Nisa Godrej – touted as one of the youngest chairpersons in corporate India, is an Indian business woman, industrialist, executive and philanthropist. She is the youngest daughter of Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group and serves as Chairman and Managing Director at Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), with a focus on innovation, strategy and human resources. He is also known for leading change at GCPL and introducing a performance-oriented and inclusive culture in the workplace. As the head of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, Nisa is largely responsible for growing GCPL globally in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Wiki/Biography
Nisa Godrej was born as Nisaba Adi Godrej on Sunday, 12 February 1978 (age 43 years; in 2021) with zodiac sign Aquarius. She was born and raised in Mumbai where she attended The Cathedral And John Connon School from 1983 to 1994. Nisa then went to England to receive her formal education at Stowe School until 1996. For higher education, she moved to the US and completed her bachelor’s in science from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and then got an MBA from Harvard Business School in Massachusetts.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 3”
Hair Color: Medium Ash Blonde
Eye Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Nisa Godrej is the youngest daughter of the chairman of the Godrej Group, and Indian billionaire businessman, and industrialist Adi Burjorji Godrej, who has been honored with the Padma Bhushan. Nisa’s mother, Parmeshwar Adi Godrej, is also the chairman of the Godrej Group, a businessman, former Air India flight attendant, and an Indian philanthropist and social worker who died of degenerative lung disease in 2016. Nisa is the middle child of her parents. His sister, Tanya Arvind Dubash, is the Executive Director and Chief Brand Officer at Godrej Industries Ltd., responsible for managing corporate communications and health food chain Nature’s Basket.
Nisa Godrej with her sister Tanya Arvind Dubash
Nisa’s younger brother, Pirojsha Adi Godrej, serves as the Executive Chairman of Godrej Properties Ltd. and oversees the entire portfolio of the group. He is also in charge of Godrej Properties, which is the real estate arm of the group.
Nisa Godrej with her brother Pirojsha Godrej
Nisa’s uncle, Nadir Godrej, who is her father’s younger brother, also holds a one-fifth share in the assets of the Godrej Group. Nadir serves as the Managing Director of Godrej Industries and chairs Godrej Agrovet, the conglomerate’s agribusiness unit.
Husband & Son
Nisa Godrej married Kalpesh Mehta, her classmate at Wharton, in May 2013. Her husband is the co-founder of Housr and the founder of Tribeca Developers, a real estate business that represents the Trump Organization in India. The wedding took place at Godrej’s beachfront mansion in Juhu, Mumbai and it was a private affair with only family and close friends. The couple has a son Zoran Mehta, and a daughter.
Nisa Godrej with her parents and her husband
Career
Business
In her early 20s, before she went to Harvard to get her MBA, Nisa Godrej interned under A. Mahendran, former managing director at GCPL. A fresh Wharton Bachelor at the time, Nisaaba worked at Godrej’s household insecticide joint venture with US-based Sara Lee in 2000 for a year before she took up the position of Assistant Manager of Corporate Human Resources. According to him, he was a flop show at the time. Nisa recalled in an interview,
It was a colossal failure. It’s an expensive way to learn about business realities.”
Within a year, Nisaba became the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of Godrej Tea. In 2008, Nisa was appointed as a member of the board of Godrej Agrovet, and in almost two years the middle child of Godrej became the President of Human Capital and Innovation at Godrej Industries Ltd. and he is also a Director at Godrej Household Products Ltd. Nisa’s new role involved managing various projects in innovation, strategy, and HR for the company. In May 2013, Nisa was appointed as the Executive Director of Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), after which she did not want to look back. When Nisaba completed his four years in the leadership role, he stepped into his father’s shoes in May 2017 and became the Executive Chairman of Godrej Group’s FMCG arm. Three years later in July, young Godrej faced another challenge when Vivek Gambhir, former MD and Chairman of GCPL stepped down citing personal reasons and Nisa was given the reigns of Godrej’s consumer flagship. His real challenge is to deal with the impact of COVID-19 on the company’s revenue which has declined by 12 percent. Nisaba also leads the Godrej Group’s ‘Good & Green’ CSR initiative and oversees the operations of the Godrej Family Council. When asked about what the future holds for the company in an interview, Nisaba replied that she wants to make the Godrej Group more inclusive, diverse, and at least 30 percent female in the workforce in the next few years. He further commented,
We want to be 10 times the size we are now, 10 years from now. We are not the best in India and hardly world class. The idea is to make the company more attractive for women to stay in the workforce.”
Philanthropy
The businessman is a philanthropist who works with social organizations such as Project Heroes and Teach For India, to make primary education accessible to underprivileged children. Nisa is also actively involved with Dasra – a philanthropic foundation that works with rural women, children and families for large-scale social change. Godrej revealed in the article that he is committed to “changing educational outcomes for a million Indian girls.” Nisa, the face of change at the family-owned Godrej Group, also supports a gender-neutral policy. Nisa defended the rights of the LGBT+ community at her company when she launched health insurance for same-sex couples and a wage policy for gender transition and hormone replacement therapy.
Visionary business leaders strongly support women in leadership roles within the company as well, and their support is not limited to her. During her tenure at the Godrej Group, Nisa successfully appointed five women to the company’s board – the highest of any listed company in India. To make its company viable for its female workforce, Godrej has introduced many women-friendly policies, including work-from-home initiatives, maternity support, leadership training, flexible working hours for female employees and programs to help women make a comeback. who have dropped out of the workforce at the middle management level.
Leadership Positions
The younger Godrej daughter sits on the Board of Directors of various companies including Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Agrovet, Mahindra and Mahindra, and VIP Industries. Nisa also heads Corporate Communications and Media for the Group and oversees Godrej Nature’s Basket with her sister Tanya. The philanthropist also serves as a member of the Indian Philanthropy Forum.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 2018, Nisa appeared on the Forbes List of Asia’s Top 25 Rising Star Businesswomen.
- Two years later, in 2020, Nisa was featured in Fortune India’s annual list of “Most powerful women in business making an impact based on their business acumen and social and cultural influence”.
Favourite
Salary
Nisa earned approximately Rs. 4.62 crores per annum.
Net worth
Nisa Godrej net worth is approximately Rs. 1,048.96 crores and he also owns shareholdings worth over Rs. 2,657 crore.
Facts/Trivia
- Nisa Godrej’s full name is Nisaba Godrej.
- Nisa has a quiet and media-shy nature, which is quite protective of her public profile.
- When Nisa was 6 years old, she got the chance to make her Bollywood debut in the movie “Jaanbaaz” in 1986. Godrej appeared in the opening scene of the movie riding a horse with the initials NAG
6-year-old Nisa Godrej in the opening scene of the film Jaanbaaz in 1986
- The businessman is passionate about women’s education and learning more about the human mind. In her free time, she likes to go trekking or engage in equestrian sports or water sports.
Nisa Godrej shows off her riding skills
- Nisaba is known for quick decisions by his colleagues and he has become the face of reinvention since he was associated with the family business.
- In 2007, GCPL’s market capitalization grew 20-fold – from Rs. 3,000 crore to Rs. 60,000 crore, thanks to Nisa for its contribution to GCPL’s Leapfrog Project.
- The Harvard graduate was also admired for his move to hire foreigners for leadership positions at the 121-year-old conglomerate Godrej and for setting an example of performance-oriented hiring in the Indian business industry. In 2008, Nisa started a trend by replacing a longtime Godrej employee with one of her Harvard classmates, Mark Kahn, as Executive Vice President at Godrej Agrovetto.
- Under Nisa’s directorship, the results of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) in FY 2013-2014 doubled to Rs. 7,583 crore from FY 2010-2011.
- He famously turned a loss-making venture – Godrej Agrovet into a profitable one in 2011- 2012 when the flagship company made a profit of Rs. 80 crores.
- The young Godrej has also been credited with launching new consumer products at Godrej in the last five years, such as hair dyes, insecticides, tissues, deodorants, inexpensive insect repellents and car aerosols. Reports state that this accounts for one-fifth of Godrej Consumer Products’ global growth and more than one-third of the company’s domestic growth.
Nisa Godrej with its new product under GCPL
- Nisa also achieved success as the youngest executive chairman of a company whose consolidated revenue was Rs. 9,600 crore.
- In 2014, Nisa made headlines for bringing her one-month-old son Zoran to the office for a board meeting, while still on maternity leave. The young mother’s dedication to work while balancing her personal life set a benchmark for the female workforce. When Nisaba was asked in an interview about her decision and how she felt about bringing her son to the office, she replied
I am very happy to leave my child with a babysitter, or at playschool, or with my mother or father-in-law because I want to work. I have learned to take mother from month to month. It is for every woman to balance those decisions about work and career. It’s not about what books and newspaper articles tell you. It’s about what you want… and once your choice is made, be confident in that choice and stick to it. Also, remember not to judge other women for the choices they make.”
- According to reports, Nisa Godrej has been appointed as the Chairman of GCPL until 31 March 2022 and she will serve as its Managing Director until 30 September 2022.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
