BY Divakar Kumar Panday.
Anand Mahindra (born 1 May 1955) is the chairman and managing director of Mahindra Group. His grandfather JC Mahindra co-founded the company in Mumbai, India. Founded as a steel trading company, the Group today has a presence in multiple sectors from agribusiness to aerospace. It is considered to be one of the most reputed Indian industrial houses with market leadership in many business verticals including utility vehicles, tractors (world's largest tractor company by volume), after market (India's largest multi-brand pre-owned car company), finance (largest rural NBFC in India), Holidays (India's largest vacation ownership company) and IT (top 5 IT service provider).
Hailed as 'The Federator' by Forbes (India) Magazine, Anand Mahindra started his career at Mahindra Group with Mahindra Ugine Steel Company Ltd. as Executive Assistant to the Finance Director and in 1989, was appointed President and Deputy managing director of that company. During his stint at MUSCO, he initiated the Mahindra Group's diversification into the new business areas of real estate development and hospitality management and in August 2012, took over as chairman and managing director of the Mahindra Group from his uncle Keshub Mahindra. He is included by Fortune Magazine among the 'World's 50 Greatest Leaders' and featured in the magazine's 2011 listing of Asia's 25 most powerful business people.
Anand has also been noted by Forbes (India) as their 'Entrepreneur of the Year' for 2013.
CAREER
After graduating from Harvard Business School, Anand Mahindra joined Mahindra Ugine Steel Company Ltd (MUSCO), as Executive Assistant to the Finance Director. In 1989 he was appointed President and Deputy managing director of the company. In the summer of 1991, he was appointed Deputy managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., a producer of off-road vehicles and agricultural tractors in India.
During his time at M&M Ltd., Anand initiated a comprehensive change program to make the company an efficient and aggressive competitor in the newly liberalised leconomic environment in India. In April 1997, he was appointed managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, and in January 2003 given the additional responsibility of vice-chairman. On 9 August 2012, he was appointed chairman and managing director. Anand is also a co-promoter of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd, which was converted into a bank in 2003. Under Anand Mahindra's leadership, the Mahindra group has grown beyond making steel and tractors. Today the Group makes SUVs—in India and South Korea (Ssangyong) with exports to Latin America, Africa, Europe and South East Asia. Mahindra Tractors is the world's largest tractor company by volume, selling tractors in India, China and the US. The group also makes electric cars, motorcycles, scooters, trucks, yachts, and aircraft. Mahindra Systech, makes auto components across five continents. Tech Mahindra is the fifth largest IT services and IT consulting company in India. Mahindra Retail (Mom & Me) sells products for expecting mothers and babies. Almost 200,000 people choose Club Mahindra Holidays as their preferred holiday package provider. Mahindra ShubhLabh Services is India's largest exporter of grapes and pomegranate. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited is the largest non-banking finance company in rural India. Mahindra Solar is making inroads in solar farms and Mahindra Lifespaces is a leader in sustainable urban development.
Today, the Mahindra Group is a US$16.5 billion organisation, and one of India's top 10 industrial houses.
Anand Mahindra has been tagged as the face of Indian capitalism by The Economist. Forbes India Magazine has recognised him as their 'Entrepreneur of the Year' for the year 2013.
Beyond Mahindra
Anand Mahindra was recently appointed to the board of U.S.–India Business Council (USIBC). As a member of the board, Anand helps promote the policy advocacy priorities of USIBC and advice members and senior USIBC staff on a wide range of topics. Anand also serves as the Honorary Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promotion for the Republic of Korea, and is a member of the International Advisory Council of Singapore's Economic Development Board, which is the lead government agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore's position as a global business center.
He is the co-founder of the Harvard Business School Association of India, an association dedicated to the promotion of professional management in India. An avid advocate of using 'design for human happiness', Anand is the chairman, Governing Council National Institute of Design and President, India Design Council.
Global leadership
Anand Mahindra is included in Fortune Magazine’s list of The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in 2014. Fortune magazine also named him as one of the top 25 most powerful business people in Asia for the year 2011. A regular at World Economic Forum's annual meetings, Anand Mahindra was the WEF co-chair in 2009. He has represented Indian industry at several global meets, including the APEC CEO Summit in 2009. He frequently shares his views and ideas on Indian economy and business through his writings in some of leading national and international business magazines. He has also contributed to books 'Reimagining India' published by Mckinsey and Company. A social media enthusiast, Anand has regularly been noted as one of the most influential business leaders on Twitter. His Twitter handle – @anandmahindra, has over a million followers.
Social responsibility
Anand is a firm believer in power of education and has called it the "most privatisable of all social institutions". His father, Harish Mahindra, played a significant role in establishing the Mahindra United World College in Pune, Maharashtra, in 1997. MUWC is one of the 14 United World Colleges in the world. Anand is on the Board of Governors of the Mahindra United World College of India.
Anand is a staunch advocate of promoting girl child education and in 1996, founded Project Nanhi Kali, which provides sponsorship to underprivileged girls across India including, material support (e.g. school uniforms, school bag, shoes, socks, stationery etc.). He is also Trustee of the K.C. Mahindra Education Trust, which provides scholarships to students and supports the work of Project Nanhi Kali. A student of the arts and culture, Anand believes that the study of humanities is essential in shaping leaders of the future. In November 2010, he donated $10million to support the Harvard Humanities Center in honour of his mother, Indira Mahindra. It is the largest gift for the study of humanities in Harvard's history. In recognition of this donation, the center was renamed the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard.
Interests
Anand has a keen interest in filmmaking, a subject he pursued as an undergraduate at Harvard. Today, he remains a keen photographer with a strong interest in film. He also enjoys listening to the blues and helped set up an annual Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai in 2011.
His enthusiasm about the arts has led the Mahindra Group to invest in promotion of arts and culture in India through the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Awards and the Mahindra Sanatkada Lucknow Festival, a crafts mela (exhibition) and performing arts extravaganza at the historic and beautiful Kaiserbagh Baradari Palace in Lucknow. The Group also organises the Sundance Institute–Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award in Park City, Utah, USA through its media and entertainment company, Mumbai Mantra Media Ltd., Mumbai. This partnership also included the establishment of the Mumbai Mantra–Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in India, which brought together eight Indian screenwriters from across the world to develop their work under the guidance of accomplished international screenwriters.
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