In these companies, it’s the young leading from the front!

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector was known to be old school and hierarchical in the way it promoted people through get-your-hands-dirty-first in field visits. But the scenario is now changing as it has started promoting young agile talent to the top level.

Let’s know who all are elevated to the top level and how things have changed dramatically for the past years:

About a decade ago, Sameer Shah, 36, joined Godrej Industries and Associate Companies in its corporate accounts and taxation team. Currently, he is the head of investor relations at Godrej, a responsibility previously managed by Adi Godrej, reported the Economic Times.

He was also elevated as the head of finance for the India and SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) cluster four months ago. The India and SAARC business generates Rs 5,000 crore in revenue for Godrej.

Shah said: "Over the past few years, I have seen the fear of failure going down dramatically, and professionals being encouraged to have a more entrepreneurial approach." He leads 80 people compared with eight previously.

D Shivakumar, chairman of snacks and beverages maker PepsiCo, said his company is giving people in their 30s the ability to handle bigger teams, and Rs 2,000-crore plus brands. "We're doing de-layering, giving bigger jobs for people and promoting younger, internal talent," he said.

Similarly, younger bosses at Pepsi-Co now include Nitin Bhandari, 34, who runs the Rs 2,000 crore-plus Mountain Dew business; Anshul Khanna, 34, who's head of brand Pepsi; Vani Gupta, 38, who manages popular snack Kurkure; and Gaurav Mehta, 40, who joined as a management trainee and is currently director, consumer insights and strategy. Others like Rakesh Kumar, 37, and Raj Rishi Singh, 34, run Rs 2,000-crore sales units.

Rahul Nene, managing director at search firm Witthaus Management Consulting, said: "70% of India is young and the buyer must see their reflection in the seller."

The world's third largest biscuit firm and maker of McVitie's, United Biscuits has elevated India head Jayant Kapre, 42, giving him additional charge of Southeast Asia. Kapre, who has grown McVitie's brand against deeply entrenched rivals including Britannia and Parle Products, has been mandated to expand the brand's presence in Southeast Asia by entering new markets. Countries he is overseeing include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

At L'Oreal, Kushal Lokhande, 40, was promoted this month as the Asia-Pacific director for ETNSE (engineering, project, safety, health, environment). Udayavar Shashibhushan, 35, and David Quetin, 38, were appointed as head of digital for L'Oreal India and director of operations, respectively, last year. Quetin is also a part of the country's management committee.

"The age has come down," said Mohit James, director, HR, at L'Oreal India, adding that while the company has been a mix of young and experienced professionals, over the last few years there has been a shift.

James said that earlier experience was valued and rewarded much more simply because businesses functioned differently. The experience earned was largely hands-on and built painstakingly over years through various "down in the trenches" sort of work like market visits, dealer relationships and consumer surveys. It took time.

"Time has changed dramatically and the amount of time required to build similar capacity is far shorter. Younger talent can now develop capacity much faster with the help of a mix of technology, data, experience, and information availability and with a younger consumer segment, can also build a better connect with the new customers," James said.

(Image: Indiatimes)