“If You Want to Be a King, First Behave Like One” Naresh Kumar Gaur on Leadership & Ownership

Pharma Now: Hello everyone, welcome to the Pharma Now podcast. Today, we have Mr Naresh Kumar Gaur with us. Let’s get started.

He started his career in 1984 at IPCA Laboratories and later worked with companies such as Sun Pharma, Torrent, Ranbaxy, and Amneal. Currently, he is the Executive Vice President at Stallion Laboratories. With over four decades of experience, he is truly an expert in manufacturing operations.

Today, we’re going to learn about his leadership style, his journey, and how he handled various challenging situations throughout his career. Welcome, Naresh sir. Alright, sir, let’s start with your childhood. What was that one thing that made you choose this career?

Mr Naresh: Back in the ’70s, to be precise, in 1977, I completed my higher secondary. At that time, there was no 10+2 system. The CBSE structure was different, and most people had only three career choices: becoming a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer.

I was fortunate to study in a convent school. Honestly, I came from a farming background. We had cows and buffalo at home. I used to go to the fields, cut grass, carry it on my head, and sometimes bring it back on my bicycle. I also went to fodder shops to buy feed for the cattle. I’ve milked cows and buffalo with my own hands.

Because I studied in an English-medium convent school, I developed a strong habit of reading books. That became a passion for me. I read everything I could find, authors like James Hadley Chase, Alistair MacLean, and many others. Later, I explored books on spirituality, Hindi novels by Gulshan Nanda and Vinod Kamboj, and more. Reading shaped my thinking in a big way.

At one point, I was considering medicine. Back then, pre-medical entrance cutoffs were around 63–64%, which sounds very low compared to today. But things didn’t work out that way. I wanted to do something different.

Since I had a background in biology, I still wanted to stay connected to science. But during school, I was deeply interested in writing Hindi poetry and was more inclined toward the arts side. My elder brother, however, insisted that I continue with science.

Just to recall those days, you know Piyush Mishra? The actor, writer, and music director. He was from my time, maybe one or two years senior to me in school. We studied together, and I had visited his house many times during childhood. Some of the friends he mentions in his book were also my close friends.

After high school, I chose to pursue a career in pharmacy. As they say in 3 Idiots, pharmacy became both my girlfriend and my wife. That’s why I love this profession.

Since I came from a humble background and didn’t have much money, I knew I needed higher education to succeed. So I pursued my M.Pharm in Pharmaceutics, which was quite rare at that time. I was among the top five students in my university.

In 1983, I got selected for R&D at Lupin, but I refused the offer because I knew R&D would eventually require a PhD. I couldn’t afford the time or money for that, so I chose operations instead.

On January 3, 1984, I joined IPCA Laboratories at the Ratlam facility, during my M. Pharm, I was receiving a scholarship of ₹600. My first salary was ₹700 per month, and I actually negotiated for an extra ₹50. At that time, ₹700 was considered a very good salary in Ratlam because freshers in Mumbai were earning around ₹400–₹500.

I used to cycle nearly 7 km every day from Ratlam to Sajawata village, where the plant was located. I was the first person to manufacture tablets at that IPCA facility. And now, in January, I completed 42 years in the pharmaceutical industry.

“I realised very early that if I stayed confined to one role, I would die as an anonymous person. I had bigger ambitions.”

After two and a half years, I felt that working in a single plant role would limit my growth. So I decided to try something on my own. During the 1980s, many pharma companies were emerging, and I also wanted to build something on my own.

I returned to my hometown, Gwalior. My family was involved in electrical contracting and had close connections with political leaders. But life had other plans. I got married that same year, there was no financial support available, and the environment wasn’t suitable for building a medical business.

So I worked with two small companies for nearly 10 years. During that period, I handled everything: raw material procurement, manufacturing, and sales. That phase taught me marketing in the real sense. I never had formal marketing education, but practical experience taught me how to approach people, communicate fearlessly, and build relationships with strangers.

I still remember visiting doctors and waiting outside their clinics for hours. One doctor once told me, “You are making general medicines, not textbook medicines. Why should I prescribe your products?”

I replied, “Sir, I’ll keep coming until you support me.”

Eventually, things started changing. One day, the stock in that area completely sold out because prescriptions started coming in.

“Persistence and hard work always pay off. Hard work has been part of my life since childhood.”

When I started my career in 1984, I would stay inside the plant for three days continuously without going home. I used to open the shutters myself in the morning. One day, my manager saw me doing it and asked why I wasn’t asking the security staff to handle it properly.

I even did floor sweeping at times. That phase became my biggest learning experience. I learned granulation, packaging, warehousing, engineering, and even how to start water plants.

Because I worked in very small companies, I gained a comprehensive understanding of how an entire plant functions. Today, many youngsters remain confined to their own departments and don’t try to understand machines beyond their role. In our days, we used to dismantle and fix machines ourselves.

Once, while working, my pants got torn. Mr J.L. Nagori, who later retired as Executive Director, noticed it and said, “Naresh, your pants are torn. Come, I’ll get you a new pair.”

Around that time, IPCA began issuing uniforms to employees. Maybe that incident contributed to the idea.

After almost 10 years, Mr Nagori called me again and invited me back to IPCA. I joined as an executive in the liquid oral section. Due to my hard work, I was later transferred to IPCA’s Kundla facility in 1996.

For four years, I managed two regulated facilities that primarily exported to South Africa and CIS countries, including Russia. But since the work there was limited to beta-lactam products, I eventually decided to move on.

I joined Micro Labs for about 13 months. It was a completely different culture, and the language barrier made it difficult for me to adjust. After that, I had the opportunity to work at Cadila Pharma.

At Cadila, my experience in marketing really helped me connect with people and manage unionised operators effectively. I understood how to build trust with workers.

“If you want to change a system, first become part of the system. You cannot change it as an outsider.”

I always believed in becoming part of the team first. The moment you try to force change from outside, people resist you.

There was an interesting practice at the plant. During gowning, everyone had individual lockers and keys. If someone forgot their key, there was a ₹50 penalty. Part of that money went toward tea and snack parties for the workers.

I also made a point of speaking personally with housekeeping staff and workers about their families and children. Once, I bought sketch pens and colours for one worker’s children. After that, the same housekeeping employee took so much ownership of the floor that the entire packing area started shining.

During one inspection, we received excellent feedback on the packing hall. When the Vice President visited and saw the transformation, he hugged me. That was one of my proudest moments.

In 2001, I came across the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The book suggested reading one chapter and discussing it with colleagues, so I started practising that. It had a huge impact on me as a leader.

One line from that book stayed with me forever: “If you want to be a king, first behave like one.”

I began focusing on improving documentation, productivity, and cost reduction. Operators and workers actively contributed ideas, and I encouraged innovation long before I even knew the term “Kaizen.”

Since I was working in packaging, I realised I needed deeper technical knowledge in that area. So I enrolled in a correspondence course at the Indian Institute of Packaging in Mumbai. I completed it with distinction, scoring around 76–77%.

Interestingly, my examination date and my Sun Pharma interview date fell on the same day. I took my exam in the morning, attended the interview in the evening, and got selected.

Earlier, I applied for an Assistant Manager position at Sun Pharma through IPCA, but wasn’t selected. This time, however, I got selected directly for a Plant Head role.

I still remember laughing inside the auto after receiving the offer letter. The auto driver asked me why I looked so happy. I told him there had once been a news story about someone who failed to get selected as a constable but later became an inspector. I felt the same way. I hadn’t been selected for a junior role earlier, but now I've been selected as Plant Head.

That role completely changed the game for me. Until then, I had always reported to someone else. Suddenly, I was responsible for an entire facility, with people reporting to me.

And that came with huge responsibilities. I still remember one of the first major issues: the air compressor had broken down.

Pharma Now: Sir, before moving on to your role as Plant Head, you mentioned something very interesting: “If you want to be a king, you first have to act like a king.”

Nowadays, especially in leadership positions, I see a different mindset. I have a team of around 35 people working with me, and often the attitude is: “This is my KRA, this is my OKR. I’m doing this much work, and I’m getting this much salary.” People say, “Promote me first, give me a better designation or position, and then I’ll contribute more.”

So when this happens, I wonder, should promotion come first, or should capability come first? As you said, if someone wants to become a king, they should first develop the qualities of one. What’s your message on that? How did you shape your teams and your own mindset around this?

Mr Naresh: I’ll put it this way, first we observe, and then we desire.

Let me share something from my Cadila days. I had developed a habit of going to my boss and openly telling him about my ambitions. I would ask him, “This is where I want to reach. Tell me what you expect from me.”

A few days ago, I read a story about a dog and a butcher. The butcher was about to close his shop for the day when a dog walked in. At first, he tried to shoo the dog away, but it returned, carrying a bag.

The butcher checked the bag and found money along with a slip containing an order. Surprised, he packed the items and handed them over to the dog. Curious to see what would happen next, he followed him.

The dog crossed the road, reached a bus stop, waited for the right bus, and got onto it by himself. The butcher was amazed. Eventually, the dog got off at a stop and walked home. Once there, he started pressing the doorbell.

Suddenly, the owner opened the door and began scolding the dog. He even picked up a stick to hit him. The butcher was shocked and asked, “Why are you scolding such an intelligent dog?”

The owner replied, “This is the third time he has forgotten the keys.”

So the lesson is simple. You may be excellent at many things, but if you are not delivering what is expected from you, then your performance is incomplete. First, understand what your boss, your organisation, or your role truly expects from you.

See, KRAs and KPIs are important, but if you only work to justify your salary, your growth will be limited.

“If you keep doing only what you did yesterday, you will continue getting only what you got yesterday.”

This morning, during my presentation, I gave an example of a young girl who dropped out of MIT. When someone asked her why, she said, “I started my own startup.” Later, that startup became a $300 million company.

When the interviewer asked how she achieved that, she said something very powerful: “I can visualise what the world will look like 30 or 50 years from now.”

That is the difference. Unless you can look ahead and imagine the future, growth becomes difficult.

I have two lines written on my board. Every day before leaving the office, I ask myself: “What new thing have I done today?”

And the second line is: “No excuses. Just execute.”

Mistakes can always be corrected. But your boss is not there to listen to excuses all the time. Nobody pays you for excuses. People pay you for execution.

Pharma Now: Right, and that makes complete sense. So now, sir, we’ve understood this from a leader’s perspective.

But from an employee’s perspective, suppose someone is currently in a managerial role and wants to grow into a VP position someday. As you said, they need to develop a long-term vision of where things will be 20, 30, or even 40 years from now and start taking action accordingly.

So, how can someone at a junior level develop those visionary skills? How can they learn to think ahead like that?

Mr Naresh: Let me tell you what’s happening these days. People spend a lot of time binge-watching content.

I’ll give you an example from my own experience. I’ve met operators during my career who surprised me with their curiosity. Sometimes I would tell them, “I saw this new technology or process over the weekend,” because I personally use the internet to keep learning. Even at this stage of my life, when I’m close to retirement, I still make an effort to learn what’s new, new technologies, new systems, new trends.

One operator once replied, “Sir, this is also available.” I was surprised. He was an ITI-qualified operator, yet he was aware of something new in the industry. I asked him, “How do you know?”

He said, “Sir, you mentioned it yesterday, so I searched for it on YouTube.”

That impressed me.

People travel 20–25 km daily to work, spend one or two hours on buses, but instead of learning something useful, most of the time is spent on random social media content.

We complete B. Pharm, M.Pharm, and then what? What extra effort are we making after that?

I have colleagues who moved into business, and every year they continue learning, bringing new products and ideas to market. If you stop learning, growth stops automatically.

As a junior employee, don’t go to your boss only with problems. Go with solutions.

Instead of saying, “Sir, this problem exists,” say:

“Sir, this is the problem. I studied the market, and these are the possible solutions. If you approve this budget, I can solve it within this timeline.”

That is how you stand out.

Whenever machinery manufacturers come to meet me, I first understand every feature in detail. Once I’m convinced, then I present it to management because I know I have to justify the investment.

After all, it’s the company money. Why would any company invest unless there is some benefit? It could be compliance, operational improvement, or return on investment. Even if a machine does not directly give ROI, it must provide some other measurable value.

So your responsibility is to study deeply before presenting anything.

“Most people only scratch the surface. Depth is missing.”

You ask them four questions, and immediately the answer becomes, “Sir, I’ll check and get back to you.” That shows a lack of involvement.

People don’t go deep enough into understanding processes, technologies, or problems. That depth is what creates future leaders.

Pharma Now: And along with that, there’s also the courage to take responsibility.

Mr Naresh: Exactly. Where is the ownership today?

I call it the difference between “father behaviour” and “uncle behaviour.”

A father will scold you when necessary, but he will also fulfil your needs and push you toward growth. An uncle, on the other hand, mostly entertains you. Even if you develop bad habits, the uncle might still support you.

But a father thinks long term. He looks at your future and your growth. That’s why children are often more comfortable with uncles and more frustrated with fathers, because fathers demand accountability.

“The moment you take ownership, your growth starts automatically.”

That ownership mindset is what separates people who simply work from people who become leaders.

Pharma Now: So now, sir, while we were talking, we had reached the phase where you became Plant Head at Sun Pharma. Can you tell us about your first day in that role?

What was it like walking onto the shop floor as a Plant Head for the first time? Were there any shocking realities, cultural shifts, or things nobody had prepared you for?

Mr Naresh: One thing I realised very quickly was that, as a Plant Head, you cannot work in silos. Manufacturing, quality, technical operations, all departments are interconnected, and ultimately, the responsibility comes back to you.

My earlier experience at IPCA helped me understand this. I still remember once dealing with a local issue where I tried explaining that R&D had not provided certain support. The response I got was very straightforward:

“For me, you are IPCA. I don’t care which internal department is responsible. It’s your responsibility to handle it.”

That statement changed my thinking completely. Until then, I saw myself mainly as someone responsible for production. But after that, I understood that ownership lies with the Plant Head.

At Sun Pharma, I worked very closely with the quality team. Quality professionals naturally work independently, and they don’t simply agree because you are the Plant Head. So I focused on making them understand the larger business perspective.

I explained that we were not working for individual departments, we were working for the organisation as a whole.

That’s where I started learning how to think beyond internal approvals. It’s not just about satisfying local QA; it’s about preparing for regulators and inspectors like the FDA.

“Whether it is manufacturing or quality, both represent the organisation together.”

That mindset changed how we operated. Along with my team, we significantly improved the business. The plant initially had a capacity of around 100 million units, and we were able to almost double it.

That phase taught me how business, operations, compliance, and teamwork all come together at the leadership level.

Pharma Now: So, sir, from the audience’s perspective, if someone wants to become a Plant Head, what would you say are the three most important qualities they should develop?

You spoke about collaboration, cross-functional involvement, ownership, and business understanding. So what are the key traits someone must have to prepare themselves for that role?

Mr Naresh: The first and most important thing is a human approach.

Look at people like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. They were phenomenal batsmen, but captaincy is a different skill altogether. Then look at Dhoni. Maybe statistically he was not the greatest batsman, but he became one of the most successful captains because he knew how to build and manage a team.

Leadership is about building trust. Your team should respect you, support you, and feel connected to you.

“Fear may get work done temporarily, but with trust and respect, you can move mountains.”

That has been one of the biggest reasons behind my success. Wherever I went, I focused on building teams and motivating people. I never simply accepted situations as they were. I worked with available resources and found ways to improve systems.

When you genuinely support people and show them a path for growth, they stand by you completely. I’ve seen employees voluntarily stay late into the evening and even come to the plants on weekends because they felt connected to the mission.

But as a leader, you cannot sit comfortably at home while your team struggles at the plant. You have to stand with them.

And during difficult situations, inspections, failures and crises, the leader must take ownership.

“Failure is mine. Success belongs to the team.”

The second important thing is knowledge, especially practical knowledge.

People don’t respect a designation alone. They respect your ability to solve problems. If your team gets stuck and you can guide them with clarity, they automatically trust you.

You need to visualise issues before they happen. If a process is likely to fail tomorrow, you should already be preparing solutions today. That means ensuring support systems are in place, materials, spare parts, technical assistance, electrical or mechanical support, everything.

At the same time, you should not create a dependency where every small issue lands on your table. Otherwise, your team stops thinking independently, and you become the worker while they become the boss.

The third thing is credibility with management.

Your voice should carry weight in the organisation. Management observes whether you are truly supporting your teams and whether you can connect operational realities with business goals.

Because as a Plant Head, you become the bridge between the shop floor and top management. If that bridge becomes weak, people will bypass you and go directly elsewhere.

“A Plant Head is the connecting bridge between management and the people on the floor.”

Pharma Now: Right. So, to become a Plant Head or even move beyond that, we’ve learned three important things today: first, having a human approach; second, practical knowledge; and third, how strong your voice is within management.

Sir, I have a practical question for the audience watching this. Beyond textbooks and learning materials, what is the one practical habit or action people should start applying today if they truly want to grow?

Mr Naresh: One thing I learned from a colleague who is currently working at Torrent as an Executive Director is something I’ve been practising for the last 15–16 years to manage stress.

As a leader, you have to remain calm. No matter how big the crisis is, panic never gives you solutions.

There’s a story I often share about this. It’s similar to an Akbar-Birbal story. A king once told his minister, “Teach this horse Persian within three months, otherwise you’ll be punished.”

The minister went home completely stressed. His wife asked him what had happened, and he explained the situation. She said, “Have you gone mad? A horse can’t even speak human language, so how will it learn Persian?”

The minister calmly replied, “First, I’ll say yes to the king.”

Then he explained that in three months, many things could change. The king’s priorities could change, circumstances could change, or the problem itself might disappear.

“The first reaction should never be panic. First, stay calm, then find the way forward.”

That’s how leadership works as well. Whenever a difficult situation comes, don’t immediately say no. First, understand the challenge, assess the required resources, and then work through it step by step.

And honestly, manufacturing priorities keep changing overnight. Today, one product is urgent; tomorrow, another one becomes critical. Materials may arrive late, batches may fail, or approvals may get delayed.

So instead of getting stuck on the problem itself, focus on the solution.

“The moment you stop asking ‘Why me?’ and start asking ‘What is the solution?’, progress begins.”

Pharma Now: Sir, you mentioned handling maintenance work and difficult operational situations. In such high-pressure environments, deadlines, audits, regulatory compliance and inspections, people naturally get stressed or agitated.

Staying calm sounds practical, but how do you actually practice it in real life?

Mr Naresh: That’s the real challenge. During audits, work still has to continue. Production cannot stop just because inspectors are present.

One thing I always practised was running the plant at full operational capacity during audits.

The advantage is that when regulators like the FDA inspect a running facility, they can immediately observe whether operations are stable and organised or whether confusion exists on the shop floor. That creates confidence in the system.

At the same time, everyone understands that audits create pressure. Supply chain teams, production teams, quality teams, everybody feels it. But as a leader, you cannot transfer that stress downward. You have to absorb and manage it.

And honestly, that ability comes with experience. Over time, you learn balance. Whether through meditation, self-control, or simply experience, you understand that pressure is part of leadership.

We focus on requirements one by one, identify failures, and fix them systematically.

“Compliance is not about ticking boxes. In regulated plants, compliance has to become part of the culture.”

I never believed in shortcuts inside regulatory facilities. If you genuinely focus on quality and consistency, the results eventually come automatically.

Pharma Now: Wonderful, sir. I think we’ve received some truly valuable lessons today, from behaving like a king before becoming one, to taking ownership, continuously learning, and developing leadership qualities step by step.

We also learned what it truly takes to become a Plant Head: building a human approach, developing practical knowledge, taking responsibility, and learning how to lead under pressure.

It was really insightful speaking with you, sir. I personally learned a lot and truly enjoyed hearing your stories and experiences. We definitely look forward to hearing from you again in the future.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Mr Naresh: Thank you.