Nestle India Chairperson and Managing Director Suresh Narayanan steered the company through "black swans and gray rhinos", including demonetisation, GST implementation and the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.Today, he faces new pressures as high inflation prompts urban consumers to cut back spending on packaged goods. Yet, he recalls the first 100 days in leadership as one of his toughest challenges amid the Maggi crisis that unfolded in June 2015 leading to a nationwide ban for the noodle."My first 100 days as the chairman and managing director of Nestle India had been one of the greatest challenges of my career," he wrote in his farewell letter to shareholders, ahead of his retirement on July 31.Following the ban, Nestle India took a hit of Rs 1,023.4 crore. This include Rs 476 crore in exceptional costs for reverse logistics, testing, and raw material obsolescence, etc. Additionally, the company lost Rs 243.5 crore as it had to destroy 34,663 tonnes of Maggi and another Rs 303.7 crore as 23,649 tonnes of noodles that were out in the shelves were returned. The firm had reported its first loss in three decades — at Rs 64 crore — in the April-June 2015 quarter.However, Narayanan credited the brand strength of Maggi and collective efforts of the employees to have helped Nestle India bounce back after the ban by the FSSAI — the country's food regulator — back in 2015, to now claim India as the world's largest market for the Maggi brand. "Together we navigated the black swans and gray rhinos. And seized the rising India opportunity," said Narayanan, recalling his decade-long stint as the company's CMD.Maggi went from market leadership to near extinction and recovered 60% of its market share within months of its relaunch. About 60,000 boxes were sold in less than five minutes on Snapdeal when it was relaunched online.Under Narayanan’s leadership, Nestle India's revenue saw a CAGR of 10.3% while profit from operations grew 13.5%, and the market capitalisation rose 3.9 times over the last decade, according to the company's latest annual report. Its turnover rose 2.5 folds to Rs 20,100 crore in 10 years.Nestle India, which was once an urban player with a limited portfolio, now has access to more households, the chairperson said."In 2015, many considered us to be solely a Maggi noodles company. Since then, we recalibrated and rejuvenated the portfolio, launching over 150 new products that have contributed to 7% of sales."Now, Nestle India has a reach of 5.2 million outlets and is expanding its business from breakfast cereals to the premium coffee brand Nespresso, to pet foods.Once a muted business, confectionery has tripled its business in the last 10 years, the CMD said. "Kitkat doubled its market share and became the fastest growing brand within the chocolate category in India. Today, India is the second largest market for Kitkat globally. A decade ago it was at number 10. Munch and Milkybar have also doubled their business."The management also ramped up capex from 1.8% of sales in 2015 to 10% of sales in FY25. The company said it invested around Rs 6,500 crore between 2020 and 2025 to develop new capabilities and capacity.Narayanan will be succeeded by Manish Tiwary on Aug. 1. Tiwary has been serving as managing director (designate) since Feb. 1. Prior to this, he was the country manager of Amazon India and has a career spanning over three decades in e-commerce and consumer goods, including at Unilever.Nestle, HUL Curb CEO Salary Hikes To Under 5% Amid Urban Slowdown, Tepid Growth. Read more on Business by NDTV Profit.