India no place for top executives who fail to deliver

Nestle India MD Etienne Benet will be 'relocating' to Switzerland after he failed to handle the Maggi crisis suitably and he is not the first one. Companies in India are cracking down on their top executives, who are failing to deliver.


Earlier this month, $56 billion Korean giant LG Electronics recalled Soon Kwon, the chief of its Indian operations, after the company failed to navigate a sluggish economy and lost out to its arch rival Samsung in terms of sales. He is being replaced by Kim Ki-Wan, executive vice-president of LG's home entertainment overseas sales and marketing group. Kwon is being recalled to LG's headquarters Seoul to take over as global head for information display business.

In 2012, in an unprecedented move, Honda Motor Co recalled president & CEO Takashi Nagai and marketing head Seki Inaba as the car maker struggled to match the sales of its nimbler rivals. In the same year, Subhinder Singh Prem was removed as Reebok India MD after its parent Adidas pointed out commercial irregularities at Reebok India. In 2013, PepsiCo India head Manu Anand quit suddenly and insiders attributed it to the company losing market share to rival Coke.

"Unlike earlier, India is not an 'emerging' market anymore for global giants. It is one of the most important destinations for global brands due to the sheer size of its population. Moreover, most developed markets are slowing down. Multinationals are not willing to take India lightly anymore. They want their best talent to develop this market," said a senior executive with a reputed head-hunting firm.

Nestle is not the first company in India to face flak due to safety concerns. Food and beverage giants such as, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury got embroiled in serious controversies here. In 2003, while the beverage majors were accused of having pesticides in their drinks, confectionary maker Cadbury (now Mondelez) got a shock when worms were discovered in a batch of Dairy Milk chocolates. In all the cases, the respective businesses suffered. Cadbury's sales plunged nearly 30% when its sales usually rise 15%. However, CEOs of all the companies were not removed. At least, not immediately.


(Image credits: Indiatimes)