'300 CEOs, VCs, 20 founders worth $500m': Swiggy top executive gives a sneak peek into India's 'McKinsey Network'

Rohit Kapoor, CEO - Food Marketplace, Swiggy, has shared a brief insight into the strong 'McKinsey Network' in India of start-up founders, venture capitalists and CEOs who have previously worked with the global management consulting firm. Kapoor had worked with McKinsey for over 10 years from November 2000 till January 2011 before he joined Max Healthcare and subsequently entered the startup world with OYO where he was first the CEO (India and South Asia) and later became the Global Chief Marketing Officer.

He joined as the CEO (Food Marketplace) of food delivery platform Swiggy in August 2022. But the decade he spent at McKinsey helped groom his career, according to Kapoor.  

"Consulting just forces you [to develop skillset] like problem solving, communication, interpersonal client management. I actually felt I went to college when I was in McKinsey. Whatever you should have done in any case, the organisation just puts you to the grind in such a deep way that you get finished a little bit," Kapoor said during the latest B-school Master Union's 'Series-C' session.

Giving an insight into career trends, he said many consulting firm employees leave their companies after two-three years to explore new avenues.

"After that [two-three years] people choose multiple options. People have spent 30 years at McKinsey, I spent 10. I know people who say 2 years are enough. And people are exiting in all kinds of role, and it's true of McKinsey, BCG (Boston Consulting Group), Bain everyone," Kapoor said.

He added that there were many ex-McKinsey employees who had launched start-ups. "So, I've seen people startup like tons. I personally invested in at least 5 to 10 McKinsey [where the founder is ex-McKinsey employee] startups. People join startups, people go to NGOs, people join venture capital, private equity. So, it has really become full range," he added.

"The McKinsey Network - that's a club I'm grateful I'm a part of. We have a WhatsApp group of about 700, 800 McKinsey people. There are probably 300 CEOs in that, every venture capital founder in India, at least 20 founders whose companies are more than $500 million."

Coming back to his own career, Kapoor shared that he had decided to quit McKinsey after a decade for a rather 'silly' reason.  "I was always a fast tracker. And for one cycle, I didn't get to the next level in the speed I think I should have got. And, I said 'that's it. I don't want to be here, I'll go and do things where I can get more speed'."

Kapoor confessed: "It was extremely silly, almost myopic on my part to think like that, but in that environment, I did think like that."

He is glad he tried something new. "I felt I spent four years too many, but that's in hindsight. I'm glad it happened because I was so comfortable there I was coasting. I would have never done things in life I ended up doing and trying if that [not getting promoted] hadn't happened. So, it felt bad at that point in time, but turned out to be the best trigger I ever got in my life," he shared.

Kapoor then joined Max Healthcare from where he switched to OYO and later Swiggy.