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India just happened to him. After his children were grown up and settled, Amway India Chief Executive William S Pinckney, 64, and his wife decided to move to the country for some fun and adventure. They settled down in a large house in Delhi's Sainik Farm that was used as the official home by his predecessor.
For an American living in Australia (he moved there because his wife is from that country), the change could have been nothing short of traumatic. But Pinckney decided to take to all things Indian. He fell in love with Indian food, Hindu rituals and festivals. He has even been celebrating "Diwali" at his home for more than a decade now.
He refused to go back to the US when an opportunity came his way six months after he arrived in India in 1998. By then he had taken a liking for the heat and chaos around him. However, this week the indophile hit the headlines in India for all the wrong reasons.
On Tuesday, he was arrested in Kerala on suspicion of violating the law that protects investors from fraudulent investment offerings and ponzi schemes. Amway, which directly sells vitamins, air purifiers and toothpaste to consumers through marketing agents, says it didn't do anything wrong. It also says the investigations were going on for a long time and the company was aware of it.
Pinckney has been with Amway for 17 years. He has helped the company set up business in the Philippines, Brazil, Argentina and Taiwan. People close to him describe him "as easy going". They say he "gets you talking, comfortable and laughing, as any good salesman should." Pinckney loved spending time with Amway's business associates. His charisma was definitely working. Amway India's 1.5 million direct-selling agents helped the company clock a combined sales of about Rs 2,280 crore last year.
