In an exclusive interview with CXO Lanes, Mainak Dhar, Managing Director of McCain Foods India, delves into his leadership philosophy, career learnings, and his unique approach to purpose-driven leadership. With over two decades of experience across global giants like Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and Kimberly-Clark, Mainak shares how his journey has been shaped by adaptability, humility, and a strong sense of purpose. He also opens up about his passion project, Mentoring by Mainak, an initiative aimed at democratizing mentorship by leveraging the power of AI to make guidance accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Could you share some key learnings from your career journey prior to joining McCain Foods that have significantly shaped your leadership approach?
Mainak Dhar: I’ve had the privilege of working with some great organisations where I’ve learned a lot and grown as a leader and as a person. Perhaps the biggest things I learned in my journey were the importance of having humility and a learning mindset, the importance of putting people first, and the importance of being adaptable. I began my career with Procter & Gamble, spending almost eighteen years there, living across India, Thailand, and Singapore and managing brands and teams across APAC markets. This was a great exposure to building brands and teams across markets and learning about both how diverse people are, and yet how we have so much in common. Next, I worked with General Mills for over six years, a fascinating experience that taught me much about the full spectrum of the foods industry, from food service, to retail, to running our own restaurants, and exposure to managing even more diverse teams, spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. My last stint before McCain was at Kimberly-Clark, where I learned a lot about leading a team though volatility and disruption, as I joined them in the middle of the COVID pandemic.
What attracted you to the Managing Director position at McCain Foods, and how do you see the company’s values aligning with your personal and professional goals?
Mainak Dhar: To be honest, I’m not attracted to titles. What matters most to me is that the place I work at, and the people I work with, have values and a sense of purpose that align with mine. McCain has been a fantastic experience so far, as it combines all the exposure, learning, and growth of a large multinational firm, with a very strong set of values rooted in family, trust, and authenticity.
You write a lot about purpose-driven leadership. What does that mean to you and why is it important?
Mainak Dhar: I didn’t grow up with a corporate background. My father was a police officer, and my maternal grandfather was a freedom fighter, and later a police officer. So, I grew up among people for whom serving others, and having a larger sense of purpose, was important. Those are values that are deeply ingrained in me as well. To me, being purpose-driven fundamentally means that you are doing what you are doing not primarily for your personal benefit or growth, but to serve others and be of use to others.
I feel that being purpose-driven as a leader and a business is important as it keeps us grounded with a strong compass of what is right and wrong even when things are volatile around us. In the world of business, it helps us stay focused on the fact that we succeed by serving others- our teammates, our employees, our customers, and the communities we operate in. Finally, as the Bhagavad Gita advises us, it focuses us on doing what is right instead of obsessing with outcomes or being swayed too easily by success or setbacks.
What does a winning mindset mean to you? Why is it important?
Mainak Dhar: Winning is very important to me, but not in the sense of winning versus someone else. The highest form of winning is to be the best one can be, as an individual and as a team, stretching and growing beyond one’s own expectations, and going beyond one’s comfort zone. That comes with having the courage to challenge the status quo, the humility to always learn, and the resilience to stay the course instead of settling for doing what’s easy or known. A winning mindset is incredibly important because only with such a mindset do we grow, learn, and ultimately leave things better than we found them, instead of just managing the status quo. That’s the key to us getting better and progressing, as individuals, corporations, and communities.
What was the biggest promotion or elevation in responsibility you’ve had in your career? What did you learn from that experience?
Mainak Dhar: I’ve had several amazing professional opportunities that I’ve learned from in my career, but the biggest promotions I’ve had were nothing to do with my job. They were when I was ‘promoted’ to being husband by Puja in 2004, and then being ‘promoted’ to being father with the birth of our son, Aaditya, in 2008. The biggest learning I’ve had from those ‘promotions’ is that the best use of our talents, and indeed, our lives, is to be of use to others.