Amul MD RS Sodhi Resigns: Rs. 8 Thousand Crore To Rs. 61 Thousand Crores – First Salary Only Rs. Was 1450; Faced MNCs in Ice Cream Ad War

Amul MD RS Sodhi Resigns: Rs. 8 Thousand Crore To Rs. 61 Thousand Crores – First Salary Only Rs. Was 1450; Faced MNCs in Ice Cream Ad War

January 11, 2023: New Delhi: Veteran Rupinder Singh Sodhi or R.S. Sodhi, as he is popularly known, on Monday resigned as managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), commonly known by its brand name Amul. He was heading the dairy giant as MD from June 10.

The decision was taken by GCMMF’s board during a hastily called board meeting on Monday that fueled speculation that Sodhi had been asked to step down. However, Sodhi told ToI that he was considering stepping down from his role as MD for the past 3-4 years.

Sodhi’s departure from the prestigious post marks the end of an era during which he has increased Amul’s sales by nearly five times. Starting in 1982, Sodhi has spent more than four decades in Dairy Cooperatives of India.

RS Who is Sodhi – A Mentor by Varghese Kurien?

Sodhi’s journey at GCMMF began in March 1982 when he joined as Senior Sales Officer. A few years later in the year 2000, he was appointed as General Manager (Marketing) where he was responsible for the marketing of dairy products. After a little over two years in the role, Sodhi was promoted to the role of managing director in 2010.

Sodhi’s journey as MD of Amul has been remarkable which is evident in the sales figures. When he took over as MD, Amul’s sales turnover was Rs. 9,774 crores.

In 2021-22, this number will increase almost five times to Rs. 46,481 crore, reports ToI. Notably, during 2019-20, the consolidated turnover of Amul brand products was Rs. 52,000 crore was crossed.

When Sodhi became part of Amul in 1982, its turnover was Rs 121 crore. When he took over as MD of Amul, it was Rs. 8,000 crores. In just ten years the turnover of the company was Rs. 61,000 crore has been reached.

Sodhi was instrumental in launching more than 50 new products during his tenure as MD. Additionally, Amul introduced more than 100 stock-keeping units under Sodhi’s leadership during the pandemic.

From immune-boosting milk in turmeric, ginger and tulsi varieties, Amul also added sweets like mohanthal, barfi, kaju katli and ladoo to its list.

How did Sodhi achieve such a great achievement? Father of white revolution Dr. He was directly mentored by Verghese Kurien for over three decades.

Working under the direct guidance and mentorship of Verghese Kurien, Sodhi has ensured that the values of loyalty, dedication, courage, honesty, commitment to farmers and customers by the father of the White Revolution are deeply ingrained in the company’s culture.

Sodhi also serves as the President of the Indian Dairy Association (IDA).

RS Sodhi Education

Sodhi holds his Bachelor of Engineering (Agriculture) degree from CTAE, Udaipur and is a first batch alumnus of Institute of Rural Management, Anand.

An industry veteran, Sodhi also holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris-Kausa) from Anand Agricultural University.

First Salary at RS Sodhi Amul

Four decades ago, Sodhi joined Amul as a senior sales officer. His salary then was Rs 1,450.

A popular marketing campaign managed by Sodhi

The Amul veteran has been leading Amul’s marketing and sales function for over two decades and spearheaded their highly innovative and widely acclaimed marketing campaigns such as:

Promoting milk as the world’s original energy drink

• ‘Doodh Khao’ campaign motivates Indian youth to include dairy products in every meal
• Amul Dood Pita Hai Bharat.
• Amul-HUL Ice Cream Ad War

Being a marketer, Sodhi was not afraid to take on MNCs in the ice cream ad war. The company launched an advertising campaign in 2017 asking consumers to choose ice cream made from milk fat over frozen desserts made from vegetable oil.

FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL), which owns the Kwality Wall brand, approached the Bombay High Court claiming that Kwality Wall was affected by Amul’s advertisement. He asked to stop advertising of Amul.

Amul defended its commercial saying that HUL was trying to intimidate it.

Read more Business Stories, corporate industry news, and company news at SugerMint. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn