Malavika Hedge is today known as one of the most popular Indian businesswomen. She is the daughter of former Karnataka CM Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna. Malavika is the wife of the late VG Siddhartha who was the former CEO of the popular coffee brand Cafe Coffee Day(CCD). Her husband committed suicide on July 29, 2019, after a huge debt crisis in his company. According to media reports, her estimated net worth is around $5-$10 million.
She became an inspiration to many after she took over the company and cleared the huge amount of debt left behind by her husband. She took responsibility of the company after one year of her husband's demise when the company was in a huge debt crisis of around 7000 crores. She addressed the employees and stated, “Resolutely committed to the future of Coffee Day as a going concern,” and added that it was “worth pursuing.”
Malavika was born in Banglore, Karnataka. She did her schooling at a local private school in Bangalore and pursued her engineering at Bangalore University.
She tied the knot with V.G. Siddhartha Hedge in the year 1991. The couple is blessed with two children Ishaan Hedge and Amartya Hedge.
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Siddhartha was found dead in August after which his wife has taken full responsibility for the company and has successfully managed to overcome debts taking it to new heights of success.
In a letter before committing suicide, V.G. Siddhartha wrote, " failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts. I would like to say I gave it my all. I am very sorry to let down all the people that put their trust in me. I fought for a long time but today I gave up as I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares...
After the suicide of VG, it was speculated that CCD would not survive and questions were raised as to who will handle the company after him. But Malvika overcame all the hurdles and achieved a milestone in the business world by saving the company and giving it a new turn with success.
Malavika Hedge was appointed as the CEO on 7th December 2020. According to reports, In 2019 the debt of the company was over 7000 crore which decreased to 3100 crores in 2020. As per the latest media reports, the debt of the company is reduced to 1,731 crores. The debt of the company is said to have been reduced by 75% in just two years of Malavika Hedge taking the position of CEO at CCD.
A single mother of two never gave up and fought bravely to achieve the goal. She took the company from the ashes to give it a new height of success.
Malavika Hegde managed to reduce his debt even during the COVID lockdown. She had earlier said that the challenges increased but “somewhere along the way in the last 12 months, my mission has been to uphold the proud legacy of Siddhartha. He has left me a job to do, to settle every lender to the best of my ability, to grow the business, and to enthuse and foster our employees.”
The famous Coffee enterprise reported an approximate revenue of four billion dollars in the financial year 2021.
CCD has 1,700 cafes, 523 kiosks, 403 ground coffee selling outlets, and around 48,000 vending machines.
CCD's first outlet was opened in the year 1996 in Brigade Road, Bangalore. According to reports, she has been taking an active part in business since 2008 in daily operations but as a non-executive member board member in the company.
In her leisure time, she loves cooking and reading books.
