After 32 years in the Mahindra Group, and 15 months as chairman, Anand Mahindra has emerged as an all-weather entrepreneur who knows how to take the right risks and avoid the rest
Award: Entrepreneur For the Year
Anand Mahindra
Chairman and MD, Mahindra & Mahindra
Age: 58
Interests outside of work: Music, movies and photography
Why he won this award: For the tremendous growth seen by the Mahindra group, from a turnover of around $1.35 billion a decade ago, to $16.2 billion today. The group is now a federated structure, and not a centralised conglomerate.
In theory, such a federation should be able to expand infinitely, he says. M&M, the flagship, is the major shareholder and the spine of the structure—the lever that makes things work.
One Mahindra Engineering Service War Room held in 2008 stands out. Luthra announced that he wanted to build an airplane in collaboration with National Aeronautics Limited (NAL), a customer for whom they did low-end engineering work. He later upped the ante, saying he would acquire an Australian aircraft-maker and a component company. As usual, he says, finance asked for the IRR numbers. Obviously, no one was doing this in India. Success depended on many variables, and customer acceptance. Luthra told the group: “The IRR may well be zero. But if this works, can you imagine what it would do to the group’s brand equity?’’
(This story appears in the 01 November, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)