Hire hard, manage easy: Essel Propack's Blackstone makeover starts

Finding the right CEO fast, and expanding segments are key

Ninety days after private equity major Blackstone started running Essel Propack, a packaging company that makes one of three toothpaste tubes worldwide, debt has reduced, revenue is increasing, and there’s an uptick in margins.

Now what it needs is to get a top-flight chief executive officer (CEO) on board with a new sales engine to crack open up new areas and grow the business worldwide.

After Blackstone spent Rs 3,215 crore for a 75 per cent acquisition in Essel Propack, it has, in trademark-style, swiftly revamped the top leadership. There is a new board of independent directors including former Ranbaxy