Parachute to Popcorn: Marico CEO on Acquisitions, Ambition & Attrition
5/12/202618 min
Marico went on a shopping spree — three deals, 700 crores, three weeks. But is it swiftly reinventing itself for the TikTok generation, or a legacy FMCG giant papering over a slowing core with shiny digital acquisitions? MD and CEO Saugata Gupta makes his case to host and ET’s FMCG editor Ratna Bhushan — a 28-year-old average workforce, founders left to run free, and a digital business he promises will hit teens EBITDA by 2030. He also gets unusually candid about the bloodbath in FMCG boardrooms, why CEO tenures are shrinking globally, and what it really takes to build a succession plan that outlasts the boss.
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First 90 secondsRatna Bhushan· Host0:00
[intro music] What will India's consumer landscape look like over the next 12 months? We're navigating inflation, war-linked supply disruptions, the onslaught of digital-first brands, and heightened boardroom investor pressure quarter upon quarter. I have with me Saugata Gupta, who's been steering the Marico India ship amid all the volatilities and multinational competition in a no-holds-barred conversation. He talks on what it will take to sustain growth momentum to the company's 700 crore rupees brand buying spree within three weeks, which he calls filling the chessboard, to reorienting his workforce to be Gen Z-focused, to shorter CEO tenures riling boardrooms globally. It's Tuesday, May 12th. This is Ratna Bhushan, your host and ET's FMCG editor, and you're listening to the Morning Brief. [upbeat music] Good morning, Saugata. Busy week for you, but a healthy set of earnings amid all this volatility, so congratulations for that.
Saugata Gupta· Guest1:27
Yeah. Thank you. It's been busy