It is said that setting up something from scratch is often easier than rewiring an existing business and ensuring it keeps up with the demands of changing times. This challenge becomes even more pronounced when the company is already a market leader, has established systems and processes and has been used to doing business in a certain way for several years. When Maruti Suzuki India Ltd chairman and company veteran RC Bhargava, together with CEO Kenichi Ayukawa, began redesigning the car maker, the enormity of the task at hand was compounded by the altering market dynamics. Global rivals with muscle had come into India and were threatening to eat into Maruti’s territory, the exchange rate had turned adverse, customer preferences were changing and labour relations at the company had hit a new low. What followed was a systematic, point-by-point strategy to drive change at a company which had announced its entry into the Indian market with the iconic Maruti 800 family car 31 years ago. Maruti had never before been threatened this way on its own turf and it had to work tirelessly to put together a strategy to keep itself relevant and ahead of competition.
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As Deputy Editor N Madhavan writes in the cover story, the gruesome killings and labour unrest at Maruti’s Manesar plant in 2012 were just the more public face of a turbulent period which had been building up from 2010-11. It was time for the company to question everything it had done so far, and begin on a fresh slate. Indigenisation, quality, new technology and plugging of product gaps became key elements in a broader strategic game plan put together by the Maruti leadership. Today, the efforts have begun yielding results: Maruti’s FY2015 domestic sales are at its highest ever, and the company has already lined up a robust product pipeline which will ensure customers don’t move to competition for want of options.
The Maruti re-engineering apart, this issue also showcases The 2015 Midas List of the world’s smartest technology investors. These are people who have had the courage, wisdom and foresight to back the most exciting and innovative tech ventures in the world and made jaw-dropping returns in the process. Sample this: Jim Goetz (Sequoia Capital) with his WhatsApp marquee deal, Peter Fenton of Benchmark with his Twitter investment and Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital with Uber are the top three on this year’s list. There are many more such names on this list of 100, evidence that history can often be made when a canny investor meets a smart entrepreneur.
