End of era at Dabur: Super wealth creator Sunil Duggal set to leave in March

Malhotra, 49, is a management graduate from Pune University and a Masters in International Business from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

He joined Dabur as a management trainee in 1994, and handled key assignments in marketing and sales. He rose to become CEO of Dabur International, based out of Dubai, before taking charge as the CEO -India Business in his current position.

Duggal’s legacy

Dabur India, owned by the Burman family, went through a sluggish growth period in the late 80s. The company’s revenue in that year stood at $209 million, but having listed four years earlier, its market cap stood at a mere $179 million. At the time, company sold health supplements, hair oil and tooth powder.

The promoter family decided there was a need for a change in strategy.

Then, Dabur had eight family members, from the fourth and fifth generations of the founding family, working in different roles at the company. They quit executive positions, almost overnight.

Fast forward to 2002, the current CEO, Sunil Duggal, took over. He made a slew of acquisitions -- taking Dabur into home hygiene, nonherbal skin care and ethnic hair care.

He also beefed up Dabur's international presence, from Nepal to Europe and even US. A few acquisitions in Turkey strengthened its business in the Middle East and Africa.

On Duggal’s tenure, the company's revenue rose 7.5 times, EBITDA was up 23.5 times, while PAT jumped 22-fold. This resulted in handsome gains for the stock -- its market cap rose 45 times, with the stock price moving up from Rs 10 to Rs 450.

The challenge for the new CEO would be to sustain the high growth rates achieved by his predecessor.

On the domestic turf, Dabur, whose ayurveda products have been its strong point, now faces stiff competition from new players such as Patanjali and Sri Sri Ayurveda.