Malav, the charismatic CEO of Ranbaxy - Fun at Work

One of the most amazing things about the companies on the Great Place to Work lists is that those companies have outperformed the traditional stock markets by a highly significant percentage in the years since the list was created. While this may not be a surprise, it is highly convincing evidence that companies that develop trust, respect, and camaraderie enhance their business performance.

As one of the five key indicators, camaraderie is manifested in many different ways. Here is a short synopsis of an article on Malav, the CEO of Ranbaxy, an Indian pharmaceutical company.

"In the two years since becoming CEO, Malvinder Mohan Singh has systematically purged risk out of Ranbaxy's model.

Malvinder Mohan Singh, 35, does not mind wearing a T-shirt in office - tucked in. He smiles easily and is comfortable before the camera. He has lost four inches on his waist.

There are other, more mundane reasons why Singh (referred to as Malav by nearly everyone who knows him - right down to the security guard at the gate who makes the allowance of adding Saab) is at ease facing the world.

The share price of the pharmaceutical company, India's largest by sales, is hovering at historic highs. Citigroup Global markets talks of the stock as its top pick, with a target price of Rs 620 a share. Its share of the domestic market has increased to 5.05 per cent, which is more sizeable than it appears, given that the domestic pharmaceutical industry is fragmented into some 20,000 companies.

Cookery competitions and birthday parties are held regularly in the company, as are fancy dress shows (Singh dressed as colourful singer Daler Mehendi at one of these). In his office, there is a cutout of, "Ranbaxy/fun @work", which he has registered as a trademark.

Work may not have been so much fun when Singh took charge as the chief executive officer in January 2006. The previous year (Ranbaxy follows the calendar year), the net profit had fallen 62 per cent, sales were flat, the return on capital employed was a measly 5.3 per cent and return on net worth 10.6 per cent. The company was too dependent on the US, which accounted for 45 per cent of its business.

Singh lost no time to embark on a mission that has systematically reduced risk in the company's business model. His diagnosis and prescription would have been accurate - apart from the buoyancy in the share price, the return on capital employed has jumped more than three times and the return on net worth more than two-and-a-half times.

See the rest of article at:(http://www.rediff.com///money/2008/jun/11ranbaxy1.htm)

Link to Ranbaxy.com