She is eldest daughter of Parle Agro founder, Prakash
Chauhan. There are many aspects to why she is what she is today. It
might be pretty difficult, even impossible (unless done by herself) to
document every bit of her growth story. But, from what we know, we can
safely say that she believes in trying and living the life one wants to
(and see if it is really better on the other side), in starting young as
the best way to get involved in a family business (she became a board
member at 22 right after B-School), in learning something new every day
as knowledge is wealth, in living each day as it’s one’s last (and
living it to the fullest), in chasing one’s dreams (as it’s not going to
happen the other way round), in focusing about the bigger picture and
not worrying about small things in life, in forgiveness (as she feels it
has the power to give one peace), in communicating instead of assuming
(which is akin to making asses of all involved), in being you as you are
(and not worry about what people who don’t accept that), in smiling,
dressing up, feeling confident, and taking control!
And much
more. That’s what she’s been doing for a decade or so since she assumed
the CEO’s responsibility. In fact, Shauna Chauhan’s demeanor itself is a
showcase of the kind of person and business leader she is. The bunch of
strands of salt and pepper (grey) that she flaunts with aplomb saying
she is what she is – something she inherited from her father and,
therefore, doesn’t need to conceal or hide anything. It’s part of her
persona. She revels in her mix of salt-and-pepper locks that add greatly
to her disposition. Looks and the confidence that she exudes apart,
what Schauna has done in since taking over as the top executive of Parle
Agro is something that vindicates something that we all know but never
admit – women are equally skilled and capable of the so-called things
that running a successful business demand: vision, confidence, clarity
of thought, leadership, and humility.
All of these qualities she
picked up from her entrepreneur father and was inspired, in parts, by
the umpteen leaders across the globe whom she looked up to – from Steve
Jobs, Walt Disneyand Thomas Edison to her family members (grandmother,
sisters) and evenher colleagues and friends who have worked from scratch
and made something they believed in come true.
Education
Her
forebears had pretty much decided as to how the course of her life
would traverse. Not that she was averse to it. In fact, they could do
that because she concurred with their decisions. Being the scion of a
successful business family with many illustrious family members (her
father Prakash Chauhan being one), it was expected of Schauna to not
only do well in academics but also assume the mantle of taking the
business forward. But as things would have it, she was a very naughty
kid who broke all the rules (for which her mother, who was on the board
of the school, was summoned to the school Principal’s office). Then her
grades (she admits) were not grade great either. If anything, they were
so poor that her application for getting admitted into the same
university as her father (had studied) was rejected. Of course, these
turned out to be the very triggers that sparked in her the zeal to work
that much harder and persevere to prove to herself what she was capable
of.
She studied in Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu) at the Kodaikanal
International School. Then she completed a bachelor’s in international
management (she was being groomed to be shoulder the responsibility of
running the family business you see!) from the Franklin College, Lugano,
Switzerland (University of Lausanne).
Commanding the Parle Agro ship…
While
some would argue that it is so very easy to achieve what Schauna has,
if one is straight-jacketed into the family business, as then you would
have the cushion of the family support. One perhaps can err a bit more
than one otherwise would be allowed to, and perhaps even given umpteen
more chances to recover from the tumbles one has had. But what one
doesn’t see is that – not only her family but Schauna herself chose to
be in the family business – a fact manifested in the subject choices she
made very early on in her college life. That besides, right after she
graduated she was inducted into the family business in 1999 but not in
any leadership role. Instead, it was as a director which allowed her to
work closely with her father to observe and understand the nitty-gritty
of running a business (and a family-owned one at that). Her entry into
the board-room also coincided with her father separating from his
brother, and the company had sold Thums Up (to Coca-Cola) – their
marquee brand which enjoyed a never-before or never-after brand equity
of 52% in the country. So, those were not the best of times to be
introduced to business.
Her father groomed her, as he did his
other two daughters (Nadia and Alisha) for taking up responsibility of
running the business together. All of them were groomed to be
professional-leaders. That is because, often family businesses are
affected owing to the rumblings inside the family which boil over to the
company board room. Thus, Prakash Chauhan, having seen a bit of that
with his family business (Schauna and siblings are the fourth generation
entrepreneurs of the family) that split up to become three separate
entities (the other two being Parle Products and Parle Bisleri), so he
knew he had to inculcate the professional aspect of running a business
(family-owned notwithstanding) in his daughters. She did not have a
cabin, she sat with the other team members outside the cabins, so she
could work with the teams, understand the functionality of each
departments (she 2-3 month in each of them) so she could know the
functioning inside-out.
She picked a great deal from her father
besides being inspired and driven by the so many successful
personalities in life who kept trying and trying every time they failed
until they eventually succeeded – something that she took courage from
when she was rejected by a college she wanted to join owing to poor
grades at school, and made her determined enough to bounce back as high
as she can, so that she was not a blot on her successful father’s
biography.
CEO takes control and leads it flight…to newer horizons
Schauna
was made the chief executive officer in 2006 and with that, the company
turned a new leaf in its journey.Under Schauna’s visionary leadership
and guidance, her unstinted hard-work, an innovative approach to
creating a unique work environment within the company and honing a
holistic work culture, have helped the group diversify from being only a
beverage major to being a leader in both food and beverages. She's
helped in the complete evolution of the new face and the reach of her
brands by exponentially expanding the company's global presence, with
exports to over 50 countries.
Any entrepreneur worth his salt will
tell how difficult it would be to achieve what Schauna has – keeping in
mind the business the company is in, where global Goliath’s (PepsiCo,
ITC, Coke, etc.) are also competing fiercely to have a slice of the pie
presented by the India growth story. But, being what she is, she decided
that the company should look to get ahead of the competition but to get
ahead of itself. With that philosophy driving her business decisions,
she went about charting a success story, in the face of immense
competition, like never before. Today she run’s the Rs.1,500 Crore
company just like her father would aspired her to do: launching new
products (confectionery, pure fruit juices and baked snacks), foraying
further into global locations and taking on global F&B giants – in
fact, the company’s international presence doubled (to 20 countries) in
just 4 years after she took over as CEO.
It isn’t surprising that
she could achieve so much given her style of working, her transparent
leadership style, and emphasis on the team that she has built rather
than herself as their boss, have all contributed to the super success of
the company in each of their initiatives such as Appy Fizz, Frooti
rebranding, entering into the foods market, and so on. Kudo to Schauna
Chauhan Saluja.
Family
She is married to actor &tennis player, Bikram Saluja and the couple have a son Jahaan (who still a toddler).
Quotes |
| “You
have to be the chameleon that keeps adapting to its environment. You
have to walk that extra mile, let others feel comfortable with you. I
need them to feel comfortable with me so that we can work together -
that's how we have been able to tackle such an aggressive market.” |
| “In
the company you are always dealing with people's issues. I think at
the end of the day, it is the people who make the company anyway and
without them you cannot do anything. Egos, insecurities, politics,
these are also some of the challenges you deal with every day. I am
hands-on and it is important to be aware of it and feel the pulse.” |
| “Being
a woman does not imply that there are certain things that you can/not
do as other men are doing in business set-up. It is totally a role play
of your business requirement.” |