Wine Industry is NOT only for Sommeliers, says Mr. Jawed Akhtar

Mr. Jawed Akhtar, the namesake of the famous songwriter ‘Javed Akhtar' of Bollywood, is a hard taskmaster and is known as a ‘Brand Builder'. At present, he is an AVP at Tonia Liquor Industries in Delhi. For 20 years, he has worked with Vijay Mallya's United Breweries (UB) Group) and has launched several IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) brands during that time, including Bagpiper - the flagship brand of the UB Group.

In an exclusive interview with Shiksha.com, Mr. Jawed Akhtar, reveals the scope of a career in the wine industry.

Shiksha: You have a work experience of three and a half decades in Sales & Marketing. Tell us something about the journey of your career?

Jawed: My native place is in Munger, a district in Bihar. After completing my schooling from there, I went to Kolkata, the nearest ‘big' metropolitan study, for management studies. I did not want to be a burden on my elder brothers, so I started working ever since I moved to Kolkata. I started out with taking part-time tuitions and doing odd jobs for leading transporters and even worked as a merchandiser, where I had to demonstrate products on street.

In 1976, I got my first job as Area Sales Executive in Herbertsons UB (United Breweries) Group. Unlike the young ambitious professionals of today, I stuck to my first job for 20 long years. When I resigned, I was a Zonal Manager at the UB Group. Today, I am an AVP, second in command after the Chairman, at Tonia (a leading Wine company) and am responsible for its All India Operation. It has taken tremendous patience, dedication and honesty for me to reach where I am now.

If you have the right vision, you will be at the right place.

Shiksha: What have been your most memorable moments in your career?

Jawed: The UB Group has been a part of my life. I have launched many IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) brands and established them in the market place. I created Bagpiper, the Flagship brand of UB. People have given me the title of ‘Brand Builder'.

The UB Group rewarded me. It provided me international training opportunities and sent me to various foreign countries for Management Development Programs which include places like England, Manila, Nairobi, Honk Kong, Bangkok and Thailand.

I have had a long tenure in the IMFL industry, i.e., 37 years, which in itself is a matter of pride for me.

But the most memorable moment for me has been the time when the CEO of my present company - Tonia Liquor Industries - called me to Goa for a meeting and introduced me to everybody as ‘the next Chairman of the Company'. It was not that I want to replace him but that he acknowledged the hard work that I had put in, which I loved.

What are the major professions in a wine industry that one can look forward to?

Three main professions in wine industry that need you to be a specialist are:

• Sales and Marketing
• Manufacturing
• Expertise in Identifying the Quality of Grapes

What does a Manager in a Wine Industry should know about?

Managers in any industry do pretty much the same thing. Irrespective of the fact that you are working in the wine industry or not, you should have knowledge of:

• Brand Positioning
• Industry
• Pricing
• Competitive Brands
• Quality of one's product to be marketed i.e. the features
• Packaging
• Where to procure raw materials from and how

When you hire people, what qualities do you look for?

If you have the passion, it is not difficult to acquire expertise or specialist's knowledge of any industry you may choose to enter. What I look for is one's:

• Commitment and dedication towards their job
• Positive attitude of working under pressure
• Whether a person is goal oriented
• Whether a person believes in making things happen
• Attitude of acquiring higher responsibilities

I never forget my humble beginning. I didn't know English when I joined the industry. But I took private tuitions and had the zeal to master the language and now, I am confident of my fluency and oratory skills. If you have the determination, nothing can stand between you and your success.

I mainly hire professional merchandisers who contribute for the placement of brands.

Is there any good institute in India or Abroad, he would like to recommend a student interested in Management and why?

I believe that there are many top-notch management institutes in India that provide pretty good management education that we all know about. But it is the aptitude that makes you different. The good thing is that management studies in India too are moving from being more theoretical towards practical experience, which is what counts ultimately.

What are the good and bad points working in a wine factory/industry?

Wine industry inculcates discipline in you. It's like being in an army. You cannot skip the deadlines given to you. You have to be punctual, adhere strictly to the given time line, committed, and transparent in dealing with customers.

Apart from this you learn that quality of services to be rendered to the trade has to be impeccable. You always need to be ready to walk that extra mile. It requires extensive travelling to gain an adequate exposure of the industry and if you love to travel, you will love it.

You also get an exposure to different people, cultures, languages, behavior patterns, and different types of trading communities.

Salaries may not be in line with the IT industry but generally, the wine industry pays well too.

There are some people who are just not made for the wine industry. If you do not fulfill the commitments made by you, do not settle claims on time, take service rendering casually, do not like to travel, cannot handle work pressure or have reservations about how much time you want to devote to work, you cannot simply make it big in this sector.

What are your regrets, if any?

The only regret that I have is not being able to give adequate time to my family that they deserved during my tenure till now.

We would like to know about your overall lifestyle, the True Picture of someone who has devoted his life to the wine industry.

I am a hard task master and my everyday counts for my growth and my company's growth. I believe in developing my subordinates to work efficiently in the market place.

My day starts around 7 am in order to supervise and monitor things happening across the country with regard to achieving the day to day assigned objectives. By the end of the day, the Chairman is given updates about the entire day activities with regard to sales and collection.
Every Saturday, a review meeting is held to ensure that weekly objectives are met.

On Sundays, I sometimes have to travel to save my weekdays and to make sure that the weekdays are not wasted in transit from one place to another. Otherwise, I enjoy spending quality time with my daughters, my son, my daughter-in-law, my wife and my granddaughter.

There is no shortcut to success, other than hard work.

What is the general pay scale that is offered to those who want to join the liquor industry?

A Fresher in the industry gets a minimum of Rs 20,000. There is an increment of 15% every year after the performance evaluation is done. After 5 years, a good employee usually gets around Rs 40,000 and after 10 years, you can expect around Rs 1,00,000 as your monthly remuneration.

As Area Sales Manager (ASM), one generally makes around Rs 45,000 while a Regional Sales Manager (RSM) usually gets a pay of Rs 75,000.

At the higher level, remuneration and perks are more than Rs 2.5 Lakh.

To know more about how to make career in the wine industry, do post your queries here.

Source: Madiha Jawed (Shiksha Team)