Nisa Godrej

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nisa Godrej

• Nisa Godrej is an Indian female business leader and philanthropist who serves as the Chairperson and Managing Director at Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL).

• She heads the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and has been largely responsible for expanding GCPL in South-East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Nisaba brought a shift in the working of the company by encouraging more performance-oriented culture. ^[11]Forbes

• Nisaba sits on the Board of Directors of Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Agrovet, Mahindra and Mahindra, and VIP Industries. She is also associated with social organisations like the Heroes Project and Teach For India that provides education to underprivileged children. Apart from this, she heads the Corporate Communications and Media for the Group and oversees Godrej Nature’s Basket. ^[12]Firstpost

• The businesswoman is a philanthropist and a member of the Indian Philanthropy Forum. Nisa’s commitment to “change the educational outcomes for a million Indian girls” has led her to get actively involved with Dasra, which is a strategic philanthropic foundation that works with women, children, and rural families for large-scale social change. ^[13]Mint

• She also leads the Godrej Group’s ‘Good & Green’ CSR initiative and heads the operations of the Godrej Family Council.

• Nisa is the ‘media-shy and reserved’ younger daughter of Adi Godrej, the Chairman of Godrej Group. Her father has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, while her mother, Parmeshwar Godrej, was a social worker and businesswoman who passed away at the age of 70 after suffering from a degenerative lung illness. ^[14]NDTV

• At the age of 6, Nisa featured in the Bollywood movie “Jaanbaaz” in 1986. She was seen riding a horse with the initials N.A.G. in the opening scene of the movie. ^[15]Monday8AM

  

• The middle child of the Godrej family, Nisa, was a flop show when she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2000. She had to spend a year in the company’s home insecticides joint venture with the US-based Sara Lee and another year in the human resources before shifting to the Group’s inaugural attempt to market tea. ^[16]Harvard Alumni Recalling her experience, Nisa said in an interview,
  

  It was a big failure. It was an expensive way to learn about the realities of business.”

• Nisaba was the brain behind the GCPL’s Project Leapfrog that was initiated in 2007. During that period, the company’s market capitalisation increased 20-folds – from Rs. 3,000 crore to Rs. 60,000 crore. ^[17]Hindustan Times

• The young businesswoman is known for starting the trend of hiring foreigners for leadership positions at Godrej. Soon after she was appointed to the board of  Godrej Agrovet in 2008, Nisa hired one of her Harvard classmates, Mark Kahn, as the Executive Vice President at Godrej Agrovet – replacing a longtime Godrej employee. Her move sent shockwaves throughout Mumbai’s business industry. ^[18]Harvard Alumni

• In 2010, Godrej was appointed as the President of Human Capital and Innovation at Godrej Industries Ltd., where she was responsible for managing various projects in innovation, strategy, and HR for the conglomerate.

• She is famous for turning around the fortunes of Godrej Agrovet that was once a loss-making venture and fetched a profit of Rs. 80 crore in 2011-2012. 

• The revenue of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) doubled to Rs. 7,583 crore in 2013-2014 from 2010-2011 under the leadership of Nisaba as the company’s Executive Director. ^[19]Business Today

• In May 2013, Nisa married her Wharton classmate Kalpesh Mehta who is a real-estate developer. Their marriage made headlines for its secrecy and the nuptials took place at the Godrej’s beachside mansion in Juhu, Mumbai. ^[20]iDiva

• Nisa was in the news for attending board meetings with her one-month-old son Zoran after she resumed her maternity leave. The new mother was admired for her decision to take her son to work and for trying to strike a balance between her work and personal life. ^[21]The Economic Times

• In a discussion about the struggle and successes of motherhood, ^[22]Hindustan Times Nisaba said,
  

  I am very happy to leave my son with a nanny, or in playschool, or with my mother- or father-in-law because I want to work. I have learnt to take motherhood month by month. It is for each woman to balance those decisions about work and career. It is not about what books and newspaper articles tell you. It is about what you want… and once your choice is made, have confidence in that choice and stand by it. Also, remember to not judge other women for the choices they make.”

• Nisaba, the younger Godrej daughter, succeeded her father as the Executive Chairperson of the 121-year-old Godrej Group’s consumer goods flagship on 10 May 2017. ^[23]Deccan Chronicle

• When Nisa was appointed the Executive Chairperson, she became the youngest chairperson of a company whose consolidated revenue was Rs. 9,600 crore.

• She has played a significant role in the transformation of GCPL and developing the company’s strategy, since her appointment as the Executive Chairperson.

• Since the time she has taken over the Godrej business, Nisaba has become the face of the reinvention and relaunch of the consumer products at Godrej, including inexpensive insect repellents, hair dyes, and car aerosols, taking the company’s revenues to newer heights.

  

• In July 2020, Nisaba Godrej stepped in to lead GCPL from the front and took over as the company’s Chairperson and Managing Director when Vivek Gambhir, the former MD and Chairperson, stepped down due to personal reasons. She handled the company when it was dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and its revenue had dipped by 12 per cent. ^[24]Forbes

• In 2020, the board of GCPL announced that Nisa will remain the chairperson of the company till 31 March 2022, and its Managing Director till 30 September 2022. ^[25]Mint

• The entire Godrej family is involved in running the Godrej conglomerate. As of 2021, Adi Godrej remains the Executive Chairman of the group and drives the overall group portfolio, while Nisa focuses on innovation, strategy, and human resources. The elder Godrej daughter, Tanya, serves as the Chief Brand Officer for the group and also oversees corporate communications and health-food chain Nature’s Basket. The youngest Godrej sibling, Pirojsha, is in charge of the Godrej Properties, the group’s real estate business. ^[26]The Economic Times

• Adi Godrej’s younger brother and Nisa’s uncle, Nadir Godrej, oversees Godrej Industries as the Managing Director and chairs the agribusiness unit – Godrej Agrovet. He also holds a one-fifth share in the assets of the Godrej Group.

• The business tycoon is a strong advocate for women-friendly policies at the workplace. Nisa promotes these policies by offering flexible working hours to women employees, work-from-home options, and by introducing a program that helps women who have dropped out of the workforce at the mid-management level to return. Under her leadership, the company’s board boasts of five women, the highest of any listed company in India. ^[27]Forbes

• She’s also quite vocal about LGBT rights and has pushed her company to offer health insurance for same-sex partners and to provide pay for gender transition and hormone replacement therapy. ^[28]Forbes

• In an interview, when asked about her future visions for the company, Nisaba expressed her intentions to diversify the workplace and to increase Godrej’s women workforce to at least 30 per cent in the next few years. ^[29]Business Today She added,
  

  We want to be 10 times our current size, 10 years from now. We are not even the best in India and nowhere near being world-class. The idea is to make the company more and more attractive for women to stay in the workforce.”