“Do you know what it’s like to be the captain of a struggling ship? Six years ago, that’s exactly what I became. On the morning of 17th December 2018, I was named the CEO of Mafatlal Industries Limited, a company drowning in losses at the time—₹180 crore, to be precise. The board was looking for ‘young blood’ to turn things around… and they chose me. My first thought was, ‘There’s a legacy of four generations before me… Am I going to drive it all into the ground?’
And then, the noises my parents had shielded me from suddenly grew louder. My every move was judged and scrutinized… In my first board meeting, a senior member said, ‘Your father would have handled this differently.’ The media questioned, ‘Is the Young Mafatlal Ready to Lead?’ Everywhere I went, my mettle was doubted—‘Could I ever step into Dad’s shoes?’
But then something happened that changed my perspective…
While visiting a temple, I noticed my father’s shoes kept outside. They indeed were large. But then I looked at my own, relatively smaller shoes… and a thought struck, ‘Sure, I can’t wear his shoes. But he can’t wear mine either; they’d be too tight for him!’ And it hit me – I simply had to make my own choices and pave my way!
With that in mind, I got to work. I gave myself 1,000 days. I told myself, ‘If I’m unable to bring the company out of these choppy waters in 1,000 days, I’ll step down.’ And then I dove head-first into understanding, ‘Where did we go wrong?’ I dug deep into our operations, market positioning, and customer feedback. Countless meetings followed where I was told, ‘This is too big a risk,’ or ‘Let’s opt for the safer option.’ That’s when I realized—we had been playing it too safe, focused on ‘avoiding losses’ rather than ‘making profits.’
So, I decided to flip the script. We worked aggressively to bring in new technologies, and make our supply chains more efficient. The focus shifted to eco-friendly textiles and expanded into newer, innovative product categories. It sparked a new energy within the team– we were chasing growth, dreaming audaciously, and making unconventional decisions.
And maybe it was a series of those decisions, fate, or just the team’s relentless efforts, but in three years, we wiped out the ₹180 crore losses to break even. Since then, Mafatlal Industries Limited has grown by 50-60% every year, hitting all-time high numbers every time for the past 3 years.
Six years ago, I might not have been ready to be the CEO. But today, I know that maybe one is never really ready. You learn on the job and give it your 100% every single day until you create history. Because whether it’s a 119-year-old business or a 1-year-old startup, showing up every day is where half the battle is already won!”
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/humans-of-bombay_partnership-activity-7242042694783385601-5ffx/
