India cheerleader
Renault’s first employee in the country is going it alone after learning most of the tricks of the trade.
He calls India a ‘Hurdle Marathon’—there’s always a new one to deal with every day. His favourite word in Hindi? Jugaad, which can be loosely translated as a “creative” way to get around obstacles. Sylvain Bilaine, who recently resigned as MD of Renault India, has seen it all—the Indian bureaucracy, politicians, industrialists and the people. And guess what? He’s eager for some more of all that action. “I learnt a lot here and now I want to share my experience with companies abroad,” explains Bilaine, who will operate from his home country France.
A trekking enthusiast, Bilaine has set his eyes on a consultancy business. He plans to advise French, German and Japanese companies that are seeking to set up an outpost in India. But what makes Bilaine any different from the scores of consultants that dot the Indian corporate landscape? “There are many independent consultants offering legal, tax, market research, etc., in India, but there aren’t too many who offer a packaged deal to foreign companies,” says Bilaine, 55. Also, his India experience will stand him in good stead when advising French firms—who currently have to make do with consultants who make theoretical boardroom presentations with little experience of the Indian market.
Says Pawan Goenka, President (Automotive), M&M: “Bilaine is uniquely qualified for a consultancy business as (having worked here) he understands the Indian operating environment very well.” Bilaine’s India competence is nothing to be sneezed at. “The most important thing in this country is to have the right network of people,” says Bilaine, who travelled across the length and breadth of the country, negotiating with state governments, looking out for land, hiring people and setting up marketing and distribution centres. “I was on my own as the first employee of Renault in India,” says Bilaine, whose wife Dominique writes for French newspapers from India.
Bilaine was also responsible for sewing together a joint venture with Anand Mahindra to make cars. Next came the three-way alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mahindra, where Bilaine once again played a pivotal role. He was also at the forefront of the low-cost car project with Bajaj Auto. “I’m impressed with Indian businessmen’s entrepreneurial skills,” he says.
Clearly, Bilaine knows what it takes to set up a project in India. Just one example: “We negotiated for 18 months with the state government before we got the land for our Chennai plant.”As a consultant, he proposes to advise companies from the time they conceive an India project right up to implementation. To start with, Bilaine wants to focus on engineering services and manufacturing, including auto components; he’s on the look out for an Indian partner. “I am looking for an Indian partner and could later decide to have a full-fledged branch office in India as the business picks up,” says Bilaine, who is also open to a financial partnership with a domestic alliance.
The current pall of gloom that has descended on the global market place doesn’t faze Bilaine. “People will come (to India) even during times of crisis,” says the man who has also worked in the US, Africa, West Asia and Japan. So, he knows a thing or two about people and cultures. “Indians are quite in contrast to the Japanese when it comes to social behaviour like hugging, touching or noise levels. We French come somewhere in between.” But the jugaad, of course, is quintessentially Indian. And Bilaine is glad he learnt, amongst the many things he has in India, that word too!
A trekking enthusiast, Bilaine has set his eyes on a consultancy business. He plans to advise French, German and Japanese companies that are seeking to set up an outpost in India. But what makes Bilaine any different from the scores of consultants that dot the Indian corporate landscape? “There are many independent consultants offering legal, tax, market research, etc., in India, but there aren’t too many who offer a packaged deal to foreign companies,” says Bilaine, 55. Also, his India experience will stand him in good stead when advising French firms—who currently have to make do with consultants who make theoretical boardroom presentations with little experience of the Indian market.
Claim to fame: He was the face of Renault in India |
Bilaine was also responsible for sewing together a joint venture with Anand Mahindra to make cars. Next came the three-way alliance between Renault, Nissan and Mahindra, where Bilaine once again played a pivotal role. He was also at the forefront of the low-cost car project with Bajaj Auto. “I’m impressed with Indian businessmen’s entrepreneurial skills,” he says.
Clearly, Bilaine knows what it takes to set up a project in India. Just one example: “We negotiated for 18 months with the state government before we got the land for our Chennai plant.”As a consultant, he proposes to advise companies from the time they conceive an India project right up to implementation. To start with, Bilaine wants to focus on engineering services and manufacturing, including auto components; he’s on the look out for an Indian partner. “I am looking for an Indian partner and could later decide to have a full-fledged branch office in India as the business picks up,” says Bilaine, who is also open to a financial partnership with a domestic alliance.
The current pall of gloom that has descended on the global market place doesn’t faze Bilaine. “People will come (to India) even during times of crisis,” says the man who has also worked in the US, Africa, West Asia and Japan. So, he knows a thing or two about people and cultures. “Indians are quite in contrast to the Japanese when it comes to social behaviour like hugging, touching or noise levels. We French come somewhere in between.” But the jugaad, of course, is quintessentially Indian. And Bilaine is glad he learnt, amongst the many things he has in India, that word too!
