HLL gets its own Lalitaji

NEW DELHI: Finally, HLL has found its own Lalitaji. Leena Nair, executive director at HLL and newly-anointed member on the FMCG major’s board, will have no precedence to go by. After all, she is expected to set it. And for a company that has inducted a woman on its board, it will be a whole new experience.

Although a wee bit late, HLL – the company predominantly targets women for its entire product portfolio — has realised that it must have someone on its strategic decision making platform to represent its most important buyer constituency, the women.

As soon as the news came, a thrilled Leena called her two sons – Aryan, 9 and Siddhanth, 5 – and her husband Kumar Nair, who runs his own financial services company. She says, her parents and in-laws, her `emotional anchors’, encouraged her all through to `go for it’ and believe in making a career.

For Leena, HLL has been a company where one can create one’s own role description. “If you have a good idea here, you can get it done,” she says. One of HLL’s lister, she strongly believes that a company should be willing to listen to its women employees and come up with a solution that customized to them.

And HLL that identified her as a fast-tracker early on, fits the bill. Till her child was one, her company allowed her to work out of office in the morning and from home in the afternoon. Such employee friendly HLL, helped her career retain its momentum.

Leena didn’t just stray into HR. She saw that coming. “I figured it early on while doing my electronic engineering that HR would be my calling. And when I joined HLL, I knew this was the place I belong” she says.

She credits many of the top brass at HLL as her `early mentors’ including Prem Kamath, Gurdeep Singh and K K Dadiseth among others. Her colleagues both within and outside HLL recall her as a `team player’ and a `people’s person’, a role she falls easily into as an HR specialist.

“I think all women tend to be highly conscious of being very visible and stereotyped by not networking enough. I believe that one must reach out to mentors and seek their help and understanding in dealing with work and issues,” she adds. She joined HLL in 1992 as a management trainee with a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering and MBA in personnel management and industrial relations.

A gold medallist from XLRI, Leena has been credited for a number of HR interventions, including performance management. In March’07, she was appointed vice-president, HR, and clearly groomed for the top job.

Top officials in HLL say there is a Unilever mandate to ensure that there are more women in their `listers’ and encourage gender diversity for better work culture and performance. Currently, about 16% of the company’s middle management positions are occupied by women.

As a thorough HR hand, which has evloved with changing business environment, Leena believes women have a big role to play in businesses. “The next decade will be the decade of HR. I may sound cliched, but engaging with people to perform better will get more crucial” she says.