With shares of the company he runs skyrocketing, DMart's Navil Noronha has extended the gap between India's other professional CEOs and himself.
Retail giant DMart is a household name in scores of Indian cities. Its parent company Avenue Supermarts Ltd went public 4 years ago. Since then, the business has grown in leaps and bounds, making the founder, stock market veteran Radhakishan Damani, India’s second richest person at one point, and currently India's fourth richest person. But alongside Damai, Avenue Supermarts also boasts in its ranks the richest professional CEO of India, Ignatius Navil Noronha. Worth Rs 5,146 crore today, here’s how Navil Noronha climbed the ladders of success to become India’s richest manager.
1. Navil Noronha's corporate origins
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Hailing from Mumbai, Navil Noronha is a rich man who keeps a low profile. He pursued his graduation in science from SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce before earning a management degree from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS). Prior to his entry into DMart, Noronha worked with legacy FMCG player Hindustan Unilever, gaining experience in diverse fields including sales, market research and modern trade. Then came the turning point when Noronha, in his late 20s, was recruited by Damani.
2. The DMart story
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In his 8-year stint at HUL, he came in contact with the DMart promoter. Noronha reportedly impressed Damani right from the outset and was brought in by the DMart founder as the company’s new Head of Business in 2004. Stewarded by Noronha’s brilliance and industry famous fool-proof strategies, DMart has been generating healthy profit for the last 5 years, while others like Tata Tesco-owned Star, Aditya Birla Retail and Spencer have been unable to exhibit similar numbers.
3. Industry trailblazer
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Noronha is reportedly considered an industry GOAT, which means the ‘Greatest of all time’, due to his highly successful strategy making including a 48-hour supplier payment policy. This policy is at the core of DMart’s low prices. Noronha’s company promises a payment timeline of 48 hours from the time of delivery, which not just pleased the suppliers but helped it expand margins and become an industry leader.
4. Navil Noronha, the humble CEO
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Navil Noronha is admired in the business circles for being a humble CEO. A diligent executive, Noronha has only missed attending the office on one occasion since the company’s IPO. That was to celebrate the birthday of his daughter. Noronha is not an extravagant CEO with a lavish office. As per one leading business daily, his office is around a quarter of the size of the offices usually occupied by leading CEOs.
Pics courtesy: Twitter
