Vinati Saraf Mutreja is an Indian businesswoman who joined her father’s business, Vinati Organic Ltd (VOL), a chemical manufacturing company, in 2006. After Vinati took over her father’s business, she rose to the limelight of the business world by growing VOL’s revenue and profit from Rs. 660 million to Rs. 1,000 crore. Under Vinati’s leadership, VOL was listed among the top 200 billion dollar companies in Asia by Forbes magazine. After 12 years at VOL, Vinati became the company’s CEO and Managing Director.
Wiki/Biography
Vinati Saraf Mutreja was born in 1984 (37 years old; as of 2021). Vinati received executive training at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. She received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. She received a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Finance and General Management from the Wharton School of the Pennsylvania State University in 2005. She completed the Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2019.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5’3″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
family
Parents and siblings
Vinati’s father, Vinod Saraf, is the chairman of Vinati Organics Ltd. and her mother is Kavita Saraf. Her elder sister, Viral Saraf Mittal, is a member of the management of Vinati Organics.
Vinati Saraf Mutreja and her father Vinod Saraf
Husband and children
Vinati Saraf Mutreja is married to Mohit Mutreja, who runs an algorithmic trading firm specializing in high-frequency trading. They have two children.
Vinati Saraf Mutreja, Vinod Saraf, Parshant Mittal, Viral Saraf Mittal, Kavita Saraf, Mohit Mutreja
Profession
Vinati Saraf Mutreja is a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). According to Vinati, she joined her father’s company immediately after returning to India from Pennsylvania. Thereafter, she began learning the basic operations of her father’s company. In an interview, she said:
I started from scratch and worked in different departments and learned about different business functions.”
Vinati’s father Vinod Saraf gave her a challenging task to transform the ATBS plant (a part of VOL company) from a loss-making status to a world-class unit. Vinati was given this task to motivate her to run the ATBS plant independently. In a conversation with the media, Vinati narrated how she struggled to run the ATBS plant from 2002 and turned it into a profitable unit in 2019. She further pointed out that there are only two organizations in the world that produce the same chemical products as the ATBS plant. She said:
We started the ATBS division in 2002, but we considered closing it or selling it because of poor quality. We were a small company at the time and had exhausted all our resources and expertise. There were only two other companies in the world making this product. So, since it was a niche market, we were stuck. But I managed to hire a consultant to help streamline the process.”
When Vinati took sole charge of the ATBS factory, she managed to establish and solidify long-term business relationships and contracts with global multinationals. These multinationals have long-term sales contracts with VOL. Till 2006, ATBS sold its products only in the Indian market, but now, about 75% of its sales transactions come from exports. In an interview, Vinati explained how VOL has been able to increase productivity while reducing production costs. She revealed that optimal and most efficient use of batch time can increase production capacity with minimal capital. She said-
We focused on cutting costs and improving productivity by optimizing batch times. This resulted in increased capacity with minimal investment. We also made significant efforts to improve quality by hiring international R&D experts, and it paid off.”
In 2019, under the management policy of Vinati Saraf Mutreja, the ATBS division became the largest division of VOL Corporation producing its products worldwide. Vinati said in an interview that the work capacity of the ATBS factory has been improved through improved and high-quality productivity and manufacturing strategies. She explained:
Better quality, higher productivity and annual contracts boosted sales, and we began to regularly expand capacity, often to preempt demand.”
In 2006, VOL’s market capitalization was around Rs 20 crore, which grew to over Rs 8,000 crore by 2019. In an interview, Vinati shared her vision to increase the company’s turnover and expand its global market potential. She said:
Our vision is to grow at 20-25% per annum and double our revenues in three years. We are still a very small company in the chemical space. Most mid-sized chemical companies have revenues of Rs 3,000/4,000 crore. Our margins are higher but we need to expand our footprint as the market potential for our existing products is limited.”
Vinati can often be seen giving investment advice to investors on many of India’s leading business television news channels.
Vinati shared her thoughts on the investment deals offered by her company VOL on an Indian business news channel
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- 2019: Vinati Saraf Mutreja was named Outstanding Female Business Leader of the Year 2018 by the Economic Times Family Business Awards jury.
Vinati Saraf Mutreja receives Outstanding Business Women Leadership Award at the Economic Times Business Family Awards 2019
- 2019: She was also named as Forbes India W-Power Trailblazer 2019 and in the same year, she was also included in the Economic Times Women’s Leading List.
Facts/Trivia
- Vinati Saraf Mutreja was born into an ordinary middle-class family where education was of utmost importance.
- As a teenager, Vinatti began accompanying her father to company meetings. This exposure to the business world laid the foundation for her to pursue a degree in applied science engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics, finance and business studies. In 2006, Vinatti returned to India at the age of 22 and soon joined her father’s company.
- In 1991, the Vinatti family business held a 26% stake in VOL, and by 2019, this proportion had gradually increased to 74.01%.
- Vinati believes that more Indian women should join the business world and contribute to the manufacturing industry in India and around the world. In a conversation with media persons, Vinati said that we must encourage women to take up engineering and join the business world without hesitation. She said:
Women don’t see other women in the industry and therefore don’t feel comfortable joining. It’s important to break this cycle so that when our daughters enter the workplace, they don’t feel like they are in the minority. Women bring diversity and empathy to any discussion, bringing a different dimension. We should encourage women to pursue engineering and make our work environments more conducive for them to thrive.”
- In an interview, speaking about her personal life, Vinatti said that she is a lucky person who has never faced a situation where she had to choose between her family and her career. She also added that she independently directed and directed the ATBS department of VOL with the support of her family. She said –
Most women I know quit their jobs after having kids. I love my job and the trust my stakeholders place in me. It drives me to keep doing better.”
- In an interview with the media, Vinati was asked about the biggest hurdles and obstacles faced by women in India in their career path. She responded that self-inflicted bias is the biggest problem faced by women in pursuing their career path. She further added that this is the only reason why many in Indian society do not want to see women in senior leadership positions. She explained the facilities and equipment provided by her company for its female employees. She said-
If we only talk about middle-class to upper-middle-class urban societies, most women graduate into employment. It is only sometime after starting a family that they succumb to the idea that they have chosen between their career and family. This self-bias is the biggest barrier to women’s career advancement and the reason why we don’t see many women in senior leadership positions. In addition to extending maternity leave, we are also offering flexible working hours to women in our organization. Simply by hiring more women than other factories, we are creating a more supportive environment for women. Ultimately, this can only change if men start taking more responsibility at home. This requires a cultural shift and it will take some time for our society to achieve this, but we are moving in the right direction.”
- According to Vinati, she enjoys reading books on green and clean chemistry. She is proud of her strong work in environmental, health and safety. She enjoys coming up with innovative processes to produce chemicals in her manufacturing facility.
- Vinatti said her most creative ideas came from the office, and the work experience taught her how to balance work and life.
- In an interview, Vinati was asked how large companies can improve the gender diversity issue in top management. Vinati explained that this is only possible by motivating and encouraging women to take on higher leadership positions and never resign from their respective roles in the organization. However, in a company, the quality of time must be more important than the quantity of time. She said-
Most women leave the workforce after having children. To encourage women to move into higher leadership positions, companies need to demonstrate that the quality of work time is more important than the quantity. Offering flexible work hours and reducing the emphasis on after-get off work socializing are some of the ways organizations can achieve this.
- Vinati Saraf Mutreja’s success story in the business field has been frequently reported in many of India’s leading magazines and tabloids.
An article published in a magazine about Vinati Saraf Mutreja’s business success story
- In her free time, Vinati enjoys reading. Two of her favorite books are Bottle of Lies: ‘Ranbaxy and the Dark Side of Indian Pharma’ by Dinesh Thakur and Katherine Eban and Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education