Dharampal Gulati: A True Legend

Mr. Dharampal Gulati, the founder, chairman, CEO of MDH breathed his last on 3rd December 2020. The charismatic personality was the face of the market leader MDH. His story is super inspirational – a rages to riches story that should be a must read – a life changing folktale – where a person who stayed in refugee camps with very humble beginnings. Started with INR 1500 and made the MDH a 4500 crore group!

MR. Dharampal Gulati received many awards at all levels and commanded a respect that is rare in corporate (can you recall any other well respected CEO?). When corporate world is filled with the likes of runaway brides like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, Mr. Gulati was a fresh breeze.

He featured in all the ads of MDH. In fact, he gave a run for a money to ANY Indian celebrity. He defied all the logic of celebrity endorsement and was a very interesting counter point on discussion about the inclusion of celebrity in advertising. He was the most common man one can think of. His aura was simple and a respected figure (think your grand-pas.).

The positioning of MDH is all about family and celebrations – which was well aligned with his appearance. He appeared with both his hands in ashirwad mudra (blessings) in all ads. Have a look at celebration of 100 years of MDH.

Moreover, as a person, he was very humble and never shown the typical CEO traits of luxury or glamorous life. Interestingly, he was the highest paid CEO who donated majority of his salary for a social cause. he gave back to the society (like Azim Premji of Wipro).

Many brands paid their respects to him on social media – and that is what differentiates him from others. A life well lived with respect and awe from others. A lovable figure, a definite spark figure to initiate class discussions, a true reflection of common man, and most importantly a real example of “hard work pays”.  The man stands for the truth – Sach Sach MDH!

OM SHANTI!

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