why have the birlas stayed relevant and a force to reckon with in india inc. while their peers are fading away? sutanu guru traces the evolution of the family and the inheritor through triumph & tragedy
Singhvi had no idea that the company (MRPL) that he was so aggressively promoting would go out of the fold of the Birla family (It is now controlled by public sector ONGC). B. K. Birla and Kumarmangalam Birla wouldn’t have even in their worst nightmares imagined that they will lose a son and a father very soon. Cancer felled Aditya Birla in 1995, when he was just 52 years old. The succession plans of B. K. Birla went out of the window and a 28 year old Kumarmangalam had to suddenly take charge of a sprawling, diversified and often incoherent Empire that was struggling to come to grip with the storm of liberalisation that Manmohan Singh had unleashed in 1991. “I still marvel at the vision of Aditya, his ability to look far ahead and his willingness to think big and take big risks,” reminisces B. K. Birla who has now finally come to terms with the tragedy.
Even prescient analysts had no inkling of the fundamental changes that were to sweep across India Inc. in those days; sweeping change that jolted many corporate reputations and made mincemeat of many legacies. Back then, some of the Birla companies that were part of the coveted Sensex were Century Textiles, Indian Rayon, Hindustan Motors, Grasim and Hindalco. Century Textiles (managed by B. K. Birla after the sudden death of his son) and Indian Rayon (now part of Aditya Birla Nuvo) and Hindustan Motors (manufacturer of the Ambassador car and controlled by another Birla branch) no longer feature in the Sensex. Is it a coincidence that Grasim and Hindalco (controlled and managed directly by Kumarmangalam Birla) are still very much integral to the 30 scrip Sensex? And guess how many other business families and their companies have been cast off the Sensex over the years? Bombay Dyeing run by the Wadias is gone, the venerable Bajaj Auto is gone, Kirloskar Cummins run by the Kirloskars is gone, Premier Automobiles run once by the Walchandnagars is gone, Mukund Iron run by an arm of the Bajaj family is gone, Ceat Tyres run by the R. P. Goenka group is gone, Ballarpur run by the Thapar family is gone, Arvind Mills run by the Lalbhai family is gone and Great eastern Shipping run by the Seth family is gone. Gone too was Mahindra & Mahindra, only to storm back into the Sensex in 2007. Of the old, traditional business families that once dominated the landscape of India Inc., only three remain in the Sensex. There are the Mahindras (M&M), the Aditya Birla group (Grasim and Hindalco) and the Tatas (TCS, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Power). During the course of an exclusive interview given to Business & Economy in early September, 2009, B. K. Birla had kept harping on the fact that, “it is only the Tatas and the Birlas who matter in Indian business”.
Singhvi had no idea that the company (MRPL) that he was so aggressively promoting would go out of the fold of the Birla family (It is now controlled by public sector ONGC). B. K. Birla and Kumarmangalam Birla wouldn’t have even in their worst nightmares imagined that they will lose a son and a father very soon. Cancer felled Aditya Birla in 1995, when he was just 52 years old. The succession plans of B. K. Birla went out of the window and a 28 year old Kumarmangalam had to suddenly take charge of a sprawling, diversified and often incoherent Empire that was struggling to come to grip with the storm of liberalisation that Manmohan Singh had unleashed in 1991. “I still marvel at the vision of Aditya, his ability to look far ahead and his willingness to think big and take big risks,” reminisces B. K. Birla who has now finally come to terms with the tragedy.
Even prescient analysts had no inkling of the fundamental changes that were to sweep across India Inc. in those days; sweeping change that jolted many corporate reputations and made mincemeat of many legacies. Back then, some of the Birla companies that were part of the coveted Sensex were Century Textiles, Indian Rayon, Hindustan Motors, Grasim and Hindalco. Century Textiles (managed by B. K. Birla after the sudden death of his son) and Indian Rayon (now part of Aditya Birla Nuvo) and Hindustan Motors (manufacturer of the Ambassador car and controlled by another Birla branch) no longer feature in the Sensex. Is it a coincidence that Grasim and Hindalco (controlled and managed directly by Kumarmangalam Birla) are still very much integral to the 30 scrip Sensex? And guess how many other business families and their companies have been cast off the Sensex over the years? Bombay Dyeing run by the Wadias is gone, the venerable Bajaj Auto is gone, Kirloskar Cummins run by the Kirloskars is gone, Premier Automobiles run once by the Walchandnagars is gone, Mukund Iron run by an arm of the Bajaj family is gone, Ceat Tyres run by the R. P. Goenka group is gone, Ballarpur run by the Thapar family is gone, Arvind Mills run by the Lalbhai family is gone and Great eastern Shipping run by the Seth family is gone. Gone too was Mahindra & Mahindra, only to storm back into the Sensex in 2007. Of the old, traditional business families that once dominated the landscape of India Inc., only three remain in the Sensex. There are the Mahindras (M&M), the Aditya Birla group (Grasim and Hindalco) and the Tatas (TCS, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Power). During the course of an exclusive interview given to Business & Economy in early September, 2009, B. K. Birla had kept harping on the fact that, “it is only the Tatas and the Birlas who matter in Indian business”.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
IIPM – FLP (Flexi Learning Program)
