All the roads lead to home...
TVS has grown from strength to strength, and the family accord has not suffered either

Being one of the few who survived the ravages of time, the TVS group has stood the test of competition and ever changing policy scenarios. The group was founded by TV Sundram Iyengar in 1911 and since then there has been no looking back. The group logically expanded from the bus transport business to bus bodybuilding, cargo, tyres and other verticals of the automobile industry.

Four sons of TV Sundram Iyengar: T S Rajam, T S Krishna, T S Srinivasan and T S Santhanam then successfully led TVS into the fields of vehicle dealerships, auto-parts, auto financing and manufacturing of two wheelers. Though, the businesses of all the four sons of TV Sundram Iyengar are flourishing under their respective leaders, but, the TS Srinivasan Group has literally become the face of the TVS group today. Under the able leadership and relentless perfectionism of Venu Srinivasan, TS Srinivasan Group today boasts of successful companies like TVS Motors, TVS Electronics, Sundaram Clayton & India Nippon among others.

In an era where personal ambitions are sizing down some huge business houses, the TVS group successfully moves ahead as a well diversified but closely knit family business.

To your health...
The Burmans are keeping entrepreneurship alive

Over a period of more than a century, they have stood tall amongst the competition, strengthening their position across all the segments of value chain. A venture started by S.K Burman – Dabur India is a classic example of how a company can sustain long by resorting to proper strategic management and succession planning. Though, manufacturing has always been Dabur’s strength but when it comes to marketing, Dabur has even pioneered this by identifying newer domains. Dabur also diversified into other domains with innovative strategies. In 2005, Dabur forayed into the home care segment by roping in Balsara, which very much matched with its time-honoured herbal flank. Even when the Burman’s decided to venture beyond the homely milieu, they tested the waters by jumping into a strategic partnership in 1992 with Spain based Agrolimen.

Well, when the business started expanding overseas, the Burmans were smart enough to identify the need of a strategic management governed by expert CEOs. In 1998, the Burman family handed over the management of day-to-day operations to professionals and reduced the number of family members in the board from 10 to 4. The restructuring of the Dabur group is truly unique, since the core business is now being run by non-family professionals; while the Burmans have given up executive positions in the core company to take charge of the new growth businesses. Amit Burman, who has taken charge of Dabur Foods, explains the logic thus, “New, high growth businesses require entrepreneurial zeal and are better suited to the members of the family.” These timely steps have enabled Dabur to post an exorbitant turnover of more than Rs.16 billion for the year 2006.

Touche Godrej!
Unity has been the key strength of the Godrejs

They say that family businesses managed by family members cannot survive in the long run. But this company is surely an exception. Yes, we are talking about Godrej. What started as a mere lock making venture, with an effort of four generations of a close-knit business family is today a conglomerate with its arms spread across many countries. The Godrejs steer clear of mutual animosity. Brothers Adi Godrej (Chairman) and Nadir Godrej (MD) have maintained the status quo of ‘family comes first’ and have also inculcated the same values in their children.

Technological up-gradation has always been the success mantra of Godrej. Inspite of strong presence of global players, Godrej has forayed into almost all segments of consumer durables and electronic gizmos. Starting from photocopiers to beverage vending machines, this business house has generated tremendous goodwill in the market. Godrej had invested a lot in R&D and has constantly upgraded its manufacturing plants.

To spread its wings abroad, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. acquired the UK-based Rapidol’s South African hair color business. The group has also acquired UK-based Key line Brands, which owns FMCG brands like Cuticura & Nulon. Clearly, strategic tie-ups are a way of life for Godrej and meaningful acquisitions have been providing impetus to its DNA. Agrees Adi B Godrej, Chairman & MD of Godrej, “Acquisition represents the commencement of our building of a global presence in the international FMCG market.”

Godrej is among the very few Indian business families that have survived four generations. And the magic just doesn’t seem to be dying down.

M&M has kept its core competencies intact

A perfect recipe to survive and lead. The Mahindra group just got it all right and of course, the timing was immaculate. The $2.59 billion Mahindra group has survived debilitating recessions and managed to stick on to its core competencies. In the early nineties, the economy was into recession which reflected on Mahindra group. Its profits plunged and the cash flows started to dry-up. At this point, the company went in for a makeover as a carmaker with the launch of Scorpio (in 2002). Moreover, the company exited some of its business to stay focused on core businesses.

Chairman Keshub Mahindra has left the day to day running of the business to nephew Anand Mahindra (Vice Chairman & MD). The company has kept a global vision from outset. It launched its tractors in the US and has since expanded its penetration to other geographies. Furthermore, it acquired Valtra, the truck maker, and entered into many agreements with global auto majors. Recently, the company signed an MoU with Renault for a green field facility in India to manufacture 5,00,000 units per year. Farm equipments & automobiles have been the key for M&M. Currently it's the market leader in farm equipment sector and dominates the automobile sector in the MUV segment.

On the anvil are more distribution & production tie ups along with product innovations. And with the sheer aggression it's displaying, the future can only be brighter.

Spot the chinks if you can!
Premji keeps strict control on Wipro & his business acumen is impeccable

The story of Azim Premji from an engineering student in 1966 to becoming the owner of India’s most respected company is a fascinating saga in itself. At a nascent age of 21 years, Azim Premji was entrusted with the responsibility of handling the reigns of Wipro due to early demise of his father H.M Premji. Premji carried on the legacy of his father as WIPRO manufactured oil & related products.

In the late 1970's, the government forced IBM to exit the Indian market as it was selling products with obsolete technology. Th is created a gap in the highly immature IT industry of India and Premji sensed it as a business opportunity. Consequently, now WIPRO was manufacturing mini computers and eventually entered the soft ware market.

The year 1999 marked the entry of Vivek Paul as the chief executive of Wipro. Vivek Paul led the company to an unprecedented path of growth, its sales grew by ten times during his stint from 1999 to 2005. Vivek slowly became the face of Wipro, which, as rumours go, wasn't to Premji's liking, as Premji pretty much likes to be ‘in control’. This is cited as the reason for Paul's exit last year, an event that sparked off a fresh round of debates on the ownership-management equation in corporate India.

One thing’s for sure though – no man is indispensable for a company. Wipro has moved on after Paul and its place ‘up there’ in the ranks of India's IT greats seems unshakeable for the foreseeable future.

Separating the men...
After initial rude shocks, the Bajajs have seen the light

Bajaj is perhaps one of the biggest challengers to apathy. The group is the finest example of the ‘been there done that’ proverb. They suffered plant shutdowns, family splits & also the unfortunate break up of the partnership with the Firodias. The company under Rahul Bajaj suff ered from the typical complacency of the Licence Raj period. Rahul Bajaj was in fact the head of the now infamous Bombay Club, which protested vehemently against liberalisation. After 1991, the group suffered greatly due to competition and the consistent decline in scooter sales.

Slowly, the Bajaj Group restructured itself. The first wave saw the tie up with Japanese partner Kawasaki to manufacture and market bikes like KB-RTZ and the 4S Champion. The advent of Rahul’s sons Sanjiv and Rajiv Bajaj at the helm of affairs saw the company further moving away from scooters and coming up with the indigenously designed Pulsar in the premium segment, the most successful product from the Bajaj stable after the Chetak. Today, Bajaj Auto is closing in to threaten the leadership position of Hero Honda in the motorcycle segment. And it is not just auto; the Bajaj group is engaged in sectors as diverse as electronics, cosmetics & components.

On the family front, Rahul did have to separate from his younger brother Shishir (who now heads Bajaj Hindustan & Bajaj Consumer Care) following an ownership dispute, but he has ensured an amicable succession for his sons Rajiv and Sanjeev.

There are very few business families in India which have adapted to change as tactfully as the Bajajs have. The Bajaj family has shown the world how important indigenous development is and how can it help a company challenge the very limits it had once set for itself.