Shaping future leaders is one of the Graduate School of Business and Leadership’s strongest philosophy. 

 

In an effort to achieve this vision, the CEO of Godraj South Africa - a leading emerging markets company, Mr Kapil Dev Pillai shared the company’s business approach with the MBA students.

 

The guest lecture, which was part of the strategic management class, was aimed to share business strategies with students that industry leaders are implementing to achieve success in volatile economic conditions. 

 

Pillai spoke about financial and product innovation strategies and social responsibility initiatives involved in heading a leading organisation behind renowned hair care products such as Inecto, Renew and Kinky Hair.

 

‘Our global business strategy is focused on emerging markets. We are more than a business, we believe in giving back to community hence we look at opportunities to create a social footprint in every country we operate in,’ said Pillai. 

 

Pillai also spoke about the importance of value creation for consumers, and increasing pressure on companies to evolve faster to meet changing consumer demand. 

 

‘Value is very important on both sides, value for business is when they sell more products and the value for customers is when they benefit from buying a quality product. You have to understand adoption and consumption barriers and why consumers buy your products and build sustainable proportions,’ he added. 

 

On the subject of personal growth, Pillai informed students about Godraj’s LOUD (Live Out Your Dream) initiative which sees university undergraduate and postgraduate students being sponsored and mentored to pursue their dreams. 

 

Pillai launched the LOUD initiative which offers R 40 000 to the final winner to pursue his / her dream. Godraj is offering three job opportunities in Marketing, Sales and Operations.

 

‘Where I grew up, the career paths that were encouraged were engineering or being part of the government sector but I chose my path differently and did my MBA so I can pursue my dreams. So, please take the advantage of this opportunity and live your dream,’ he said. 

 

Interested candidates for LOUD and job opportunities can send their dream write up and resume at dhanishkan@godrejafrica.combefore 07 September 2016.

Thandiwe Jumo