Consumer goods and service companies to lose their best hands to eCommerce startups?

Indian eCommerce industry is gearing up to take over the consultancies and consumer goods firms; as the former, also termed as a growth hungry industry, is now focusing on building a second tier of leaders to strengthen its critical operations and grow quicker.

As per a report published in Economic Times, the consumer internet startups like Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal have picked recruits from firms like McKinsey, Unilever and Pepsi for roles like finance, marketing, supply chain and business development.

Snapdeal, on Thursday, made an announcement that it had hired Amit Choudhary as senior VP finance. Choudhary, a former Procter & Gamble (P&G) executive had been heading P&G's Asia pet care business across 14 countries including Japan, Greater China and Australia.

Businesses like McKinsey have emerged as beneficial hunting grounds for Indian eCommerce startups, given their need for leaders who have worked across industries and functions and can seamlessly transition between multiple roles.

Flipkart, in March this year, hired Saikiran Krishnamurthy as CEO of its commerce division; while mobile commerce biggie Paytm plundered Nehul Malhotra, who is responsible for on boarding merchants.

Amit Sinha, who is heading the human resource segment of Paytm said, "This is a new world and we won't always find people with similar experiences. Instead, we have to find people who have or can build the right skill sets. People we're trying to bring on board are the smartest ones around and they won't take much time to learn."

The consumer Internet companies, apart from the stock options, offer a salary hike of upto 40-50%, informs Anju Roy, partner, digital practice at executive search firm Transearch.

Image: indiatimes