Life stories of Indian and South East Asian business leaders
I have written two life story books on Indian business leaders and one on South East Asian business leaders. The first is Added Value - the life stories of leading South East Asian business people published in 1999 by Murmeli , the second is Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders published in 2010 by Roli Books (https://rolibooks.com/) and the third is Profiles in Enterprise - inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published in 2015 also by Roli Books.
Many people these days like to listen to audio books, podcasts and interviews rather than, or in addition to, reading books, magazines or newspapers. There were so many inspiring and extraordinary stories told to me by the subjects of my books that I thought podcast fans might like to hear the best of them in this podcast - https://lifestoriesofindianandsoutheastasianbusinessleaders.buzzsprout.com.
Episodes
33 episodes
Bhavarlal Jain, (1937-2016) founder of India's Jain Irrigation (https://www.jains.com/), the second largest global micro irrigation system
All of the people in my books are outstanding entrepreneurs but, every now and then, one of them demonstrates an extra "something" which I can't easily or simply define. Bhavarlal Jain is one such person. Like most, he had an eye fo...
Washington Sycip, (1921- 2017), Founder SGV Group in the Philippines which in due course became the largest accounting firm in South East Asia and which later became a member of Athur Andersen and then Ernst and Young
Washington Sycip, known to most as "Wash", bestrode the accounting profession in South East Asia as a legend in his own life time. He founded W SyCip and Co in 1946 as a "one man band" with the plan to make it the largest in the Philippin...
Ambassador Alfonso Tiaoqui Yuchengco , Founder, Yuchengco Group of Companies in the Philippines (1923-2017)
Ambassador Yuchengco founded the Yuchengko Group of Companies. By the time I met him in 1998 he was already 75 and had handed over day to day management to his eight children. The group is prominent in many business sectors an...
Radhe Shyam Agarwal, co-founder and Chairman, Emami, born 1946
Radhe Shyam Agarwal, is the co-founder and Chairman of Emami (https://www.emamiltd.in/) which is leading Indian conglomerate involved in the businesses of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), paper, real estate, edible oils, health care and...
Venu Srinivasan, Emeritus Chairman of TVS Motor Company, born 1952
Venu Srinivasan is one of the grandsons of the founder of TVS Motor Company, T. V. Sundaram Iyengar. Under Venu's "watch" TVS (https://www.tvsmotor.com/en/ec/About-Us/overview) has grown to be the third-largest motorcycle company in...
Keshub Mahindra, former Emeritus Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra 1923- 2023
Keshub Mahindra was born in Shimla in 1923 into a well to do family. Many in the family were educated at prestigious international universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and, in Keshub's case, Wharton. Keshub's fathe...
B M Khaitan, 1927-2019, former Chairman of Williamson Magor.
The first thing that I felt on setting foot in 4 Mangoe Lane in Calcutta in 2012 where Williamson Magor has its premises is the enormous respect in which its Chairman, Mr. Brij Mohan Khaitan, was held. You could feel this respect from the...
Arunachalam Vellayan, 1953-2025, former Chairman Murugappa Group, India, https://www.murugappa.com
I received sad news this week that Arunachalam Vellayan, the former Chairman of Murugappa and a 4th generation member of the storied business family and a great grandson of the founder Dewan Bahadur Murugappa Chettiar passed away in Chenn...
Dr Anand Burman born 1950, Chairman Dabur Limited, India - https://www.dabur.com/
This is my interview with Anand Burman in 2012 and which is a chapter in my 2015 book - Profiles in Enterprise Inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published by Roli Books.There will certainly have been changes in Burman L...
Dr Anji Reddy, 1941-2013, founder of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, India - https://www.drreddys.com/
As will become clear as you listen to this chapter, not only did Dr Reddy have a brilliant scientific mind but he was able to pick and develop drugs which were "winners". The world was indeed fortunate that his cousin persuaded him to stu...
Dr. Chaijudh Karnasuta (1921-2004), founder of Italian-Thai Development Public Company, Thailand, https://www.itd.co.th/
Dr Chaijudh's life is an illustration of how traditional Asian values, including respect for one's parents, can often lead to children following a career path chosen by one's parents, rather than what the child wants to do. Dr Chaiyudh wa...
Deepak Parekh, born 1944, former Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation, India, https://www.hdfc.com/
Deepak Parekh, is both charismatic and modest at the same time. His life story is an encouraging example for young people everywhere who aspire to a successful corporate career in demonstrating that one does not have to rank first in class to a...
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, born 23 March 1953, founder and chair of Biocon Limited, https://www.biocon.com
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (born 23 March 1953) is the founder and chair of India's Biocon Limited ( https://www.biocon.com). Biocon is a global biopharmaceutical company changing patients’ lives in over 120 countries by finding new and afforda...
GVK Reddy, born 22 March 1937, is a philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of GVK Group, a business conglomerate with a predominant focus on infrastructure development, https://www.gvk.com/
Gunupati Venkata Krishna Reddy (born 22 March 1937) is a philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the GVK Group (https://www.gvk.com) a major Indian business conglomerate with a predominant focus on infrastructu...
Ir. Ciputra, born Tjie Tjin Hoan (1931-2019), a major Indonesian property developer and later in his life a significant philanthropist
Like all of the interviews for my books you may find it strange that I find each one unique in different ways. This is the only interview where I was first interviewed by the subject and, having satisfied him of my bona fides, it is one o...
Rahul Bajaj (1938-2022) was Chairman Emeritus of the Bajaj Auto empire founded by his grandfather, Jamnalal Bajaj
Rahul Bajaj who passed away at the age of 83 in 2022 had a larger than life personality and, like many of those who I have interviewed for my life story books, was a clear business thinker. He was Chairman Emeritus of the Bajaj Auto empir...
Julius Tahija (1916-2002) a leading Indonesian businessman and pre Independence politician and military officer.
Julius Tahija who died in 2002 at the age of 86 was an extraordinary man. As you will hear he followed a number of core principles which served him well throughout his life as a soldier (awarded the Netherlands Military Order of ...
Ela Bhatt (1933 – 2022) founded the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) in 1972. From humble beginnings it now has over 3.2 million members.
Ela Bhatt was an absolutely extraordinary women who passed away in 2022 at the age of 89. The Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) she founded against strong opposition now has over 3.2 million members across 18 states in India. SEWA advanc...
Professor Bala V Balachandran (1937-2021) was the founder, chairman and dean emeritus of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, India
Following receiving his undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Maths and Statistics at Annamalai University in his birth State of Tamil Nadhu, a young Bala Balachandran followed the path of many bright young Indians in the 1960s and m...
Alluri Venkata Sathyanarayana Raju (born 18 April 1937), commonly known as AVS Raju is the founder chairman of Hyderabad headquartered Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd.
AVS Raju (born 1937) is certainly one of the most unique businessmen I have met. Not only is he obsessed with punctuality in a country where being on time is the exception rather than the rule but he is also a deeply spiritual man and a devout ...
Narayana Murthy, born 1946, is one of the seven co-founders of Infosys, the leading global technology company
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy (born 20 August 1946) is an Indian businessman. He is one of the seven co-founders of the leading global technology company, Infosys and was at different times its chairman, chief executive officer, president, a...
Professor MS Swaminathan (1925-2023) - the father of India's green revolution
Professor Swaminathan died at the age of 98 in 2023. He was an extraordinary man and it is said his skills in genetic engineering and his powers of persuasion made famine an unfamiliar word in Asia. There is a memorable story of his encou...
Sengkham Phinith (1940-2022), civil engineer and former Vice Minister of Construction of Lao PDR
Sengham Phinith was born on 2 December, 1940 near the Lao capital, Vientianne. He trained as a civil engineer rising to Vice Minister of Construction before being falsely accused, dismissed and exiled to a remote region for four years.&nb...
Shahnaz Husain (born 1941) is the founder of The Shahnaz Husain Group of India which is internationally renowned for organic beauty care, based on Ayurveda, blending ancient traditions with advanced techniques.
Shahnaz Husain has built an enormous health care business from very humble beginnings starting in her New Delhi home. It is an extraordinary life where she was born into a conservative Muslim family, married at 15 and became a mother at 1...
Vijaypat Singhania (born 1938) is a member of the prominent Indian Singhania family having been chairman and managing director of the leading textile company, Raymond Group
Vijaypat Singhania, often known as VPS, has led an extraordinary life which is unique in many ways. He was born into a prominent and successful Marwari "joint family" whose original business was founded over a century ago, experienced an unhapp...