'Indian promoters may choose to remain hands-off post-Covid'

R Suresh, MD, INSIST Consulting, on what companies will look for in a world after the Covid-19 pandemic.

By ET Bureau | May 26, 2020, 10.01 AM IST

Now that the picture is clearer, the confidence to expand post-Covid-19 is back.

R Suresh, MD, INSIST Consulting, a leading executive search partner for Indian promoters, was a speaker at the recent BU Webinar, Covid-19: Jaan Bhi Jahaan Bhi, held on May 14.

How confident are Indian promoters of coming out successful after the Covid-19 pandemic?
During the first few weeks of March, Indian promoters were stunned. Forget the profit, they didn’t know whether revenue will occur. Now that the picture is clearer, the confidence to expand post-Covid-19 is back.

What initiatives are being taken to manage businesses differently?
Promoters will delegate the management to the CEO and other CXOs. They will form a highpowered committee and leave it to them to run the company. Promoters are focusing on global deals in technology, products, supply-chain, M&A and FDI. Some of them may even shift out of India.

Which sectors will hire and who will they hire?
Pharma will be the centre of action. Pharma will hire CEOs, R&D leaders in formulation, chemistry and biologics. Chemicals and CRAMS companies will hire manufacturing, R&D and safety leaders. R&D is required in automotive, capital goods, components, et al. On the digital front, fintech, edutech, telemedicine companies will hire CXOs.

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