This power-woman of the Indian industry is very much a
chip of the old-block. That is to say that her zeal, drive, and
determination match that of her father’s (Dr. B.V. Rao who is known as
the ‘Father of the Indian Poultry Industry) - to not only retain the
status of Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group (also called as Venky’s) as the
premier companies in the country organized poultry sector but also to
make life easier for the thousands of farmers who have aligned their
lives with those of poultry industry’s players. That is why she is often
referred to as the “Voice of the Indian Poultry Industry).
Of
course along the way she has added her own flavors to the style of
leadership and functioning while retaining to a great extent her
father’s stamp.
That she was introduced to the world of poultry
when she was barely a teen during which period, it is said, she spent
most of her time on the family’s farms rather than playing with children
of her age or indulge in activities other children did. Instead she was
engrossed with birds – doing things like feeding them and getting
herself acquainted with the nitty-gritty of poultry hygiene.
Looking
at the promise that his young daughter exhibited, it was perhaps a
master-stroke by Dr. Rao in entrusting the mantle of taking forward the
business and to his daughter. For she excelled in not only living upto
her father’s expectations, she even did what many may not have thought
possible – presided over the functioning of well over a dozen company’s
within the group as well as without it and made a success of a
multi-activity businesses.
Education and entry into the family business
Desai
has law graduate and that serves her cause well what with the country
as indeed its poultry industry moved to the world stage, entailing a
plethora of legalities for exporters triggered by the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) regime. She did her Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the
University of Pune.
She was brought into the family business in
1988 by her father who had immense faith and conviction in her
capabilities and was also inducted into the board subsequently.
Loss and Legacy of a legend
What
Dr. B.V. Rao did to the Indian poultry industry is unparalleled in the
history of the country’s business echelons. He was the architect of
unifying the country poultry sector and more than that brought a set of
standards and practices that provided a level-playing field for all the
poultry players of the country. He had imbibed the same qualities in all
of his children, especially his daughter, Anuradha.
It wasn’t
surprising then that the great visionary and of one the most successful
entrepreneurs of the county (he had moved to the city of Pune from his
native Andhra Pradesh to set up a small chick hatching business with a
couple of friends, which eventually grew into the large conglomerate
that we now know as Venky’s) considered Anuradha as the natural choice
if it ever came to leadership of the group.
That day did come in
her life in 1996 when Dr. Rao passed away and the mantle of overseeing
the already leading poultry business in the country into the 21st
century and beyond.
At the helm…
Anuradha
Desai became the Chairman and Managing Director of the Venkateshwara
Hatcheries Group in 1996 and right after assuming the responsibility,
some of her initial tasks were to make sure the group recoups from the
loss of the patriarch and founder – which she did with help from her
brother Venkatesh Rao and Balaji Rao.
Then she set about putting
into place plans for growth of the company as well as expansion into
various other affiliated and external business fields. Today the company
is diversified into around 30 fields poultry, processed food, animal
vaccines, pharma and healthcare products.including eggs, egg powder,
poultry feed, animal feed, vaccines, biotech, R&D, even wine
distribution and entertainment, and now even sports (with the
acquisition of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, a reputed English
football club in the top football division of the country). In fact, she
even orchestrated the launch of ‘Venky's Express’, a ready to eat
chicken outlet from the group whose first outlet was opened in Pune
(Akon performed at the opening event).
One of the many things she
did was to improve the company’s chicken (Venky’s Chicken) export
business besides of course fighting for the rights of domestic farmers
who were up against global competition when the country open up for
global players to ply their trade across various industry segments.
A
campaigner and pillar of strength for the domestic chicken market, she
uses everything in her power to help local farmers in their fight
against so many problems such as disease outbreaks, foreign companies
entering into the market and making a dent into their revenues, etc.
just like her illustrious father did. So, one should not be puzzled if
one came to know the fact that the group’s listed company (Venky’s)
supplies chicken to groups like KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's, etc. (of
course, this besides the fact that Venky’s supplies 80% chicks to
farmers and hatcheries in the country)!
Leadership roles elsewhere
While
she and her husband Jitendra Desai (an accomplished Chartered
Accountant) and her brothers Venkatesh and Balaji are always yearning to
maintain the stability and the momentum of the company, Desai herself
is recognized by many for her visions and thought leadership and hence
has been asked to lead many other companies in whatever capacity she
can. And why not – figure this – under her leadership, VH has grown to
become the largest fully-integrated poultry group in Asia, with its
operations are spread across 20 countries.
So it isn’t surprising
that she helms the affairs of many companies by being their respective
Boards of Directors. Some of those include Lavasa Corp. Ltd., ActionAid
International USA, All India Broiler Farmers' Marketing Co. Op Ltd., All
India Poultry Development & Services Pvt Ltd., Bharat Eggs
Producers Association, Blue Ridge Avian Services, Inc., National
Agriculture & Food Analysis & Research Institute, Padmavati
Marbles Pvt Ltd., Poultry Development Promotion Council, Srivenk
Biological Laboratories Pvt Ltd., Srivenk Investments & Finance Pvt
Ltd., Venka Investments Pvt Ltd., Venky's Xprs UK Ltd., and Wayward
Acres, Inc.
Strategic Move…
Around the
year 2010 (almost a decade-and-half after she took over the reins of the
group from her father), with a view to carry forward the expansion
drive to overseas markets where although they have a decent enough
presence, the company and Desai were looking at widening its consumer
interface.
One of the ways was to expanding Venky’s XPRS fast food
franchise (a kind of down-market KFC) but that didn’t give it the ideal
mileage expected of a global player. Thus, Desai and her team,
strategized a new plan to grow the business in three identified
continents (Europe, Asia and Africa). It was to identify major sports
properties and assets to attain brand visibility.
Thus after much
deliberation and R&D, the group bought Blackburn Rovers Football
Club, a reputed English football club from the English Premier League.It
was a really strategic move by Desai and Co.:simply because Indians are
the largest minority group in the Lancashire town of Blackburn, and if
you are looking to connect with a community, then what better way than
buying out the local football team?
While it didn’t prove to be
the success Desai had hoped it to be (from a sporting sense), what she
did achieve by this acquisition was to accomplish what bigger Indian
Conglomerate such as the likes of Reliance and Sahar could not do.
In the news…
Expectedly,
not everything she has done has been met with approval or success. And
some of it courted controversy as well. For example, while the first
season after acquiring (Blackburn Rovers) was OK- they avoided
relegation, what the clubs supporters and fans didn’t like was the way
managers were being hired and fired by the owners which lead the club
being relegated to 2nd division (championship). This hasn’t gone down
well with just about anyone that has got anything to do with the club
(except the owners). Then there was the Avian flu issue – Desai had in
the past (1990s) successfully campaigned and protected the interest of
Indian farmers by opposing the import of chicken from other countries
citing hygiene and risk associated with it (she said the outsiders were
delivering unsold or rejected stock to the country). While that was good
and strengthened her position with farmers as well as the
establishment, there were accusations flying high about VH supplying
infected birds to farmers in Navapur village of Mahrashtra's Nandurbar
district.
Of course, as always, she braved the tough times and
brought VH out of the slime by coming clean on the issue. ("If we had
supplied infected birds we would shy away any such idea. Besides, isn't
it against our own interest to supply such stock to farmers?" – was what
she had said). That’s the sign of a true leader.
Other Affiliations:
| |
 | Chairman at Agrocorpex India Ltd., |
| Chairman at Bala Industries & Entertainment Pvt Ltd., |
| Chairman at Center for International Trade in Agriculture & Agro Based, |
| Partner at Poultry Corp. of India |
| Partner at Venkateshwara Foods & Feeds. |
Awards & Recognition:
| |
| Udyog Rattan Award by institute of Economic Studies – Delhi |
| Best Women Entrepreneur Gold Award from the Institute of Marketing Management |
| Best Woman Entrepreneur Award from Yuva Bharati |
| Honorary Doctorate from Tamil Nadu University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences |
| First woman to be elected as President of World Poultry Science Association (IB) for four years from 1996. |
Philosophy:
“Investing in relationships take time and people need freedom to work towards a goal.”
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