Tapan Buch plays key role in social initiatives for P&G Hygiene & Healthcare

BT-Yes Bank Best CFOs Survey
Category: Best CFO of an MNC (MID-SIZE COMPANIES)

Winner: Tapan Buch, CFO, P&G Hygiene & Healthcare

For a corporate entity, it is never easy to manage the commercial as well as social interest. P&G Hygiene & Healthcare, a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, scores well on both counts in the BT- Yes Bank study of Best CFOs.

The 50-year-old multinational has witnessed a net sales growth of 23 per cent and a net profit expansion of 4 per cent in India over the last three years annually. The company is now increasing its manufacturing capacity. It has invested Rs 370 crore to build its biggest plant in the country in Andhra Pradesh to expand its manufacturing footprint.

P&G, like any other multinational, focuses on grooming global business leaders. "Globally, we have had many examples of cross-category and cross-functional leadership, including CFO's leading independent businesses," says Tapan Buch, Director and Assistant Treasurer, Global Funding and Foreign Exchange, Global Treasury, P&G.

"We achieve this through our robust talent practice systems which ensure the right mapping between business needs and the individual employee's preferences and expertise," he adds. Buch was till recently the Finance Director of Procter & Gamble, India.

This US-based multinational is also well known for its social initiatives in India.  With the new Company's Act in place, it is imperative that corporates set aside funds for Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR. What works best for a company is if the activity is a part of the broader business objective and strategy. That's what P&G does and as a part of the company for 17 years, Tapan Buch has actually lived by the statement.

"CSR has and will remain an important component of P&G's ability to improve consumers' lives and to create value for our shareholders," says Buch.

How much to spend on CSR is not the issue, says Buch. But the company is particular about finding the right causes to support. For instance, for the  programme P&G Shiksha, which provides underprivileged children with access to education, the company scans NGO partners and select the ones that are the most committed, says Buch. This has helped them build and support over 330 schools in India, impacting more than 600,000 children. "Another focus area is to ensure that all spending meets not only audit requirements but also support our own stewardship and governance requirements," he says.