(July 2, 2024) It was just in passing that Caroline Mulliez, CEO of The Blue Kite, had told her husband that there is a lot of potential in renting the homes that are being built by Vianaar Homes (his organisation) and that she would be happy to take on the challenge. That’s how The Blue Kite came into being and was started by Caroline herself. “As a joke I told Varun (my husband) one day when I’m pregnant I’ll help you rent the homes that you are building. There is a lot of potential there and that’s exactly what happened.
The Blue Kite, the hospitality arm of Vianaar (a luxury home developing company based in Goa) was created in 2017 to ensure homeowners could generate income from their holiday homes without having to worry about managing guests and maintenance themselves.
Caroline Mulliez
Early days
Mulliez was born in the North of France and moved to Belgium when she was six and went on to do her undergraduate studies Belgium, and as she couldn’t choose between Political Science and Economics did both Economics during the day and Political Science at night. She then spent six months in Baltimore in the USA and had an offer to do her masters in France at one of the top business schools or the London School of Economics (master’s in public administration). “I chose LSE as I wanted to make a difference in the world. During this time, I got an opportunity for an internship in Pretoria South Africa for GTZ, a development agency. I then went to Singapore for my second year of master’s and worked for Google for six months and I loved it.” From there, she worked at Bain & Company, which first brought her to India, after a two-and-a-half year stint in London. “After that, I decided to join Decathlon (a family business) in India as at that point they were trying to make sport accessible for all. It was very exciting as a project,” she says. After six years of growing Decathlon from four stores to 60 stores she had done it all.
Career cues
Working in South Africa, Singapore, London, France and India Mulliez admits that she has learnt the art of patience, trusted the process, and has a positive mindset about everything that life brings her way. It has also given her the ability to adapt to different people and different styles of working which comes in very handy. “As a fellow team member and the CEO of The Blue Kite, I dedicate 90% of my time into managing human or digital challenges. My focus spans across various technological aspects such as the apps for homeowners, the team app, our CMS, and different channel integrations. Time spent on Price Labs and other tools significantly enhances our efficiency, thereby helping us generate more revenue,” she explains.
The other significant portion of her time is devoted to addressing human challenges. She closely collaborates with the Head of Revenue and various Heads of Operations for different zones. “My involvement includes understanding how they are training and motivating their teams, measuring their success and results, and ensuring there are people in the pipeline ready to take on more responsibilities. This hands-on approach is crucial for maintaining our operational excellence and fostering a motivated and capable workforce,” she adds.
Staying motivated
The career trajectory of the different people who have worked with her is a motivator. She explains, “a team member joined us as a check-in agent and made an X amount of salary. Today, they are managing a team of 10 people, 1-2 Cr of business. Making certain lakhs of profit for the company. Earn a certain amount of salary for themselves and their families. I have changed a little bit of their lives positively and that drives me. I want to give them more responsibilities and make them proud of what they do every day. Making them feel empowered to answer any problem that comes their way, be it a guest or homeowner, is very motivating for me.”
For someone who is constantly learning to overcome challenges, she admits that the best way to overcome challenges is to work together as a team. “Your first response is usually to freeze but as a team, you can sit down together with the problem. Brainstorm on possible solutions. Who is the best person to address the problem or who has a good idea of how to address it and eventually you will manage to overcome it,” she adds.
Corporate Path
Her varied roles have shaped her into the thorough professional that she is. Her role at Bain & Company taught her that there is no limit to how many hours one can put in to get the work done. “Every analysis is possible and every Excel formula can be found on the internet. I may need a lot of hours to do it but I know that everything is possible. On the other hand, Decathlon taught me a lot about human beings. Giving responsibilities to people and seeing them grow and knowing that the person closest to consequences- what we call Subsidiarity lets the person facing the brunt make the decision. When a guest has a problem every guest relation executive can decide if we are to give a refund/compensation or if the guest is being unreasonable. That person knows the best and they will come up with the best possible solutions,” she says.
Looking ahead
Mulliez plays one hour of sports every day, whether it is the acrobatic sport, Silk Aerial, kitesurfing, or swimming. “Sport is an important part of my life and it has shaped my personality. For example, if you can’t do something, then you train more and train harder until you finally learn how to do it and then you become better at it. Second, it has taught me teamwork and a spirit of leadership,” she says. That apart she loves to spend time with her two children and is also involved in my family business (Decathlon) as well. “I have recently been elected on a family board that decides where we will make investments for our future generations and who will sit on the board of each company. It is important to me as I want to leave it as a legacy for my children,” she says.
She plans to expand The Blue Kite to Delhi and other locations, have more team members, grow her team members in Goa, and give them more responsibilities. “One of the splendid things about India is that even when there is no hope there is always hope. If you keep fighting hard and you keep doing the right thing, eventually it will pay out. It might not be immediately, but being consistent in your efforts pays off. If you care about the people you work with and are consistent in your messaging you will succeed,” she concludes.
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