Earlier this month, I wrote my final letter to shareholders. Soon, I will be addressing my last annual general meeting. I feel overwhelmed with emotions—a sense of pride along with a feeling of nostalgia and immense gratitude—as I look back at almost a decade at the helm of Nestle India.
It was a decade that was unpredictable, yet promising. We made the right investments—not just in assets, but in ideas and people. We kept our promise of unlocking the power of food to enhance the quality of life for today and generations to come. Encapsulated in our heartbeat—purpose, people, partnership, planet and performance.
Every morning, as a new day dawns, 8,629 employees in our factories, fields and offices, work with indefatigable zeal and a singular purpose of serving our consumers.
Dream in moonshots
At 22, Sunil Kumar Singh left his home in Chapra, Bihar, with a dream of a father: to gift his daughter the education he never had. He joined Nestle India to oversee the kitchen pantry. He serves the best Nescafe to the employees. Today, his daughter Jyoti, armed with an economics degree, holds the position of an associate in the same company where her father works.
We have a multi-generational workforce from baby boomers to Gen Z. Diversity creates a unique intersection of humanity, each with a distinct cadence of thought, quiet wisdom and audacious dreams.
AP
A decade ago, women made up just 10 per cent of the management committee. Today, it has risen to 21 per cent. Fifty per cent of our board members are women! We have one of the highest representation of women in FMCG field sales force.
The factory in Sanand has around 45 per cent women workforce who do everything—plan, procure, produce, package, quality control, release for warehousing, control sophisticated digital factory operations and nurture every pack that our consumers relish. They work relentlessly, balancing work and families—a determination that is inspirational.
Partnerships—growing together to go far
We are an integral part of the India story tracing our modest beginning 113 years ago. Our first sales agents began work in Chennai and Kolkata in 1912.
In the last decade, we have deepened our connection with our 80,000 dairy farmers, 5,000 coffee farmers, 2,500 spice farmers and 4,600 suppliers. They toil hard to give our consumers brands of impeccable quality. Today, about 40 per cent of our distributors have been associated with us for over 10 years. They have seen us through thick and thin, good and bad times, crisis and calm moments.
Business as a force for good is the most important reason for its existence. When interwoven with performance it makes meaningful contribution to the consumers, people and the nation.
Sant Kabir presciently said, “In vain is eminence, just like a date tree. It gives no shade for travellers, its fruit is hard to reach.”
We continue to positively impact the lives of 16 million beneficiaries, with the hope to transform a life, a community, a village, through rural development, education, nutrition awareness, environmental initiatives, and livelihood enhancements.
Our relationship with shareholders is so much more than just a transaction. Their shares are interwoven with life’s most significant milestones. It is tied to the dreams of a first home, the promise of education for their children, the celebrations of a wedding day and the security of retirement.
I met a young gentleman studying at a management institute in India. His father is a Nestle India shareholder. The father sold his shares purchased many years ago to fund his son’s education. It is with this understanding that I, alongside my colleagues, step into our roles each day,
As it is often said, great organisations make ordinary people do extraordinary things.
I truly believe that as I leave Nestle India, it will go from strength to strength, walk faster, more focused, more determined and future ready and, most important, be inclusive and compassionate.
Narayanan is chairman & managing director, Nestle India
Narayanan is chairman & managing director, Nestle India