SUNIL ALAGH strides in with a smile on his face and a pack of ciggies in his hand.

Just back from the

Capital (and on his way to Rishi Kapoor’s daughter’s wedding), he’s excited about I-Gen, the new brand he
is helping Godfrey Phillips launch this month in Delhi.

The cigarettes in their trendy black and silver cases are intended to appeal to Gen Next. “Basically
awesome cigarettes” says the pack on one side, while another glib tag line reads “Dlite 4 senses 24x7”.

More than two years after being unceremoniously ousted from Britannia Industries, Alagh is slowly
moving back into the spotlight. As founder of consultancy outfit SKA Advisors Pvt Ltd, which specializes
in marketing and brand building, the 58-year-old’s clients now range from bio-pharma company Biocon
to beedi manufacturer Sarda Group. “All my clients are challenging the leaders in their fields, he says.”

Alagh will also host The Job Show on CNBC-TV 18, which will give aspirants a chance to win some of the
best entry-level management jobs. “I want to demystify the interview room,” he says, of his role as a
moderator between companies and candidates.

Scheduled to be aired in the second week of March, the show has attracted a number of firms, including
Satyam, Wipro, YesBank, LG Electronics and Aviva Life Insurance among others.

VITAL STATS - He drives a Toyota Innova, enjoys Schezwan cuisine and loved The Da Vinci Code - His
favourite holiday spot in India is Rajasthan, especially Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. He loves London, and one
of his best vacations was in Prague, when it was the capital of Czechoslovakia, and Florence, Italy - His
first job was at ITC when Ajit Haksar was the chairman. He then moved to Jagatjit Industries and
ultimately to Britannia in 1974 - His wife, Maya, is a general practitioner who also acts on TV and in
movies. His older daughter Sanvari was, till two weeks ago, with Star TV as the executive producer of the
successful Nach Baliye. Younger daughter Anjori is studying and wants to act in theatre and television
Alagh’s current exuberance is a far cry from mid-2003, when he was dismissed as MD and CEO of
Britannia Industries in a dramatic and murky episode that raised eyebrows in the corporate world. Widely
credited with Britannia’s success in the biscuit field (it became India’s #1 food brand during his tenure)
and framing its growth strategy in the decade before his departure, Alagh left in a huff over differences
with Britannia’s promoters.

Among other accusations in the events that followed were misappropriation of funds and Alagh’s take-it-
or-leave-it style of leadership. Industry sources say his Rs 1 crore annual salary was not sufficient to
sustain his extravagant lifestyle.

Alagh says he didn’t have any plans after he left Britannia. “For a while I didn’t want to do anything at all.
I was disillusioned and felt let down by the people I trusted.”

For two months after his abrupt exit, Alagh indulged his late-riser gene and woke up whenever he wanted.
The Hindi movie buff saw a movie every afternoon—Sholay (he’s seen it eight times) and Chalti Ka Naam
Gaadi are his favourites, and he thinks The Godfather II was better than The Godfather. He also finally got
time to hit the treadmill, something he had been meaning to do for a while.

The quiet period did not last long. While he was recuperating, Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, the owner of
Biocon, approached him to help her position her company as a retail brand in the pharmaceuticals
market. Alagh was intrigued and thus was born SKA Advisors. With it, Alagh’s career, which had
threatened to end so ignominiously, got a new lease.
Taking on Biocon as a client was Alagh’s first step back into the world of brand strategy and marked his
return to the corner room. Within a month, Shrirang Sarda of the Sarda Group approached him to help
the company make the transition from beedis to the snack segment. After deliberations, Alagh advised the
company to enter the dry fruit market with Vitamla.

The product, currently selling only in Mumbai, has taken off well and, according to Alagh, is already
clocking sales close to what Maska Chaska, a Britannia brand, used to do in Mumbai—and with half the
budget that the bigger brand had at its disposal.

“He is able to connect with the market through simple initiatives and by riding on the customer’s
emotional pulse,” says Satish Mane, Britannia’s former head of marketing.

Alagh says he still feels as much excitement as when he launched his first brand. He cites the example of
another client, Sapat Tea, which hit the consumers with Parivar Chai and its “Surrrr ke piyo” campaign.

KK Modi, president of Godfrey Phillips, says he picked Alagh for his “ability to focus on a core issue”.
“Plus, he’s a very colourful personality and knows how to motivate a team,’’ he adds.

With all his clients, Alagh cites Tom and Jerry cartoons as his marketing mantra. What is certain is that
Tom the cat will not get Jerry the mouse and the sooner companies identify their Jerrys, the less
frustrated they will be. “My clients are the Jerrys, running circles around the Toms,” he says with a grin.

These days he’s busier than ever—but on his own terms. “As a basket, Alagh provides it all,” he laughs,
referring to his range of clients. He likes to spend two days a month with each and work with teams on
project execution. “I prefer to help turn up companies, not just turn them around,” he says.

The former biscuit-maker is also eyeing the FMCG market for potential buyouts with the help of private
equity investors. As if that does not keep him busy, he is also on the advisory board of companies such as
express cargo firm GATI Ltd, United Breweries, IL&FS and National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

All that work means he has no time to learn golf (even though he’s bought the kit and acquired a golf club
membership), but Alagh has a line for that too. “Whether in life or with brands, one has to make one’s
presence felt,” he says. “Otherwise you end up wasting energy.” Gen Next would approve.