Goal Getter

football match in my life. Cricket,yes; hockey,sometimes; but never football,” she says. Despite the politically incorrect answer from its chairperson,Venky’s went on to become the first Indian concern to own an EPL club.

Since then,48-year-old Desai has done much to redeem herself. “I had told them that by the time of their next visit,I would know the basics of the game. And I have been diligently watching the matches. Now I know how the game works,how many strikers one needs to have in a team,” she says.

She meets us on the lawns of her sprawling home. Spread over five and a half acres near the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasala,Pune,it is fiercely guarded,and as imposing and intimidating as Desai is unassuming — in her black-and-gold salwar kameez and a bright red bindi,she could be the chatty housewife next door. She is,rather,the inheritor of a Rs 1,300 crore empire left to her after her father BV Rao’s death in 1996. That responsibility sits lightly on her,as does the massive expansion and diversification drive she has undertaken along with her brothers — the reticent Venkatesh Rao,after whom the business is named,and the flamboyant Balaji Rao,known more in Pune for his lavish parties and Bollywood connections. It’s no secret that the level-headed sister,the eldest of the siblings,calls the shots and is the face of the company.

But Desai is reluctant to hoard all the credit. “Yes,Balaji is known to be flamboyant. But if there’s anyone in the family in whom I see the spark and vision that my father had,it’s him. The Blackburn deal was his idea. It takes him two minutes to assess what’s right or wrong about an idea. I dilly-dallied over the club deal but he was gung-ho from the first,” she says. She credits Venky with overhauling the feed business,and describes her role as more of an overseer. “I am more interested in the company’s expansion,quality maintenance and looking after the customers,” she says.

The siblings stay together in the mansion that has for years hosted the best December 31 do in Pune. It houses the family’s convoy of luxury cars (786 is a favourite number plate) and is run by an efficient battalion of staff who have been trained to gently inform visitors that “nothing” is an unacceptable option when asked if they’d like to have tea,coffee or juice.

Desai is at ease in the role of company head but her foray into the family business was “accidental”. “In 1984,I had just finished my BA in psychology from Fergusson College and Venky had cleared his Class 12 exams. My father decided it was time to initiate us. He made us work 12-14 hours a day,do everything from cleaning to feeding the birds. There were strict instructions to treat us like any other trainees. I hated it. I was not used to manual labour. I wanted to run away and do my Master’s,” she says.

But she stuck on for a year,after which her father asked her to start and run a business division. “That was the turning point. When you are young and the decisions you take start to work,that boosts your confidence and makes you enjoy what you’re doing. There was no looking back after that,” she says. In 1994,Desai became the first woman to be elected president of the World Poultry Science Association; today,as chairperson of the National Egg Coordination Committee,she is responsible for setting the price of eggs countrywide. Desai says her working style is similar to her father’s. “I give a lot of freedom and believe in delegating tasks. Most of the time it works,” she says. (She is in no hurry to initiate her 17-year-old daughter into the business. “She’s still young.”)

Desai insists that the Blackburn deal was not a quickie,or Venky’s first sports tie-up. “As a protein company,we were always keen to establish our association with sports — hence our support to the Bombay Cricket Association and other sporting events. Then Bala suggested we look at football clubs. We looked at Indian clubs but eventually decided to go international,” she says. The Switzerland office of Venky’s contacted Kentaro,the sports agency that got the family in touch with the Blackburn trustees. “ We sent our representative to the UK and a confidentiality agreement was signed,whereby our chartered accountant would have access to their accounts. They did their share of due diligence. They looked at finances but also at the background of the people to whom they were about to hand over a legacy. Before we made a bid,my brothers had to go to the UK for a test — more an interview to gauge their commitment to and knowledge of the club,” she says.

Desai is getting ready to make a trip to the UK in the first week of January to meet club members. Her two brothers are already there,watching some of the matches. “It’s important for the owners to be present and show their commitment and we are aware of that,” says Desai. She has plans to overhaul the team management,which includes renaming the club’s Ewood Park stadium in Blackburn,Lancashire. “We will not take away the Ewood name. We know how sensitive these issues are to fans. Maybe something like Venky’s Ewood is an option,but nothing’s been decided,” she says.

Ask her if this deal is her biggest achievement and she tells you about tougher challenges. “There was the bird flu outbreak when everyone in the industry suffered. Much more severe was the crisis soon after,when the US started to buy huge quantities of corn to make ethanol and there was a severe shortage of the feed. Many small poultry units folded up. Surviving that phase has been my biggest achievement,” she says. And adds quietly,“That’s one thing about me. I thrive when the chips are down.”