Overview | Profile | We look for..
Finance
ITC operates a caderised Finance function that serves all its businesses. The Finance function in ITC proactively partners the various businesses of ITC. The functional role is a dynamic amalgam of 3 distinct dimensions, namely, that of a Value Strategist, a Risk & Opportunity Manager and Service & Solution Provider. ITC's multi-business context provides opportunities for working in a wide range of business environments, enabling growth through professional development. A career in Finance offers you a range of challenging assignments across operational accounting, business planning and analytics, strategy evaluation, risk management, treasury management and commercial negotiations.
Post induction, candidates could be positioned either in one of the Company's varied businesses or Corporate Headquarters or in the Company's Internal Audit function. The posting could be anywhere in India depending upon the need, as the Company has units and business headquarters in metros, smaller towns and up country locations. During the course of one's career, the individual moves across several such locations.
In the business finance role, employees will be placed and rotated through operational roles both in the field (at manufacturing units/marketing offices) and Head Office. Opportunities for working on specific projects and in cross functional teams are also available so as to provide business exposure and to enable application of conceptual knowledge to business situations and hone leadership capability.
In ITC's Internal Audit, unlike in traditional audits, managers work in a live business environment and contribute to the effectiveness of management systems in a fast changing, dynamic set-up. This period entails considerable travel and gives the individual a first-hand opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Company's business systems and strategies at work. After this stint the manager is positioned in one of the Company's businesses at any of the operating units spread across the country.
Your career in finance usually commences with being a member of the operational unit team or audit team with specific independent responsibilities. Based on performance and merit, you will in course of time, be entrusted with the leadership responsibility of heading the function in a unit or business area with a team reporting to you.
Profile
Jasraj Grewal
Jasraj's journey in ITC:
I graduated in B.Com (Hons.) from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata completed my CA in year 2000. I joined ITC in 2003 and being a third generation Calcuttan I always aspired to work with ITC. The interview call opened a new chapter of my life, that I continue to live and cherish. The journey started with an Induction Programme across all businesses and thereafter I was posted in the Corporate Internal Audit, where I had the opportunity to review the processes and controls of close to 7 very different businesses across functions. An incredible opportunity to interact and put forward my recommendations to the senior management.
After a stint of two years traveling on audits across the country I was posted to Saharanpur. My wife was welcomed into the ITC family in the traditional manner. I worked as Assistant Commercial Manager responsible for Costing, Taxation and Books of Accounts of the 2nd largest cigarette factory in the country and a platform to work closely with different functions. I was part of the team to implement a higher version of an ERP and commence Exports from the factory. The experience taught me what I'd only read in books!!
Saharanpur has a very close and warm community and living in the Park is a great experience. I was the Honorary Treasurer of the Recreation Club. A perfect work life balance where you interact with all colleagues and their families, organise get-togethers, work and party hard.
After close to three and a half years I moved to a Head Office role at Kolkata. I was looking after Indirect Taxes and Modern Trade and was working closely with the best brains in the Company and in the country. I got the chance to be part of briefings to the senior counsels of the country. The Head Office stint of one year gave me much broader perspectives to look at issues and solutions.
Jasraj's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
My present profile is Finance Manager for the Trade Marketing & Distribution for Southern India. This role is an operational role involving both finance and logistics. I have a relatively big team spread over a huge geography reporting into me. This role has made me a Business Manager and with this role I have completed the entire Manufacturing to Sales cycle. It's exciting to deal with the day-to-day challenges and also applying strategic thinking to manage the growing businesses.
Jasraj believes ITC offers you:
The breadth of exposure in diverse roles ranging from Factory to Head Office to Marketing & Distribution helps expand your bandwidth. You are provided with autonomy and space to apply your mind to addressing both problems and opportunities.
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Jasraj Grewal
Joined ITC : 2003
Jasraj Grewal
Jasraj's journey in ITC:
I graduated in B.Com (Hons.) from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata completed my CA in year 2000. I joined ITC in 2003 and being a third generation Calcuttan I always aspired to work with ITC. The interview call opened a new chapter of my life, that I continue to live and cherish. The journey started with an Induction Programme across all businesses and thereafter I was posted in the Corporate Internal Audit, where I had the opportunity to review the processes and controls of close to 7 very different businesses across functions. An incredible opportunity to interact and put forward my recommendations to the senior management.
After a stint of two years traveling on audits across the country I was posted to Saharanpur. My wife was welcomed into the ITC family in the traditional manner. I worked as Assistant Commercial Manager responsible for Costing, Taxation and Books of Accounts of the 2nd largest cigarette factory in the country and a platform to work closely with different functions. I was part of the team to implement a higher version of an ERP and commence Exports from the factory. The experience taught me what I'd only read in books!!
Saharanpur has a very close and warm community and living in the Park is a great experience. I was the Honorary Treasurer of the Recreation Club. A perfect work life balance where you interact with all colleagues and their families, organise get-togethers, work and party hard.
After close to three and a half years I moved to a Head Office role at Kolkata. I was looking after Indirect Taxes and Modern Trade and was working closely with the best brains in the Company and in the country. I got the chance to be part of briefings to the senior counsels of the country. The Head Office stint of one year gave me much broader perspectives to look at issues and solutions.
Jasraj's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
My present profile is Finance Manager for the Trade Marketing & Distribution for Southern India. This role is an operational role involving both finance and logistics. I have a relatively big team spread over a huge geography reporting into me. This role has made me a Business Manager and with this role I have completed the entire Manufacturing to Sales cycle. It's exciting to deal with the day-to-day challenges and also applying strategic thinking to manage the growing businesses.
Jasraj believes ITC offers you:
The breadth of exposure in diverse roles ranging from Factory to Head Office to Marketing & Distribution helps expand your bandwidth. You are provided with autonomy and space to apply your mind to addressing both problems and opportunities.
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Overview | Profile | We look for..
Human Resources
With over 26,000 employees across the group, scores of manufacturing facilities and operations spread all over the country, the Human Resources function in ITC offers very challenging career opportunities. With a legacy of over a hundred years, management of the human resource relies heavily on the wealth of experience of the past and simultaneously constantly reinvents itself to remain contemporary and contribute to the achievement of our strategic objectives.
ITC's Human Resources policies and strategies seek to ensure that HR Systems and processes focus on building a customer focused organisation that further enhances the organisational capability to compete and win the market. People are ITC's unique source of competitive advantage and HR Systems and processes ensure that the potential of our human resources is leveraged to enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise and in building a winning organisation.
ITC provides you an opportunity to experience the diversity present within the Human Resources function ranging from Employee Relations and Employee Engagement - Negotiations, Employee Welfare, Building Alignment, Productivity Enhancement, Process Excellence to Salary and Wage Administration, Statutory Compliance, Corporate Social Development initiatives. The diversity of ITC's businesses also ensures that you experience the varied dynamics of the function that comes into play in different business scenarios.
A typical career in HR entails significant experience in each of the areas mentioned above, which helps you develop as a holistic HR Manager. A career in ITC will lead you from being a part of a unit to heading a unit/region, to heading various functions within HR and finally to heading the function at the divisional or corporate level. You will be encouraged to be a part of various cross functional teams, an experience that will enable you understand how different functions work synergistically to produce business outcomes.
Profile
Amitav Mukherji
Amitav's journey in ITC:
I joined ITC in 1995, after a short stint of 2 months at an international bank. One of the reasons I made the switch early was a strong desire to experience the challenge of managing industrial relations and even then ITC had a stellar reputation in that area. The first 6 years were a whirlwind of experiences. I had the opportunity to work very closely with the leadership team at Bangalore factory and was fortunate to experience the challenges of a collective bargaining environment. My role demanded complete immersion in understanding of manufacturing operations at the plant, building a compelling case for change and influencing key stakeholders amongst the workmen to embrace that change. The effort culminated with the plant concluding a long-term settlement, paving the way for the adoption of cellular manufacturing systems with a substantial improvement in productivity.
Within 5 years of joining the Company, I had the opportunity to lead the HR function at Bangalore factory and in that role implemented the relocation of the decades-old manufacturing facility to a new location in the outskirts of the city, overcoming several obstacles and challenges.
Thereafter, I expressed a desire to experience a different function and I was fortunate that ITC was open to the idea of experimenting with traditional career trajectories. I found myself as Branch Manager for Eastern and Central UP, managing a large sales team and handling trade marketing and distribution for a portfolio of brands, including some of the new categories ITC had just launched. The experience was priceless because the position came with the authority and responsibility to make a meaningful impact to the health of the business in one's territory. The Branch Manager's role in ITC is perhaps the earliest opportunity a manager can get to experience all the levers of management that impact business: people, processes, capital and brands. As part of my cross-functional exposure, I thereafter had the opportunity to work as Brand Manager for Gold Flake and the Marketing Manager for a portfolio of ITC's cigarette brands. It is in this role that I developed an appreciation of ITC's strengths especially in consumer understanding and insight and translating that into a value proposition for the consumer. The rigor involved in the management of our brands and the emphasis and investments in marketing research provided me with a fantastic exposure to the marketing discipline.
I had, prior to my formal management education at XLRI, an interest in pursuing an academic programme overseas and had secured admission at Cornell University. I decided to revive that offer and the Company supported me financially as well as professionally, by providing me a year's sabbatical leave and helping me manage the transition.
After completing my programme I returned to Head the Human Resources function at ITC's Foods Division in 2006. Over the last 5 years I have relished being part of 'creating history'. The scaling up of the business, the challenge of establishing HR systems and processes, the establishment of people systems in our manufacturing facilities, and the management of talent in extremely competitive markets have been a very rewarding experiences. The journey so far has been rich in its diversity, exciting in the challenges it has offered and rewarding in my own development as an individual and a professional manager.
Amitav's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
I believe ITC's culture is the glue which binds all of us to this institution. As a professional enterprise, it is amongst the very few that effectively balances short-term demands of the market place with a long-term perspective of its socio-economic environment and the interests of all its stakeholders. This is reflected in the Company's culture. While being informal it is disciplined, demands outcomes as much as it values processes, and provides early responsibilities with all the operating freedom and authority required in the job. Most of all it supports a culture that takes pride in the delivery of high quality results in whatever endeavor it undertakes.
Amitav believes ITC offers you:
ITC provides a tremendous diversity in the range of businesses in which HR folks may hone their skills - services to consumer goods to agri produce to paper, while remaining in the same Company. Within the HR domain, ITC provides holistic exposure to various facets of the function - from managing industrial relations in any of our numerous state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, to talent acquisition or working on designing learning and development interventions, the entire range of experiences is open to individuals who demonstrate initiative and an aptitude for going beyond the requirements of the job. |
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Shivani Vellanki
Shivani's journey in ITC:
I joined ITC from TISS, Mumbai back in 2005. Over the last six years, I've had the fortune of having worked in three business divisions of ITC. After the heady induction days at ITC Sonar (no doubt designed to give rookies like me a sampling of ITC's grandeur!), I was plunged straight into hinterland Andhra Pradesh - home to one of ITC's oldest business divisions, ILTD. A rigorous business induction there took me through every area of operation from 'seed to smoke'. Soon places like Guntur, Chirala, Anaparti, Ongole, Rajahmundry and Mysore became part of my regular 'beat'. Counting and learning to grade heaps of tobacco bales to exacting international standards, standing at the feed-end of the Greenleaf Thresher (GLT) to weed out foreign material and keeping the time-office at the factory, it was at ILTD that I learnt that in order to be a well-rounded HR professional, one needed to understand business dynamics and operating challenges as well as the Operations guys do.
My stint in PSPD was short but equally valuable. Scouting for talent across the length and breadth of the country for the three units in Bhadrachalam, Tribeni and Kovai against tough deadlines, our team set up a robust pipeline to manage talent and help put in place some innovative recruitment indices.
By far my best experience has been with ITC's Agri Business Division (ABD). For a business that was founded on the principles of innovation by pioneering the acclaimed 'eChoupal' model of commodity sourcing, it offered me plenty of opportunities to experiment, innovate and implement HR practices. From conceptualising and implementing a highly successful L&D initiative to being part of a taskforce that helped set up an expanding rural marketing platform, the journey thus far has been very rewarding and enriching.
Shivani's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
At first, it amused me when every second person I'd meet in ITC would tell me he / she's been around since the time I went to kindergarten! Very quickly I realised though, the old cliché that ITC was "built by successive generations of people with passion and purpose" was true after all! Visit any Unit / Factory / Marketing Office or Head Office of any Division and you will find a wealth of collective wisdom gleaned over the years passed on almost lovingly from one generation to another. All the same, if there's a faster, better and more efficient way of doing things, you're encouraged to grab the ball and run.
You will find a unique workplace where the young and the experienced collaborate everyday to do better than yesterday in the true spirit of trusteeship.
Shivani believes ITC offers you:
ITC is a place where if you want to take initiative for something, you're given all the space you need, more so I believe in the area of Human Resources. Very few companies offer you the opportunity of working in different industries each with its attendant HR challenges. ITC offers you every opportunity to seek and expand your bandwidth across businesses and functions. |
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Tarun
Tarun's journey in ITC:
I am an Engineering graduate, after which I completed my MA in HR from TISS, Mumbai. I joined ITC in June, 2010 as part of the Assistant Under Training batch. During my induction at ITC Sonar, I got introduced to the various businesses of ITC, an opportunity to understand "The ITC Way" of work and above all the opportunity to personally interact with the business leadership of ITC.
Post my corporate induction, I was sent to ITC's Bangalore factory to understand manufacturing operations. The 90 days that followed involved detailed understanding of the manufacturing process, interacting and learning from employees who have spent a lifetime with ITC and an in depth exposure to industrial relations.
I then moved to a sales branch in the East for my Sales / Sales-HR stint, where I learnt about sales branch operations and the role of Sales-HR in enhancing the effectiveness of a dispersed sales force. I was involved in multifarious activities such as recruitment of frontline workforce, implementation of frontline performance management system, conducting development centres, providing behavioral training to the frontline workforce and formulation of induction programme for new recruits.
On completion of my induction, I was positioned at Head Office as a part of the HR-Operations team. I am currently a part of a 4 member team and am closely involved with manpower planning, recruitment, HR budgeting, conducting development centres for different functions and execution of live HR projects.
Tarun's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
ITC is a place where you keep 'learning' and 'unlearning' every moment. You interact with stalwarts who were Assistants Under Training like us years ago and these senior managers are always happy to share their experiences with newcomers People are warm, courteous and they become friends for life. The eclectic mix of various generations provides you an environment where you get exposed to multiple perspectives.
I have completed two years in this Company and right from training to my current responsibility, it has been a great learning experience.
Tarun believes ITC offers you:
ITC has aggressively diversified into many categories over the last decade and it offers individuals an opportunity to be a catalyst to this growth engine. You get a chance to work on interesting live projects and cross functional teams. After two years I can say that ITC gives an individual a chance to explore his or her potential to the fullest.
The sheer experience of being a part of this growth engine is an immense motivator to experiment and deliver.
ITC puts immense trust in its employees and it is a privilege to work with this world-class organisation.
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Amitav Mukheji
Joined ITC : 1995
Amitav Mukherji
Amitav's journey in ITC:
I joined ITC in 1995, after a short stint of 2 months at an international bank. One of the reasons I made the switch early was a strong desire to experience the challenge of managing industrial relations and even then ITC had a stellar reputation in that area. The first 6 years were a whirlwind of experiences. I had the opportunity to work very closely with the leadership team at Bangalore factory and was fortunate to experience the challenges of a collective bargaining environment. My role demanded complete immersion in understanding of manufacturing operations at the plant, building a compelling case for change and influencing key stakeholders amongst the workmen to embrace that change. The effort culminated with the plant concluding a long-term settlement, paving the way for the adoption of cellular manufacturing systems with a substantial improvement in productivity.
Within 5 years of joining the Company, I had the opportunity to lead the HR function at Bangalore factory and in that role implemented the relocation of the decades-old manufacturing facility to a new location in the outskirts of the city, overcoming several obstacles and challenges.
Thereafter, I expressed a desire to experience a different function and I was fortunate that ITC was open to the idea of experimenting with traditional career trajectories. I found myself as Branch Manager for Eastern and Central UP, managing a large sales team and handling trade marketing and distribution for a portfolio of brands, including some of the new categories ITC had just launched. The experience was priceless because the position came with the authority and responsibility to make a meaningful impact to the health of the business in one's territory. The Branch Manager's role in ITC is perhaps the earliest opportunity a manager can get to experience all the levers of management that impact business: people, processes, capital and brands. As part of my cross-functional exposure, I thereafter had the opportunity to work as Brand Manager for Gold Flake and the Marketing Manager for a portfolio of ITC's cigarette brands. It is in this role that I developed an appreciation of ITC's strengths especially in consumer understanding and insight and translating that into a value proposition for the consumer. The rigor involved in the management of our brands and the emphasis and investments in marketing research provided me with a fantastic exposure to the marketing discipline.
I had, prior to my formal management education at XLRI, an interest in pursuing an academic programme overseas and had secured admission at Cornell University. I decided to revive that offer and the Company supported me financially as well as professionally, by providing me a year's sabbatical leave and helping me manage the transition.
After completing my programme I returned to Head the Human Resources function at ITC's Foods Division in 2006. Over the last 5 years I have relished being part of 'creating history'. The scaling up of the business, the challenge of establishing HR systems and processes, the establishment of people systems in our manufacturing facilities, and the management of talent in extremely competitive markets have been a very rewarding experiences. The journey so far has been rich in its diversity, exciting in the challenges it has offered and rewarding in my own development as an individual and a professional manager.
Amitav's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
I believe ITC's culture is the glue which binds all of us to this institution. As a professional enterprise, it is amongst the very few that effectively balances short-term demands of the market place with a long-term perspective of its socio-economic environment and the interests of all its stakeholders. This is reflected in the Company's culture. While being informal it is disciplined, demands outcomes as much as it values processes, and provides early responsibilities with all the operating freedom and authority required in the job. Most of all it supports a culture that takes pride in the delivery of high quality results in whatever endeavor it undertakes.
Amitav believes ITC offers you:
ITC provides a tremendous diversity in the range of businesses in which HR folks may hone their skills - services to consumer goods to agri produce to paper, while remaining in the same Company. Within the HR domain, ITC provides holistic exposure to various facets of the function - from managing industrial relations in any of our numerous state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, to talent acquisition or working on designing learning and development interventions, the entire range of experiences is open to individuals who demonstrate initiative and an aptitude for going beyond the requirements of the job. |
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Shivani Vellanki
Joined ITC : 2005
Shivani Vellanki
Shivani's journey in ITC:
I joined ITC from TISS, Mumbai back in 2005. Over the last six years, I've had the fortune of having worked in three business divisions of ITC. After the heady induction days at ITC Sonar (no doubt designed to give rookies like me a sampling of ITC's grandeur!), I was plunged straight into hinterland Andhra Pradesh - home to one of ITC's oldest business divisions, ILTD. A rigorous business induction there took me through every area of operation from 'seed to smoke'. Soon places like Guntur, Chirala, Anaparti, Ongole, Rajahmundry and Mysore became part of my regular 'beat'. Counting and learning to grade heaps of tobacco bales to exacting international standards, standing at the feed-end of the Greenleaf Thresher (GLT) to weed out foreign material and keeping the time-office at the factory, it was at ILTD that I learnt that in order to be a well-rounded HR professional, one needed to understand business dynamics and operating challenges as well as the Operations guys do.
My stint in PSPD was short but equally valuable. Scouting for talent across the length and breadth of the country for the three units in Bhadrachalam, Tribeni and Kovai against tough deadlines, our team set up a robust pipeline to manage talent and help put in place some innovative recruitment indices.
By far my best experience has been with ITC's Agri Business Division (ABD). For a business that was founded on the principles of innovation by pioneering the acclaimed 'eChoupal' model of commodity sourcing, it offered me plenty of opportunities to experiment, innovate and implement HR practices. From conceptualising and implementing a highly successful L&D initiative to being part of a taskforce that helped set up an expanding rural marketing platform, the journey thus far has been very rewarding and enriching.
Shivani's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
At first, it amused me when every second person I'd meet in ITC would tell me he / she's been around since the time I went to kindergarten! Very quickly I realised though, the old cliché that ITC was "built by successive generations of people with passion and purpose" was true after all! Visit any Unit / Factory / Marketing Office or Head Office of any Division and you will find a wealth of collective wisdom gleaned over the years passed on almost lovingly from one generation to another. All the same, if there's a faster, better and more efficient way of doing things, you're encouraged to grab the ball and run.
You will find a unique workplace where the young and the experienced collaborate everyday to do better than yesterday in the true spirit of trusteeship.
Shivani believes ITC offers you:
ITC is a place where if you want to take initiative for something, you're given all the space you need, more so I believe in the area of Human Resources. Very few companies offer you the opportunity of working in different industries each with its attendant HR challenges. ITC offers you every opportunity to seek and expand your bandwidth across businesses and functions. |
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Tarun
Joined ITC : 2010
Tarun
Tarun's journey in ITC:
I am an Engineering graduate, after which I completed my MA in HR from TISS, Mumbai. I joined ITC in June, 2010 as part of the Assistant Under Training batch. During my induction at ITC Sonar, I got introduced to the various businesses of ITC, an opportunity to understand "The ITC Way" of work and above all the opportunity to personally interact with the business leadership of ITC.
Post my corporate induction, I was sent to ITC's Bangalore factory to understand manufacturing operations. The 90 days that followed involved detailed understanding of the manufacturing process, interacting and learning from employees who have spent a lifetime with ITC and an in depth exposure to industrial relations.
I then moved to a sales branch in the East for my Sales / Sales-HR stint, where I learnt about sales branch operations and the role of Sales-HR in enhancing the effectiveness of a dispersed sales force. I was involved in multifarious activities such as recruitment of frontline workforce, implementation of frontline performance management system, conducting development centres, providing behavioral training to the frontline workforce and formulation of induction programme for new recruits.
On completion of my induction, I was positioned at Head Office as a part of the HR-Operations team. I am currently a part of a 4 member team and am closely involved with manpower planning, recruitment, HR budgeting, conducting development centres for different functions and execution of live HR projects.
Tarun's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
ITC is a place where you keep 'learning' and 'unlearning' every moment. You interact with stalwarts who were Assistants Under Training like us years ago and these senior managers are always happy to share their experiences with newcomers People are warm, courteous and they become friends for life. The eclectic mix of various generations provides you an environment where you get exposed to multiple perspectives.
I have completed two years in this Company and right from training to my current responsibility, it has been a great learning experience.
Tarun believes ITC offers you:
ITC has aggressively diversified into many categories over the last decade and it offers individuals an opportunity to be a catalyst to this growth engine. You get a chance to work on interesting live projects and cross functional teams. After two years I can say that ITC gives an individual a chance to explore his or her potential to the fullest.
The sheer experience of being a part of this growth engine is an immense motivator to experiment and deliver.
ITC puts immense trust in its employees and it is a privilege to work with this world-class organisation.
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Overview | Profile | We look for..
Technical
17 factories, best in class technology, state of the art facilities, diversity in roles, processes and in businesses, all this and more makes ITC a dream company for professionals pursuing a career in the Technical function. ITC recruits the best engineering minds from both premier engineering campuses across the country and directly from the market for roles in its Technical function. The objective of ITC's Technical function is to service the market with world-class products and huge investments are made continuously to remain at the cutting-edge of technology and most importantly, towards the enrichment and development of our human capital.
ITC visits premier engineering campuses (IITs, select NITs and BITS Pilani) to induct "techno-managers" into the technical function. In ITC responsibility comes early. These roles can range from operations, maintenance, engineering, project management and logistics. The role can involve heading a small department having 100-150 employees or managing a project involving substantial capital expenditure or managing the supply chain and logistics. The roles also include managing the maintenance activities for the plant or can be in the core engineering area. Therefore each role has a totally different flavour of its own and therefore its own challenges and learning opportunities.
For professionals recruited from the market roles are offered in keeping with the nature and length of their experience. The roles range from entry level roles to the ones which involves management of entire departments such as Production or Engineering.
In the technical function you will be rotated across these roles to provide you with wider exposure and overall business perspective. Based on performance and potential, you will be moved up to head a department having size of more than 500 employees as early as 2-3 years from the date of joining the Company. From there again based on merit, you will be given the opportunity of becoming the head of an entire engineering department of the factory or the production department and going forward the opportunity to head an entire factory.
Profile
Mrigaban Ray
Mrigaban's journey in ITC:
 After acquiring a degree in Mechanical Engineering from REC Warangal (now NIT Warangal), I entered the world of ITC as a part of the 2001 AUT Batch. After a detailed training programme that lasted over six months and across various businesses, I was posted in ILTD - the leaf tobacco development division of ITC. In a short span of time I realised that this organisation has a great habit of allowing an individual experiment if he/she is willing to push his/her limits. For me it turned out to be a great realisation as I attempted career moves one after the other that helped me broaden my exposure to various businesses across functions.
So while I started off with the tobacco supply chain in ILTD and moved on from there to handle tobacco exports to international customers and then to heading the tobacco purchase department for our cigarette division, I currently am in the Trade Marketing and Distribution function, working as a Branch Manager and responsible for the business deliveries of a branch in the FMCG product portfolio of ITC.
The journey till now has been everything but stagnating. While on one hand I learnt the nuances of the international tobacco trade, on the other I learnt about cigarettes as a product. And now having learnt what it takes to sell this product, I also landed myself an opportunity to sell not only cigarettes but all the other FMCG products including packaged foods and personal care.
As I complete my first decade in ITC, I can only look forward with the glimmering hope of a fulfilling career with the realisation that this great organisation will continue to provide the opportunity and the challenges that will instigate an individual to push the boundaries.
Mrigaban's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Extremely professional and supportive, ITC is an organisation that encourages healthy competition and believes in meritocracy. Any workplace irrespective of the function reflects concerted efforts through effective team work. True to its spirit, ITC has always completed tasks in teams and shared credit amongst team members. The people I met here and worked with are certainly the most remarkable in terms of providing support and encouragement to go beyond. The passion to deliver at every level is endemic, that fills the workplace with positive vibes and the attitude - "Together We can and we will".
Mrigaban believes ITC offers you:
ITC is a mix of old and new. On the one hand it has extremely stable businesses portfolio from cigarettes to hotels, on the other it is rapidly diversifying towards becoming the country's most formidable FMCG players. The stable businesses challenge you to maintain the growth momentum despite maturity, while the newer forays push you to achieve the required scale in a profitable manner. Very few corporate houses offer you this heady mix wherein your career gets width and exposure by traversing through this diverse portfolio of businesses. ITC formally recognises "Innovation" to be one of the key pillars of success in remaining and growing as a formidable player in the Indian Industry. Hence if innovation and creativity are what pushes the adrenalin in you, then ITC is the kind of organisation that should satisfy your quest. |
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Rahul Gouraha
Rahul's journey in ITC:
A 'Times of India' article on how the IITians were moulding the landscape of technological revolution in Silicon Valley & redefining how people looked at India inspired me to concentrate harder on my favorite subjects- Mathematics & Physics and pursue Engineering at IIT Kgp. I was well on the trodden path of topping my Branch of study & pursuing higher education in a university in USA when I landed a Summer Internship at ITC. The next two months were an eye opener for me and I probably worked the hardest that I had till then in my life! I had been given a complex operational problem to solve and was expected to implement the solutions before I left. I got a tremendous high out of working in a large people system and by the time I had received a pre-placement offer from ITC, I was clear that this is what I wanted to do once I passed out.
Induction period at ITC was interesting not only because I built strong friendships with my peers & seniors during this stint but also because I got to work on open ended problems such as "Improving ITC's Retail distribution practices vis-a-vis its competitors.". It was during my Marketing stint that I observed firsthand the power of product quality in creating the Market standing of a product and was convinced that I wanted to contribute in this area. I spent the next two years in ITC's largest cigarette factory with a challenging variety-volume mix creating new systems & leading my team to affect significant improvements in product & process quality. I subsequently moved to ITC's Corporate Head Office & was involved in orchestrating the roll-out of Six Sigma & Lean management in my Division. This was a horizon widening stint not because of the complexity of the initiative I was involved in but also because of the opportunities I got here to influence policy at the apex level and engage in areas such as Talent management which are close to my heart. From here I moved back to Bangalore factory and I got my first experience of heading a large department. Leading a team of more than 600 associates towards operational excellence and making significant business impact was truly amazing. I also got the opportunity to conceptualise and roll-out an innovation process that has enabled the generation & implementation of more than 1000 innovation projects towards improvements in productivity, quality & market delivery in the last three years. After this stint I got to head the entire Production function in ITC's first cigarette factory. Energising a team of more than 1000 to achieve business outcomes they considered almost impossible, gave me huge satisfaction. I also got to play a key role in reorganisation of work processes in the Unit through an elaborate, complex but extremely interesting negotiation process with the Union team. This stint provided me with rich opportunities to engage in important people processes such as management development and helped me grow as a leader. From here, I moved to my current assignment of heading the Production function in Bangalore factory. My responsibilities include leading a team of more than 1100 employees, 30 managers & ensuring productivity of an asset base in excess of Rs 1500 crores. I take pride in the realisation from various benchmarking studies that my team delivers performance that is truly world class.
In a short span of 7 years in ITC, I have traversed the leadership pipeline graduating through the roles of Individual Contributor, Manager and Manager's Manager to my current role of a Functional Manager. My journey at ITC has been fast paced and exciting and what's even better is that I feel that the best still to come!
Rahul's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Whilst the diversity of the people I've come across in ITC never ceases to amaze me, I sense a commonality between them at a fundamental level. I've found that the people in ITC not only possess tremendous amount of experiential & theoretical knowledge but also display deep humility & integrity. I haven't come across any "Masters of Universe" in ITC! A unique blend of collegial atmosphere & healthy competition at the workplace resonates with my own set of values & has always energised me. I've always found encouragement from my teams to try out my ideas, support during my failures & insights during the moments of introspection. I appreciate the fact that the workplace at ITC provides me with a broad canvas that allows me to work on wide ranging areas such as Six Sigma & Lean, employee engagement, complex negotiations with unions, campus connect, technology induction, innovation & managerial development process. Finally and most importantly, at the workplace I've built relationships that go beyond work & I truly feel that I am part of a large family - that of ITCians.
Rahul believes ITC offers you:
ITC's biggest value proposition for me is the opportunity from my first year here to discover & mould the leader in me. ITC has offered me myriad leadership opportunities & the space to experiment and learn from my mistakes. Whilst reading about the subject has helped me crystallise my thoughts, it is the actual experience of leading diverse teams to successfully achieve audacious goals that has truly helped me develop my leadership style. The second thing I value a lot about ITC is the opportunity it offers me to take up complex business problems, conceptualise broad solution frameworks & then actually implement solutions with my team. The experience of starting off with an ambiguous but critical business problem & finally witnessing the power of implemented solutions gives me a tremendous high! Finally, the realisation that my efforts are helping build a world-class Indian enterprise provides a deep & meaningful purpose to my professional endeavours. |
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Gaurav Tayal
Gaurav's journey in ITC:
It was love at first sight, if I dare say with ITC when I first experienced this company as an intern from IIT Bombay in the summer of 2002. Company reciprocated and offered me a PPO making me the first student on campus with a plum job and there went all the dilemmas of Job v/s GRE v/s CAT v/s GMAT out of the window. As I look back, did I strike a wrong deal, not really. Post a rigorous induction as an Assistant Under Training for 9 months spanning across Technical, Marketing, Sales, Product Development, HR and Finance, I was posted as Asst. Engineer (Projects) at one of the tobacco factories. Evaluation of cutting edge technology including financial assessment, project management and execution of capital outlay in excess of Rs. 20 crores were my humble start in this role. I was just settling down and there came Operations role with independent charge for Cut Tobacco manufacture at the same plant (it accounts for almost 25% of total cut tobacco manufacture of ITC) followed by responsibility for Exports Manufacturing and Secondary Operations at Bangalore and subsequently for heading end to end Cigarette manufacturing operations and logistics. All of this happened in a time span of 5 years. But with this growth came great responsibilities as well of managing an asset base of Rs 1500 crores, team of 1100 employees and 30 managers. I had been Head of Production in a factory for 3 years and as if this speed was not good enough, I have now been assigned the role of Head of Factory operations spanning over Technical, HR and Finance functions. This is 8 years in total of my stint with ITC. As Company grew (refer to net profit growth and market capitalisation of ITC) so did my career - exponentially. Did I strike a wrong deal, certainly don't think so.
Gaurav's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Balance between fun and performance pressure marks my experience at ITC as a workplace. I am not referring to fun outside but at the workplace. The organisation provides space to individuals to pursue their interests or strength areas as far as their career is concerned and at the same time invests heavily in developing competencies and leadership quotient in individuals. ITC believes in job rotation which hones one's perspectives on varied business domains and facilitate building of new areas of strengths. Sometimes you will find yourself pushed into uncharted territories with comfort of organisation's tolerance for mistakes and hence enabling atmosphere for experimentation and innovation. Fairness of people systems and respect for individuals has transformed my association with this organisation from an employment contract to a lifelong relationship. It is challenging yet accommodative, it is competitive yet collaborative and it is changing yet stable.
Gaurav believes ITC offers you:
There are organisations that build agile professionals and then there are institutions like ITC that build business leaders. It does it so subtly that I would compare it with a non-invasive medical procedure. You are exposed to innumerable dimensions of business in the areas of Engineering, Marketing, Finance and HR irrespective of which function you belong to. With senior leadership of immense depth, knowledge and expertise to guide you at every step of your journey and at a speed that can leave you gasping at times, you may run out of steam before ITC runs out of options to challenge you. The organisation invests heavily in training and development and with job rotation and cross-functional assignments provides you a platform to demonstrate application of newly acquired skills. From an engineer with a never-ending need for objectivity in business problem solving to a professional who can appreciate the existence of ambiguity and subjectivity and hence the importance of judgement and vision had been my most significant learning at ITC. An organisation which over the last decade has transformed itself from a single product company to a multi business conglomerate has infinite possibilities for anyone with spark within him. |
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Mrigaban Ray
Joined ITC : 2001
Mrigaban Ray
Mrigaban's journey in ITC:
After acquiring a degree in Mechanical Engineering from REC Warangal (now NIT Warangal), I entered the world of ITC as a part of the 2001 AUT Batch. After a detailed training programme that lasted over six months and across various businesses, I was posted in ILTD - the leaf tobacco development division of ITC. In a short span of time I realised that this organisation has a great habit of allowing an individual experiment if he/she is willing to push his/her limits. For me it turned out to be a great realisation as I attempted career moves one after the other that helped me broaden my exposure to various businesses across functions.
So while I started off with the tobacco supply chain in ILTD and moved on from there to handle tobacco exports to international customers and then to heading the tobacco purchase department for our cigarette division, I currently am in the Trade Marketing and Distribution function, working as a Branch Manager and responsible for the business deliveries of a branch in the FMCG product portfolio of ITC.
The journey till now has been everything but stagnating. While on one hand I learnt the nuances of the international tobacco trade, on the other I learnt about cigarettes as a product. And now having learnt what it takes to sell this product, I also landed myself an opportunity to sell not only cigarettes but all the other FMCG products including packaged foods and personal care.
As I complete my first decade in ITC, I can only look forward with the glimmering hope of a fulfilling career with the realisation that this great organisation will continue to provide the opportunity and the challenges that will instigate an individual to push the boundaries.
Mrigaban's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Extremely professional and supportive, ITC is an organisation that encourages healthy competition and believes in meritocracy. Any workplace irrespective of the function reflects concerted efforts through effective team work. True to its spirit, ITC has always completed tasks in teams and shared credit amongst team members. The people I met here and worked with are certainly the most remarkable in terms of providing support and encouragement to go beyond. The passion to deliver at every level is endemic, that fills the workplace with positive vibes and the attitude - "Together We can and we will".
Mrigaban believes ITC offers you:
ITC is a mix of old and new. On the one hand it has extremely stable businesses portfolio from cigarettes to hotels, on the other it is rapidly diversifying towards becoming the country's most formidable FMCG players. The stable businesses challenge you to maintain the growth momentum despite maturity, while the newer forays push you to achieve the required scale in a profitable manner. Very few corporate houses offer you this heady mix wherein your career gets width and exposure by traversing through this diverse portfolio of businesses. ITC formally recognises "Innovation" to be one of the key pillars of success in remaining and growing as a formidable player in the Indian Industry. Hence if innovation and creativity are what pushes the adrenalin in you, then ITC is the kind of organisation that should satisfy your quest. |
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Rahul Gouraha
Joined ITC : 2004
Rahul Gouraha
Rahul's journey in ITC:
A 'Times of India' article on how the IITians were moulding the landscape of technological revolution in Silicon Valley & redefining how people looked at India inspired me to concentrate harder on my favorite subjects- Mathematics & Physics and pursue Engineering at IIT Kgp. I was well on the trodden path of topping my Branch of study & pursuing higher education in a university in USA when I landed a Summer Internship at ITC. The next two months were an eye opener for me and I probably worked the hardest that I had till then in my life! I had been given a complex operational problem to solve and was expected to implement the solutions before I left. I got a tremendous high out of working in a large people system and by the time I had received a pre-placement offer from ITC, I was clear that this is what I wanted to do once I passed out.
Induction period at ITC was interesting not only because I built strong friendships with my peers & seniors during this stint but also because I got to work on open ended problems such as "Improving ITC's Retail distribution practices vis-a-vis its competitors.". It was during my Marketing stint that I observed firsthand the power of product quality in creating the Market standing of a product and was convinced that I wanted to contribute in this area. I spent the next two years in ITC's largest cigarette factory with a challenging variety-volume mix creating new systems & leading my team to affect significant improvements in product & process quality. I subsequently moved to ITC's Corporate Head Office & was involved in orchestrating the roll-out of Six Sigma & Lean management in my Division. This was a horizon widening stint not because of the complexity of the initiative I was involved in but also because of the opportunities I got here to influence policy at the apex level and engage in areas such as Talent management which are close to my heart. From here I moved back to Bangalore factory and I got my first experience of heading a large department. Leading a team of more than 600 associates towards operational excellence and making significant business impact was truly amazing. I also got the opportunity to conceptualise and roll-out an innovation process that has enabled the generation & implementation of more than 1000 innovation projects towards improvements in productivity, quality & market delivery in the last three years. After this stint I got to head the entire Production function in ITC's first cigarette factory. Energising a team of more than 1000 to achieve business outcomes they considered almost impossible, gave me huge satisfaction. I also got to play a key role in reorganisation of work processes in the Unit through an elaborate, complex but extremely interesting negotiation process with the Union team. This stint provided me with rich opportunities to engage in important people processes such as management development and helped me grow as a leader. From here, I moved to my current assignment of heading the Production function in Bangalore factory. My responsibilities include leading a team of more than 1100 employees, 30 managers & ensuring productivity of an asset base in excess of Rs 1500 crores. I take pride in the realisation from various benchmarking studies that my team delivers performance that is truly world class.
In a short span of 7 years in ITC, I have traversed the leadership pipeline graduating through the roles of Individual Contributor, Manager and Manager's Manager to my current role of a Functional Manager. My journey at ITC has been fast paced and exciting and what's even better is that I feel that the best still to come!
Rahul's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Whilst the diversity of the people I've come across in ITC never ceases to amaze me, I sense a commonality between them at a fundamental level. I've found that the people in ITC not only possess tremendous amount of experiential & theoretical knowledge but also display deep humility & integrity. I haven't come across any "Masters of Universe" in ITC! A unique blend of collegial atmosphere & healthy competition at the workplace resonates with my own set of values & has always energised me. I've always found encouragement from my teams to try out my ideas, support during my failures & insights during the moments of introspection. I appreciate the fact that the workplace at ITC provides me with a broad canvas that allows me to work on wide ranging areas such as Six Sigma & Lean, employee engagement, complex negotiations with unions, campus connect, technology induction, innovation & managerial development process. Finally and most importantly, at the workplace I've built relationships that go beyond work & I truly feel that I am part of a large family - that of ITCians.
Rahul believes ITC offers you:
ITC's biggest value proposition for me is the opportunity from my first year here to discover & mould the leader in me. ITC has offered me myriad leadership opportunities & the space to experiment and learn from my mistakes. Whilst reading about the subject has helped me crystallise my thoughts, it is the actual experience of leading diverse teams to successfully achieve audacious goals that has truly helped me develop my leadership style. The second thing I value a lot about ITC is the opportunity it offers me to take up complex business problems, conceptualise broad solution frameworks & then actually implement solutions with my team. The experience of starting off with an ambiguous but critical business problem & finally witnessing the power of implemented solutions gives me a tremendous high! Finally, the realisation that my efforts are helping build a world-class Indian enterprise provides a deep & meaningful purpose to my professional endeavours. |
|
Gaurav Tayal
Joined ITC : 2003
Gaurav Tayal
Gaurav's journey in ITC:
It was love at first sight, if I dare say with ITC when I first experienced this company as an intern from IIT Bombay in the summer of 2002. Company reciprocated and offered me a PPO making me the first student on campus with a plum job and there went all the dilemmas of Job v/s GRE v/s CAT v/s GMAT out of the window. As I look back, did I strike a wrong deal, not really. Post a rigorous induction as an Assistant Under Training for 9 months spanning across Technical, Marketing, Sales, Product Development, HR and Finance, I was posted as Asst. Engineer (Projects) at one of the tobacco factories. Evaluation of cutting edge technology including financial assessment, project management and execution of capital outlay in excess of Rs. 20 crores were my humble start in this role. I was just settling down and there came Operations role with independent charge for Cut Tobacco manufacture at the same plant (it accounts for almost 25% of total cut tobacco manufacture of ITC) followed by responsibility for Exports Manufacturing and Secondary Operations at Bangalore and subsequently for heading end to end Cigarette manufacturing operations and logistics. All of this happened in a time span of 5 years. But with this growth came great responsibilities as well of managing an asset base of Rs 1500 crores, team of 1100 employees and 30 managers. I had been Head of Production in a factory for 3 years and as if this speed was not good enough, I have now been assigned the role of Head of Factory operations spanning over Technical, HR and Finance functions. This is 8 years in total of my stint with ITC. As Company grew (refer to net profit growth and market capitalisation of ITC) so did my career - exponentially. Did I strike a wrong deal, certainly don't think so.
Gaurav's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Balance between fun and performance pressure marks my experience at ITC as a workplace. I am not referring to fun outside but at the workplace. The organisation provides space to individuals to pursue their interests or strength areas as far as their career is concerned and at the same time invests heavily in developing competencies and leadership quotient in individuals. ITC believes in job rotation which hones one's perspectives on varied business domains and facilitate building of new areas of strengths. Sometimes you will find yourself pushed into uncharted territories with comfort of organisation's tolerance for mistakes and hence enabling atmosphere for experimentation and innovation. Fairness of people systems and respect for individuals has transformed my association with this organisation from an employment contract to a lifelong relationship. It is challenging yet accommodative, it is competitive yet collaborative and it is changing yet stable.
Gaurav believes ITC offers you:
There are organisations that build agile professionals and then there are institutions like ITC that build business leaders. It does it so subtly that I would compare it with a non-invasive medical procedure. You are exposed to innumerable dimensions of business in the areas of Engineering, Marketing, Finance and HR irrespective of which function you belong to. With senior leadership of immense depth, knowledge and expertise to guide you at every step of your journey and at a speed that can leave you gasping at times, you may run out of steam before ITC runs out of options to challenge you. The organisation invests heavily in training and development and with job rotation and cross-functional assignments provides you a platform to demonstrate application of newly acquired skills. From an engineer with a never-ending need for objectivity in business problem solving to a professional who can appreciate the existence of ambiguity and subjectivity and hence the importance of judgement and vision had been my most significant learning at ITC. An organisation which over the last decade has transformed itself from a single product company to a multi business conglomerate has infinite possibilities for anyone with spark within him. |
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Overview | Profile | We look for..
Marketing
A diversified company with over 21 FMCG product categories, 77 sub product categories, largest FMCG sales and distribution network (1 lakh+ markets, 2 million+ outlets), home grown world-class brands, ever expanding product portfolio, all this and more makes ITC the place to be in for a Marketing professional. ITC's aggressive pace of growth can be gauged by the fact that in 2001 ITC had a single FMCG product, less than 100 SKUs, 2 channels of distribution and 6 factories/OCMs as compared to 2011 where there are 21 FMCG product categories, with over 1200 SKUs, 7 channels of distribution, more than 70 factories /OCMs. The phenomenal growth story of ITC throws open a world of challenges and opportunities as well as an opportunity for you to be a part of this evolving story be it sales and distribution, brands, market research, new product development, business to business marketing, rural marketing amongst others.
ITC's Trade Marketing and Distribution (TM&D) vertical is the sales and distribution arm whose strategic objective is to provide sharper focus to ITC's FMCG businesses and evolve Trade Marketing & Distribution into a benchmark ecosystem, thereby delivering on the organisation's vision of becoming the No. 1 FMCG Company in India. ITC's TM&D vertical straddles one of the largest salesforce networks in the country, best in class systems and processes, ever growing distribution reach, cutting edge technology, cost optimisation and most importantly, a highly motivated workforce.
Bingo!, Classmate, Fiama Di Wills, Wills Lifestyle, Vivel, Sunfeast, Aashirvaad, Aim, Mangaldeep amongst others are world-class brands developed in-house and are standing testimonials to ITC's superior brand building capabilities. Brand management in ITC offers you a perspective on creation & implementation of marketing strategy, which includes all the elements of the marketing mix. It is a role where you will be given complete ownership of the brand, its financials and control over all the aspects that drive brand growth. The role also encapsulates tremendous exposure in the fields of advertising, "Go to Market" strategies, consumer insights, market research, consumer & business analytics, media management, handling legal and environmental issues as well as continuous interaction with the sales force.
ITC's Paperboards and Specialty Paper Division (PSPD) and the Packaging and Printing Business (PPB) are leaders in creating successful brands in what is otherwise viewed as a commodity by the rest of the industry. These businesses provide you the opportunity to experience the dynamics of Business to Business marketing. A pioneer in the area of sustainability, PSPD is one of the main contributors to our company's positive achievements on Carbon, Water and Solid Waste Management . PSPD's sustainability initiatives, which have been acknowledged extensively, have enabled a very unique value offering to customers in terms of environment friendly products.
Here you will be engaged in customer engagement, relationship building, market research, product development, branding, niche advertising and promotion and will help you appreciate, identify and leverage key drivers of value - for the customer and for the business. You will be an integral part of the team that constantly drives innovation, growth and value.
Profile
Promita Saha
Promita's journey in ITC:
Right from my school days I was one of those students who spent equal time on extracurricular activities along with academics. I started enjoying the confidence that would get instilled in me after a solo dance performance on stage, or the sense of teamwork that would bring us friends together post a play in an inter-school competition. In the most stringent of academic schedules in IIMB I devoted a lot of time in organising the first ever dusk-to-dawn classical music concert.
So what was driving me to stretch my boundaries beyond academics I thought - it was the sheer hunger for 'Diversity' and 'Exposure' - what came with it was the addiction to succeed and possessing a mind that knew no boundaries - Nihil Ultra (nothing beyond) as my fellow Xaverians would say with me.
ITC to me is everything of this.
My work spans across all FMCG products of ITC - starting from biscuits to fairness creams, from snacks, cigarettes to shampoos. My current profile in Trade Research gives me the challenging responsibility to extract actionable insights from different researches conducted in the Company; gives me the opportunity to travel anywhere in India to understand how trade marketing works. With a whopping 26 branches, I have learnt in ITC how diverse selling channels are, how diverse shoppers are, how important market planning is, and how critical decisions can make or break a product in the market place - this combined with our diverse portfolio makes my journey an extremely gratifying one!
My work requires a lot of interaction with external research agencies and it gives me an exposure to the emerging marketing practices internationally / in India, new algorithms that would transform the way we do data analytics and sharpen decision-making.
Promita's thoughts on ITC as a Work Place:
You work with the BEST minds when you are in ITC. Each colleague, senior or junior comes with a lot of passion and commitment and this gets drilled down from senior management. I have never been stopped from presenting new ideas - well, they could be critiqued but that's where you learn.
Wherever I travel to and meet my fellow ITCians, I have come across a strong sense of loyalty and pride amongst all. It is difficult to meet someone here who has not been with the Company for less than 10 years!
My ongoing stint in Trade Marketing has shown me what teamwork can achieve in the market, and what could possibly be the pace of any execution of any plan - we rock! The Senior Management leaves no stone unturned in appreciating the effort which goes in by all; and events like Star Wars instills healthy competition amongst all.
Promita believes ITC offers you:
If you are a learner, if you are an achiever, and you love to be challenged - then this is where you need to be. I have not met a lot of people who have left the organisation, but tomorrow if one does be rest assured that he/she would have been groomed enough to satiate either their entrepreneurial ambitions or to address a roomful of people on how to crack the marketing puzzle in India! |
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Arun Sriram
Arun's journey in ITC:
After completing my MBA I joined ITC In 2008. As part of training I was positioned in Lucknow branch covering U.P which turned out to be one of the most extensive learning experiences of my life. The transformation from a 'Lifetime in a metro' to the rural hinterlands can be overwhelming while at the same time providing a brilliant opportunity to broaden your perspective. The primary intention of the training programme held as far as possible from your hometown (in most cases) is to ensure that you get out of your comfort zone and utilise the opportunity to be at ease with different people, cultures and geographies.
ITC's training programme is one of the most structured in the industry with exposure to various roles across the Trade Marketing and Distribution vertical. Every ITC'ian trained in TM&D would fondly recall the cycle stint performing the role of the salesman, which teaches more about sales management than any MBA lecture could possibly do. The entire stint with theoretical as well as hands-on activities is a bang on in terms of getting you work-ready. Moreover ITC offers enormous freedom to experiment and learn by action which was clearly evident throughout my training period.
ITC believes in providing its managers with responsibilities early and accordingly I was posted in U.P. The opportunity to handle a large territory like U.P coupled with the chance to lead a team spread across the state is something I relished. With the backing of a strong team and support of able superiors, driving business in U.P was a comfortable task. From a hardcore sales stint leading a team, I am currently handling Channel Development for Grocery directly reporting to the Senior Management and also actively involved in devising the strategy for Trade Marketing and Distribution. Such opportunities to handle diverse profiles from managing a team to handling national projects, are possible only at ITC. Considering the wealth of experience I have already gathered in a short span of time I am eagerly awaiting the time ahead in ITC
Arun's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
An extremely positive culture in terms of supporting new ideas and initiatives, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability instilled across the team. While work is extremely fulfilling the people around make you feel at home. Working with some of the brightest minds the opportunity to observe and learn is enormous. Early on in my career the opportunity to work closely with Senior Management has furthered the cause. ITC helps you make friends that you would cherish for life and that I believe is a great attribute of this organisation.
Arun believes ITC offers you:
100 years of legacy, phenomenal growth plans, newer challenges, exposure across roles and functions across various businesses, with an extremely positive work environment is what ITC has to offer. With the remarkable reputation of being one of the most preferred employers in the country, ITC would be an ideal place to fortify your career. With the fast pace of change, ITC is best suited for the individual who has the drive & passion to learn quickly to take on new challenges and be part of a incredible story of a remarkably successful Indian FMCG Company. |
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Nimit Mittal
Nimit's journey in ITC:
I did my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and worked for a year but it always felt like I need something more exciting. So I decided to go for higher studies and got through IIM Lucknow. When I joined ITC, I realised that this is something I had been always looking for. A place where excitement never ends and challenges never die. A question which I often come across is why so many engineers go for MBA and then a marketing job. The answer is pretty simple; you should have an aptitude for numbers and understanding of people. That's the only two skills you require to be a successful marketing guy.
The sheer diversity of work you do adds to the flavor of the job. You cannot get bored in ITC. Another thing which makes you fall in love with this Company is it's people orientation. It is a Company with a heart. You have a problem and the entire Company is behind you. It pampers you, takes care of you and yet gives you enough challenges to keep the adrenaline pumping in your veins.
Although I am still a kid in ITC but yet the responsibility given to me and the confidence shown by my seniors was immense. Within a short span of time I was given the opportunity to work in entirely two different channels General Trade and Modern Trade, two different worlds altogether. Another important aspect of job which helps you develop as a better person is team development. You have to handle a team, drive them towards the team objective and achieve targets. You are practically an entrepreneur handling a business under your assigned domain and you are responsible for everything that comes under you. It is not easy but yet one definitely enjoys it.
Nimit's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
You make great friends over here, friends who are going to stay for my entire life. I have seniors to whom I can go anytime to seek guidance, to whom I can admit mistakes I made and yet they handle the situation and make sure that things are fine. ITC is an Indian company and has Indian values and that is all the more reason that you would wish to associate yourself with this company. It doesn't believe in short term and looks at you as a small plant, which has to be groomed and developed into a tree that can offer support to others and develop many more upcoming plants into trees.
Nimit believes ITC offers you:
ITC teaches you how to swim first and then leaves you in the water. The first year of training teaches you how to empathise with the workforce which operates in the battlefield. It gives you a perspective which you would have never thought of. This helps you relate with persons working in the field and then develop your strategy. After all, no strategy is successful if it cannot be implemented. ITC develops the entrepreneur in you, makes you wiser and gives you responsibility and confidence that works wonders for you in life. It offers you a warm and friendly environment that makes you feel that you are always at home. No wonder people who once join ITC rarely wish to go anywhere else. |
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Promita Saha
Joined ITC : 2009
Promita Saha
Promita's journey in ITC:
Right from my school days I was one of those students who spent equal time on extracurricular activities along with academics. I started enjoying the confidence that would get instilled in me after a solo dance performance on stage, or the sense of teamwork that would bring us friends together post a play in an inter-school competition. In the most stringent of academic schedules in IIMB I devoted a lot of time in organising the first ever dusk-to-dawn classical music concert.
So what was driving me to stretch my boundaries beyond academics I thought - it was the sheer hunger for 'Diversity' and 'Exposure' - what came with it was the addiction to succeed and possessing a mind that knew no boundaries - Nihil Ultra (nothing beyond) as my fellow Xaverians would say with me.
ITC to me is everything of this.
My work spans across all FMCG products of ITC - starting from biscuits to fairness creams, from snacks, cigarettes to shampoos. My current profile in Trade Research gives me the challenging responsibility to extract actionable insights from different researches conducted in the Company; gives me the opportunity to travel anywhere in India to understand how trade marketing works. With a whopping 26 branches, I have learnt in ITC how diverse selling channels are, how diverse shoppers are, how important market planning is, and how critical decisions can make or break a product in the market place - this combined with our diverse portfolio makes my journey an extremely gratifying one!
My work requires a lot of interaction with external research agencies and it gives me an exposure to the emerging marketing practices internationally / in India, new algorithms that would transform the way we do data analytics and sharpen decision-making.
Promita's thoughts on ITC as a Work Place:
You work with the BEST minds when you are in ITC. Each colleague, senior or junior comes with a lot of passion and commitment and this gets drilled down from senior management. I have never been stopped from presenting new ideas - well, they could be critiqued but that's where you learn.
Wherever I travel to and meet my fellow ITCians, I have come across a strong sense of loyalty and pride amongst all. It is difficult to meet someone here who has not been with the Company for less than 10 years!
My ongoing stint in Trade Marketing has shown me what teamwork can achieve in the market, and what could possibly be the pace of any execution of any plan - we rock! The Senior Management leaves no stone unturned in appreciating the effort which goes in by all; and events like Star Wars instills healthy competition amongst all.
Promita believes ITC offers you:
If you are a learner, if you are an achiever, and you love to be challenged - then this is where you need to be. I have not met a lot of people who have left the organisation, but tomorrow if one does be rest assured that he/she would have been groomed enough to satiate either their entrepreneurial ambitions or to address a roomful of people on how to crack the marketing puzzle in India! |
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Arun Sriram
Joined ITC : 2008
Arun Sriram
Arun's journey in ITC:
After completing my MBA I joined ITC In 2008. As part of training I was positioned in Lucknow branch covering U.P which turned out to be one of the most extensive learning experiences of my life. The transformation from a 'Lifetime in a metro' to the rural hinterlands can be overwhelming while at the same time providing a brilliant opportunity to broaden your perspective. The primary intention of the training programme held as far as possible from your hometown (in most cases) is to ensure that you get out of your comfort zone and utilise the opportunity to be at ease with different people, cultures and geographies.
ITC's training programme is one of the most structured in the industry with exposure to various roles across the Trade Marketing and Distribution vertical. Every ITC'ian trained in TM&D would fondly recall the cycle stint performing the role of the salesman, which teaches more about sales management than any MBA lecture could possibly do. The entire stint with theoretical as well as hands-on activities is a bang on in terms of getting you work-ready. Moreover ITC offers enormous freedom to experiment and learn by action which was clearly evident throughout my training period.
ITC believes in providing its managers with responsibilities early and accordingly I was posted in U.P. The opportunity to handle a large territory like U.P coupled with the chance to lead a team spread across the state is something I relished. With the backing of a strong team and support of able superiors, driving business in U.P was a comfortable task. From a hardcore sales stint leading a team, I am currently handling Channel Development for Grocery directly reporting to the Senior Management and also actively involved in devising the strategy for Trade Marketing and Distribution. Such opportunities to handle diverse profiles from managing a team to handling national projects, are possible only at ITC. Considering the wealth of experience I have already gathered in a short span of time I am eagerly awaiting the time ahead in ITC
Arun's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
An extremely positive culture in terms of supporting new ideas and initiatives, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability instilled across the team. While work is extremely fulfilling the people around make you feel at home. Working with some of the brightest minds the opportunity to observe and learn is enormous. Early on in my career the opportunity to work closely with Senior Management has furthered the cause. ITC helps you make friends that you would cherish for life and that I believe is a great attribute of this organisation.
Arun believes ITC offers you:
100 years of legacy, phenomenal growth plans, newer challenges, exposure across roles and functions across various businesses, with an extremely positive work environment is what ITC has to offer. With the remarkable reputation of being one of the most preferred employers in the country, ITC would be an ideal place to fortify your career. With the fast pace of change, ITC is best suited for the individual who has the drive & passion to learn quickly to take on new challenges and be part of a incredible story of a remarkably successful Indian FMCG Company. |
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Nimit Mittal
Joined ITC : 2009
Nimit Mittal
Nimit's journey in ITC:
I did my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and worked for a year but it always felt like I need something more exciting. So I decided to go for higher studies and got through IIM Lucknow. When I joined ITC, I realised that this is something I had been always looking for. A place where excitement never ends and challenges never die. A question which I often come across is why so many engineers go for MBA and then a marketing job. The answer is pretty simple; you should have an aptitude for numbers and understanding of people. That's the only two skills you require to be a successful marketing guy.
The sheer diversity of work you do adds to the flavor of the job. You cannot get bored in ITC. Another thing which makes you fall in love with this Company is it's people orientation. It is a Company with a heart. You have a problem and the entire Company is behind you. It pampers you, takes care of you and yet gives you enough challenges to keep the adrenaline pumping in your veins.
Although I am still a kid in ITC but yet the responsibility given to me and the confidence shown by my seniors was immense. Within a short span of time I was given the opportunity to work in entirely two different channels General Trade and Modern Trade, two different worlds altogether. Another important aspect of job which helps you develop as a better person is team development. You have to handle a team, drive them towards the team objective and achieve targets. You are practically an entrepreneur handling a business under your assigned domain and you are responsible for everything that comes under you. It is not easy but yet one definitely enjoys it.
Nimit's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
You make great friends over here, friends who are going to stay for my entire life. I have seniors to whom I can go anytime to seek guidance, to whom I can admit mistakes I made and yet they handle the situation and make sure that things are fine. ITC is an Indian company and has Indian values and that is all the more reason that you would wish to associate yourself with this company. It doesn't believe in short term and looks at you as a small plant, which has to be groomed and developed into a tree that can offer support to others and develop many more upcoming plants into trees.
Nimit believes ITC offers you:
ITC teaches you how to swim first and then leaves you in the water. The first year of training teaches you how to empathise with the workforce which operates in the battlefield. It gives you a perspective which you would have never thought of. This helps you relate with persons working in the field and then develop your strategy. After all, no strategy is successful if it cannot be implemented. ITC develops the entrepreneur in you, makes you wiser and gives you responsibility and confidence that works wonders for you in life. It offers you a warm and friendly environment that makes you feel that you are always at home. No wonder people who once join ITC rarely wish to go anywhere else. |
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Overview | Profile | We look for..
Supply Chain
The objective of supply chain function is to ensure that products are available always fresh, at the right time and in the right place. A career in ITC's Supply Chain function will involve roles in Supply Chain Planning which involves demand and supply planning or in Physical Distribution which involves warehousing and transportation. The complexity of ITC's Supply Chain network can be gauged by the fact that ITC currently has more than 50 warehouses and 70 factories spread across the country and over 1200 trucks transporting ITC's goods on a daily basis!!! Over a period of time you will gain significant exposure to different aspects of the function thereby obtaining an end-to-end view of the supply chain function.
The supply chain function in ITC is responsible for distribution of 18 product categories, 75 sub product categories to over 2 million outlets distributed over 1 lakh markets. The wide product range, uniqueness of each category in terms of requirement, large network operation and early responsibilities make a career in the supply chain function extremely challenging and enriching.
Involvement in planning will enable you work in close coordination with different businesses and functions within these businesses i.e. sales, production, logistics. Category specific and unique "Route to Market" models, coupled with best in class technology such as APO, I2-SCS, SAP, constant and unparalleled investments into technology, infrastructure and most important of all into people development through training sessions, makes a career in ITC's supply chain function an ever learning and exciting journey.
ITC's ABD-ILTD division adds a unique dimension to the supply chain function. The Leaf Tobacco Supply Chain of ITC spans across the globe, shipping over 150 M. Kg of Unmanufactured Tobacco to more than 50 countries. The main objective of Leaf Tobacco supply chain is to deliver on time in full, Indian tobacco to its customers sourced from reliable sources. ITC's leaf supply chain operations are spread across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; it operates from over 200 individual nodes, comprising 43 warehouses, managing over 700 SKU's.
The supply chain function of the Division coordinates the leaf from the farmer level until it is manufactured into a cigarette. These operations involve seamless interaction with all the functions of the business. The leaf supply chain has systems in place that provide traceability for every leaf of tobacco to the farm where it was grown. An agri-commodity supply chain demands very high hygiene standards and protocols to protect the quality of the tobacco and this is a key priority for the business.
The environment in which leaf supply chain operates is very dynamic and uncertain (weather, global crop scenarios) which makes it imperative for the function to develop inherent flexibility and build robust processes to cater to customer requirements. Given the scale and scope of tobacco operations and with the motto of exceeding customer expectations, systematic investments have been made to develop customised supply chains for customers, build state-of-the-art warehousing facilities, benchmark Information Technology and developing world class planning systems.
Profile
Jagadeesh Kunchey
Jagadeesh's journey in ITC:
I am a graduate in Engineering, after which I completed my PGDIE from NITIE, Mumbai. I joined ITC in 2007 after working for 10 years with 3 reputed FMCG companies. The two things that attracted me to ITC were its diversified portfolio coupled with a quest for growth and growth and the fact that ITC is a professionally managed company with an Indian soul.
I joined ITC when we had just launched Bingo and were trying to stabilise our supply chain, post implementation of SAP. It was quite a challenge as well as a brilliant opportunity in terms of understanding the customer better, thinking and designing a supply chain structure to meet their requirements, the freedom to build a team and create a performance culture. With a young and energetic team coupled with support from highly demanding yet encouraging seniors I have created a team that runs all our Supply Chain operations today. After succeeding in this challenge we moved on to a new one which was to integrate Supply Chain across FMCG Divisions which meant integrating 3 businesses and people to enhance synergy and value creation. As a part of this we took some tough calls, built systems, questioned the traditional models, created new models and were able to deliver value to the Company. Today I head the Logistics function for the Trade Marketing & Distribution network.
When I look back over the last 4 years, I had an opportunity to create and test different service models, freight buying models, integrating companies, creating infrastructure and designing organisation structures and building a Performance Management System besides managing a huge spend which would not have been possible in any other Company. The rich experience across different areas in strategy coupled with execution experience has helped me grow as a business manager and a leader rather than just as a functional expert.
Jagadeesh's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
At ITC if you have a good idea, believe in the same and are willing to reason out, there is always a way to implement the same. You will never feel out of place if you can adapt to change. What ITC offers anyone is 3 unique features besides the ability to dream and think big - Freedom at work, Respect for individual, and Recognition for talent.
Jagadeesh believes ITC offers you:
ITC doesn't offer fancy job titles but offers you a meaningful job and a rewarding career. It gives an individual an opportunity to work in different areas, functions and businesses. The Company places high importance on training employees & focuses on constantly improving the skill sets of the individual. As a result, the employee gets a chance to excel at his work & grow as an individual as well.
ITC puts immense trust in its employees and it's a privilege to work for this world-class organisation. |
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Mayank Mathur
Mayank's journey in ITC:
I am an Engineering graduate, after which I completed my MBA in Operations & Supply Chain Management from NITIE, Mumbai. I worked with two other companies before joining ITC in 2007, hence was very concerned about the work culture and people orientation at the work place.
In the first week itself I could see the amount of trust that is placed on a newcomer. My first assignment was to review inventory & network for certain categories of products which was followed by being part of a team developing logistics budgeting templates for the year ahead. Very soon ITC trusted me with the responsibility of logistics operations for the biggest region as a Regional Manager. Not many companies would give such opportunities to a then 26 year young man.
In late 2008 integration of logistics systems for all FMCG portfolios of ITC started and I moved as part of the team. It was a really mammoth task of marrying two large-scale delivery systems designed to handle different priorities. Over the next two years what we worked for was a unified logistics chain capable of handling varied requirement of responsiveness, freshness & cost efficiency fighting against 6 different established FMCG players, delivering cutting edge business support both for established and emerging portfolios. Having done it, now I am moving to a pan India role.
Mayank's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Most of the people who join ITC at various stages of their career stay with the Company till retirement, which in itself is a testimony to the quality of work life being offered here. People are the single largest focus area in ITC. The people you work with here have a great wealth of experience and yet are very open to new ideas making the work place warmer, inclusive, satisfying and encouraging with qualitative learning every day.
Mayank believes ITC offers you:
ITC is one of the very few companies in India that offers such a large scale of work and responsibilities. ITC will provide you space to operate and will entrust you with responsibilities at an early stage with the liberty to challenge and bring changes in existing systems if required. Being an ever-growing organisation that is diversifying rigorously, ample challenges and opportunities for growth are available for anyone who believe in their dreams and is ready are work hard to realise them.
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Jagadeesh Kunchey
Joined ITC : 2007
Jagadeesh Kunchey
Jagadeesh's journey in ITC:
I am a graduate in Engineering, after which I completed my PGDIE from NITIE, Mumbai. I joined ITC in 2007 after working for 10 years with 3 reputed FMCG companies. The two things that attracted me to ITC were its diversified portfolio coupled with a quest for growth and growth and the fact that ITC is a professionally managed company with an Indian soul.
I joined ITC when we had just launched Bingo and were trying to stabilise our supply chain, post implementation of SAP. It was quite a challenge as well as a brilliant opportunity in terms of understanding the customer better, thinking and designing a supply chain structure to meet their requirements, the freedom to build a team and create a performance culture. With a young and energetic team coupled with support from highly demanding yet encouraging seniors I have created a team that runs all our Supply Chain operations today. After succeeding in this challenge we moved on to a new one which was to integrate Supply Chain across FMCG Divisions which meant integrating 3 businesses and people to enhance synergy and value creation. As a part of this we took some tough calls, built systems, questioned the traditional models, created new models and were able to deliver value to the Company. Today I head the Logistics function for the Trade Marketing & Distribution network.
When I look back over the last 4 years, I had an opportunity to create and test different service models, freight buying models, integrating companies, creating infrastructure and designing organisation structures and building a Performance Management System besides managing a huge spend which would not have been possible in any other Company. The rich experience across different areas in strategy coupled with execution experience has helped me grow as a business manager and a leader rather than just as a functional expert.
Jagadeesh's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
At ITC if you have a good idea, believe in the same and are willing to reason out, there is always a way to implement the same. You will never feel out of place if you can adapt to change. What ITC offers anyone is 3 unique features besides the ability to dream and think big - Freedom at work, Respect for individual, and Recognition for talent.
Jagadeesh believes ITC offers you:
ITC doesn't offer fancy job titles but offers you a meaningful job and a rewarding career. It gives an individual an opportunity to work in different areas, functions and businesses. The Company places high importance on training employees & focuses on constantly improving the skill sets of the individual. As a result, the employee gets a chance to excel at his work & grow as an individual as well.
ITC puts immense trust in its employees and it's a privilege to work for this world-class organisation. |
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Mayank Mathur
Joined ITC : 2007
Mayank Mathur
Mayank's journey in ITC:
I am an Engineering graduate, after which I completed my MBA in Operations & Supply Chain Management from NITIE, Mumbai. I worked with two other companies before joining ITC in 2007, hence was very concerned about the work culture and people orientation at the work place.
In the first week itself I could see the amount of trust that is placed on a newcomer. My first assignment was to review inventory & network for certain categories of products which was followed by being part of a team developing logistics budgeting templates for the year ahead. Very soon ITC trusted me with the responsibility of logistics operations for the biggest region as a Regional Manager. Not many companies would give such opportunities to a then 26 year young man.
In late 2008 integration of logistics systems for all FMCG portfolios of ITC started and I moved as part of the team. It was a really mammoth task of marrying two large-scale delivery systems designed to handle different priorities. Over the next two years what we worked for was a unified logistics chain capable of handling varied requirement of responsiveness, freshness & cost efficiency fighting against 6 different established FMCG players, delivering cutting edge business support both for established and emerging portfolios. Having done it, now I am moving to a pan India role.
Mayank's thoughts on ITC as a Workplace:
Most of the people who join ITC at various stages of their career stay with the Company till retirement, which in itself is a testimony to the quality of work life being offered here. People are the single largest focus area in ITC. The people you work with here have a great wealth of experience and yet are very open to new ideas making the work place warmer, inclusive, satisfying and encouraging with qualitative learning every day.
Mayank believes ITC offers you:
ITC is one of the very few companies in India that offers such a large scale of work and responsibilities. ITC will provide you space to operate and will entrust you with responsibilities at an early stage with the liberty to challenge and bring changes in existing systems if required. Being an ever-growing organisation that is diversifying rigorously, ample challenges and opportunities for growth are available for anyone who believe in their dreams and is ready are work hard to realise them.
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Overview | We look for..
Specialists
ITC recognises the need to nurture specialism and expertise in areas that give the Company a distinct competitive advantage. In keeping with this need, the Company has put in place a unique strategy to attract retain "specialists", anchored in the following premises:
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In each function, certain specific positions require possession of unique authority over a critical aspect of the business, knowledge and skills that are unique and not common across industries and are not easily replaceable.
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There are certain positions in any organisation where longevity of the individual in that position leads to acquisition of in-depth knowledge and experience which would take another individual in that position years to acquire. Therefore, there is a need to retain individuals in these key positions for as long as is possible.
In keeping with this approach, certain positions have been identified to be "specialist" in nature. These include Research Scientist, Leaf Blender, Agronomist, Legal Resource in Trade Marks, Tobacco and Health, Paper Maker, Forex Dealer, Commodity Trader, Chef, Food and Beverage specialist, etc.
The remuneration of individuals in these specialist positions is de-linked from the remuneration matrix applicable to the rest of the business and is determined by the criticality of skill, individual competence and experience.
The Company strives to encourage individuals in these specialist positions to continue in them, by rewarding and recognising their contribution in that position, rather than have them look to the traditional routes for career progression and enhancement.
We look for...
We do not believe in stereotypes. We believe diversity is essential for building a wholesome work environment. But there are certain basic attributes we look for:
- Integrity
- Intellectual rigour
- A 'will do' attitude
- Team skills
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- Ability to think strategically
- High energy
- Creativity
- Leadership
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