My Graduation from Unilever

I was pondering over the best way to describe my move out of Unilever and what felt apt was to call it a “Graduation”. Fourteen years in the organisation, which is pretty much the sum total of years I spent in schooling & college, is no less than a graduation. The biggest difference here is that, this is an experience driven by my decision, while the schooling and college, was largely my Dad’s.

In the last fourteen years, my life has revolved around Unilever brands. I joined this company when I was single and the brand that perhaps meant the most to me was “Axe”. Then when I got married, it was “Dove”, which was my wife’s favourite; later when I had kids, there was always a “Kissan” on the breakfast table. I had this unsaid rule at home, where only Unilever brands were allowed. Every time there was a Unilever ad on TV, my son Sashank used to shout, “Appa, your company is on TV”. Technically, my stake in Unilever on financial terms is too minuscule to justify my son’s claim, but that’s the sense of pride it left.

I joined HUL (Unilever India), in my mid twenties, as a young professional with little clue on what I wanted out of a professional career. In a few months, I realised, I loved working on technology and leveraging it to deliver business value. To experience the metamorphosis of an idea into a capability that could positively impact business gave me a high. In my first role, I was responsible for IT solutions in the space of supply planning. Every time I visited a visited a grocery store, I had a sense of immense pride, knowing fully that I had a small part to play in getting a “Vim” bar to that store. The pride was sometimes short lived, when my Dad used to jokingly complain, “Rajesh, Lux is out of stock at Murugan stores…are you not doing your job properly”J.

Over time, I did a diverse set of roles in Unilever -  working with different geographies, cultures, functions and a varied set of technologies. Every role, although in the same company, had facets unique to it, contributing to my learning & experience. They were all in the same University called “Unilever”, but were like different streams of studies.

I am a great believer that the greatest source of inspiration and learning is through interactions with people around you. Unilever is graciously blessed on this aspect. The passion, expertise, energy and dedication that you see with people here is incomparable. I owe it to my line managers, stake holders, partners, colleagues and team members for all the contributions in shaping my perspective and personality. Every engagement with a Unileverite has played a part in moulding me as a person. There is so much one gets to learn in a short interaction with a senior leader in Unilever, who has the innate ability to paint a beautiful strategic picture and also show as much rigour in getting to the finer details of a problem. Just as inspiring is a chat with a new joinee from campus, oozing with so much energy and enthusiasm, believing that he/she could change the world.

Outside of the day to day job, Unilever has given me opportunities to sing and play on stage. It helped me showcase some talent, which I never thought I had. Of course, it sometimes helps if you are part of the organising team and can nominate yourself to get onto the stage ;)

While hugely successful in the  business of selling soaps and soups, what makes Unilever valued even more, is that, this is an organisation with a character – a company that cares for its people, the society and the world that we live in. It’s greatest ability is perhaps, combining the cerebral power of the brain with the compassion of the heart.

As I move out of Unilever, I feel this is no less than a graduation – the long stint at Unilever has given me experience, learning and memories, which I would cherish for a life time. And now, I am looking forward to what’s lies ahead.

When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go, you know, I went – Forrest (from the movie, Forrest Gump)