have a jugalbandi."

On the challenge before her, she says simply, "To motivate our employees and make them enjoy their work because when you're putting in 12-14 hours of work in an organisation, how do you keep people motivated so they enjoy what they do? At Thermax, we're very informal and accessible, anyone can walk into Anu's or Pheroz's or my room."

Her dream? "To make Thermax a world-class company."

Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

Picture by Vino John

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