Building a talent base: Nandini Piramal

add_main_imageBefore joining the family business, Nandini Piramal, 32, worked with McKinsey and Co. as a business analyst, during which she was involved in several projects, including purchase and supply management, apart from growth and information technology strategies for various companies. In addition to that, she interned at a global pharmaceutical company and also helped run manufacturing operations at the group’s international plants.

“Her experience in global manufacturing has helped build world-class systems and processes and her current responsibilities as head of human resources is helping us bring in the best talent globally,” says mother Swati Piramal. NextMAds

The daughter of Swati and Ajay Piramal, the promoters of Piramal Enterprises Ltd, Nandini joined its board as executive director two years ago. Besides heading human resources at the pharma to financial services group, she has independent charge of the company’s growing consumer health business.

With an MBA from Stanford after completing her BA (Honours) in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford, Piramal’s background gives her the breadth to run a business with diverse interests and help her father take the group to the next level.

Piramal Enterprises is currently in expansion and diversification mode after selling its India drug formulations business to Abbott Laboratories for ₹ 17,000 crore in 2010.

Formerly Piramal Healthcare Ltd, the company renamed itself Piramal Enterprises in 2012 as part of the diversification. The group currently has a presence in pharmaceutical manufacturing, research and market information services, realty development and funding, glassware and bottle manufacturing, and retail finance.

The group, which recently took a minority stake in the country’s second largest mobile phone service provider Vodafone India as a portfolio investment, is also looking for similar deals in insurance and a few other business ventures, apart from getting into new areas such as defence and security.

“Nandini loves reading, writing, history and business, and her passion for all these have taken her to the two most venerable institutions in the world,” says Swati Piramal. sixthMAds

Along with various business responsibilities, Nandini Piramal, who’s married to private equity fund manager Peter D’Young, also takes a keen interest in the group’s social responsibility activities under the Piramal Foundation, which includes the Sarvajal project aimed at providing clean drinking water in rural areas.