Page 6 - Seniors Today - July 2021 Issue

Cover Story
Firm before Family
Up, close and personal with Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico as he is set
to launch his memoirs, Harsh Realities
There are few in Indian family-owned
businesses who can match Harsh Mariwala
and his principled stand on bringing in
professional management, good corporate
governance, organisation culture and
sustainability. Innovation is the credo for
Mariwala, who is Founder and Chairman
of FMCG major Marico.
Mariwala began his career in 1971 with
Bombay Oil Industries and set up Marico
in 1990. The corporate has a footprint
across 25 countries. He is also founder of
India’s largest chain of dermatology-led
clinics, Kaya., With a view to give back to
society, he founded Ascent Foundation, a
peer-learning entrepreneurial platform. He
has set up Marico Innovation Foundation,
Marico’s CSR Initiative that helps scale
innovative ideas scale, the Mariwala Health
Initiative that supports mental health
and very recently, AquaCentric, an aqua
therapy chain of health facilities.
6
In a freewheeling interview with Seniors
Today, Harsh Mariwala speaks about the
Marico story, entailing a management and
financial separation from the family, his
decision to let professional managers run
the company. He also offers insights on his
value system and speaks about his soon-to-
be-released book, Harsh Realities.
Excerpts from the interview.
Q: Tell us what makes Harsh Mariwala
excited about life in general? Your
various passions?
A: Looking back at my journey, I have
largely charted my own course in terms
of the way I work and what I do. And that
variety, learning new things and doing new
things, the newer experience in reinventing
myself, is what I find really exciting. So,
from the time I started, when the business
was really small, to what it is today, it’s
come a long way. But I’ve undergone a lot of