Ajay Piramal

Ajay Piramal
Ajay Piramal speaking at the Horasis Global India Business Meeting in Liverpool, June 2014
Born (1955-08-03) 3 August 1955
Bagar,Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater University of Mumbai
Occupation Chairman of Piramal Group & Shriram Group
Net worth $4.5 billion (2018)[1]
Spouse(s) Swati Piramal
Children Anand Piramal[2]
Nandini Piramal
Parents
  • Late Mr. Gopikisan Piramal (father)
  • Mrs. Lalita Piramal (mother)
Relatives Ashok Piramal (d.1984), Dilip Piramal

Ajay Piramal (born August 3, 1955) is India’s leading industrialist, philanthropist and social entrepreneur. He is the Chairman of the Piramal Group, a conglomerate with interests in pharma, financial services, real estate, healthcare analytics and glass packaging.

Apart from India, the Piramal Group has presence in over 30 countries, including the US, the UK, the European Union, Japan, Asia-Pacific and South Asia, with its products being sold in over 100 markets.[3]

In 2010, the Company sold the domestic formulation business to Abbott Laboratories for $3.8 billion.[4] Following that, Piramal Enterprises (then Piramal Healthcare), the flagship company of Piramal Group, has 3 major businesses – Pharma, Financial Services and Healthcare Insights & Analytics. In Pharma, the company focuses on over-the-counter (OTC) consumer products, global generics, contract manufacturing and critical care business. The financial services business—includes alternative asset management and investments into the Shriram Group as well as Piramal Capital & Housing Finance which is a registered as a housing finance company with the National Housing Bank (NHB) and is engaged in various financial services businesses.[5][6]

Decision Resources Group, a subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises Ltd., is the premier source for global healthcare data and market intelligence. A trusted partner for over 20 years, DRG helps companies competing in the global healthcare industry make informed business decisions.

The market capitalisation of Piramal Enterprises has grown four-fold in the last seven years, from an average of around Rs 10,000 crore in 2010-11, it has been moving around Rs 45,000 crore in April 2018.[7]

PEL is listed on the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited in India.[8]

The second component of the group’s real estate strategy involves property development through the unlisted Piramal Realty Private Limited, founded by Ajay Piramal’s son Anand.[9]

Incorporated in 1974, Piramal Glass Limited (PGL, erstwhile Gujarat Glass Limited) was acquired by the Piramal Group in 1984. In 1990, it was merged with Piramal Healthcare Limited (PHL, erstwhile Nicholas Piramal India Limited), and in 1998, the glass division was spun off to a subsidiary. The Company is engaged in the business of manufacturing packaging solutions for the perfumery and pharmaceuticals.[10]

Under Mr. Piramal’s leadership, the Piramal Group transformed from a textile centric business to a US$10 billion conglomerate.[11] The current headcount of the group is 14,500.[12]

Early life

Ajay Piramal was born to Gopikisan Piramal and Lalita Piramal in Rajasthan, India on August 3, 1955. In 1977, at age 22, Ajay Piramal started out in his family's textile business, founded in 1934 by his grandfather Piramal Chatrabhuj. Ajay's father, Gopikisan Piramal, died suddenly in 1979, and 5 years later he lost an older brother to cancer, prompting him to take over the business reins.[13]

Business career

Crippling and violent strikes that started in 1982 had brought the textile industry to its knees. There were 7,000 employees in the textiles business. In 1986 Ajay Piramal walked out to a meeting with 4,000 workers, with a suggestion that workers accept a separation package, as the business was being wound down.[7]

In 1988, he bought Nicholas Laboratories, an Australian multinational corporation. The company, which then competed with the likes of MNCs such as Pfizer and Glaxo, is now ranked fifth among the top 10 pharma companies in India, having made a string of overseas acquisitions like the Indian subsidiaries of Roche, Boehringer Mannheim, Rhone Poulenc, ICI and Hoechst Research Centre. India’s first major shopping mall, Crossroads, was developed from three redundant Piramal factory buildings in Mumbai.[14]

Ajay Piramal led Piramal Enterprises Ltd invested in Vodafone India by buying 11% in two tranches. The first 5.5%, was bought in 2011 for Rs 2,856 crore and the second, the next year for Rs 3,007 crore. to buy a 5.5% stake in Vodafone India for INR 30.07 billion ($618 million), taking the total stake to 11%.[7] In April 2014, Piramal Enterprises Ltd. sold its 11% stake for INR 8,900 crore, at a 51.78% premium to the price the company had paid in 2011-12.[15]

After selling his stake in Vodafone India, Piramal paid INR 2,014 crore to buy a 20% stake in Shriram Capital Ltd., an arm of the Chennai-based Shriram Group. The purchase was made in addition to INR 1,636 crore investment in Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd. for a 9.9% stake.[16] Piramal also serves as the Chairman of Shriram Group.[17]

Directorships and Board Memberships

  • Chairman, Piramal Group[18]
  • Chairman, Shriram Group[19]
  • Non-Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd[20]
  • Member, Board of Dean’s Advisors, Harvard Business School[21]
  • President and Chairman of the Governing Body, Anant National University[22]
  • Chairman, Pratham Education Foundation[23][24]
  • Member of the Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) constituted by SEBI
  • Member of National Council of Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII)
  • Co-Chair, UK-India CEO Forum
  • Member of the Honorable Prime Minister’s Council for Trade & Industry and the Board of Trade constituted by the Ministry of Commerce
  • Member of the Honorable Prime Minister’s Task Force on Pharmaceuticals and Knowledge-Based Industries
  • Member, Central Board of State Bank of India[25]
  • Invitee to the World Economic Forum for the last 20 years[26]
  • Former Chairman, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore[27]

Positions held in the past

  • Member, Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Task Force on Pharmaceuticals & Knowledge-Based Industries constituted by the Government of India.[28]
  • Member, Hon’ble Prime Minister's Council for Trade & Industry.[29]
  • Member, Board of Trade Constituted by the Ministry of Commerce.[30]
  • Member, Central board of directors of State Bank of India – India's largest commercial bank and is included in the "Fortune 500" companies;[31]
  • Member of National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which is one of the largest industry associations in India.[31]

Awards and honours

  • Business Leader of the Year Award, 2018, International Advertising Association Leadership Awards[32]
  • Special Achievement Award, Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) 2018[33]
  • CNBC Asia’s India Business Leader of the Year Award, 2018[34]
  • CNBC Asia Business Leader of the Year Award, 2017[35]
  • Corporate Citizen of the Year award by AIMA Managing India Awards in 2016[36]
  • SEN Sustainability Award – Philanthropy and Best of Best - instituted by World Presidents’ Organisation (2015)[37]
  • Business Leader of the Year 2015, by Indo-American Chamber of Commerce[38]
  • Outstanding Philanthropist 2013 and 2014, Forbes Philanthropy Awards[39]
  • Kriyasheel Global Achievers Award (2010)[40]
  • India Innovator of the Year 2008 awarded by CNBC TV 18[41]
  • Entrepreneur of the Year' Award of UK Trade and Investment Council in 2006[42]
  • Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category in 2004[43]
  • Business Leader Award" in Pharma Sector at the CHEMTECH PHARMABIO AWARD (2004);[44]
  • Life Time Achievement Award" by The Rotary Club of Mumbai Mid-Town (2004)[45]
  • Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum (2004)[46]
  • Rotary International (District 3140) Certificate of Appreciation and “Four Way Test Award” in 2001 [47]
  • CEO of the Year Award’ by World Strategy Forum (1999)[48]

Academics

Mr. Ajay Piramal holds a bachelor's degree of Science (Honours) in Science from the Jai Hind College and Basantsingh Institute of Science, University of Bombay, Master’s Degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, University of Bombay, and has completed the Advanced Management Programme from Harvard Business School, USA.[49] Mr. Piramal has been conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Philosophy (D. Phil) by Amity University, India.[50]

Interests

Mr. Ajay Piramal is a regular at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course. He can often be seen walking here, with his grandchildren (daughter Nandini’s son and daughter). He owns many horses. And on a rare occasion, he still rides one, especially if egged on by the children. He was once the youngest president of the Amateur Riders Club near the race course in southern Mumbai.[51]

In his spare time, Piramal pursues his passion for wildlife photography. He has also co-authored 'Light has come to me', a book about management lessons inspired from The Bhagwad Gita, published by the Times Group. He has also written a dance opera, ‘The Dance of Life’, which premiered in Mumbai in 2004, with stories inspired by the history of Indian science starring Mrinalini Sarabhai and Mallika Sarabhai.[52]

Ajay Piramal and his wife Swati also opened the Piramal Museum of Art in November to showcase their art collection as well as that of other collectors. Their private art collection has 600 art works straddling 300 years of Indian art history from the colonial times to the more modern works by M.F.Hussian and S.H. Raza. The collection also has Persian miniatures dating back to the 16th century.[53]

Philanthropy

Ajay Piramal's Wealth Finds a Purpose in the Piramal Foundation.[54] The foundation takes about 10-15% of his time.[55]

The Piramal Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group. It develops innovative, replicable and impact-oriented solutions to resolve issues that are critical roadblocks towards unlocking India’s economic potential. The Group’s core values of ‘Knowledge, Action, Care and Impact’, guide the organisation in carrying out its responsibilities towards society.[56]

The Piramal Foundation has initiatives across Health, Education and Safe Drinking Water, namely Piramal Swasthya,[57] Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership[58] and Piramal Sarvajal,[59] respectively.

The Piramal Foundation has partnered with the NITI Aayog, to transform 25 ‘Aspirational Districts’ across 7 states in India[60]

The Foundation currently works across 21 states and has impacted over 90 million lives, mostly in partnership with state governments. It has developed innovative approaches and programmes and has built strong partnerships with governments, technology partners and international organisations including Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Harvard Graduate School of Education and World Diabetes Foundation.[61]

Other CSR Initiatives

Mr. Ajay Piramal is among the Advisory Committee Members of Annamrita, ISKCON’s Food Relief Foundation (IFRF)[62] that serves 1.2 million meals through its 20 kitchens across India every day.[63] Mr. Piramal’s goal for this project is to scale it up several fold and to take it to a level of giving meals to a million children every day in the state of Maharashtra.

References

  1. ↑ "India's Richest". Forbes.com. 16 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Executive Director
  3. ↑ "Financial annual report" (PDF).
  4. ↑ "Piramal enterprises re-entry into indian formulations business". The Economic Times.
  5. ↑ "Piramal Re-entry in to indian formulations business".
  6. ↑ "Piramal Housing Finance backs Chennai realty firm in $30 mn deal". VC Circle.
  7. 1 2 3 "How Ajay Piramal is creating success stories by eschewing conventional wisdom". The Economic Times.
  8. ↑ "Piramal housing finance announces its launch in Pune" (PDF).
  9. ↑ "The Piramals' three-pronged realty strategy". Forbes India. Apr 6, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Piramal Glass Ltd". NDTV Profit.
  11. ↑ "CNBC india business leaders awards 2018" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "piramal group to hire more people this year". The Economic Times. May 22, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Piramal History". Forbes.
  14. ↑ "Ajay Piramal Biography". Biographia.
  15. ↑ "Piramal sells entire stake in Vodafone for Rs 8,900 crore". Live Mint. Apr 11, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Piramal to buy 20% stake in Shriram Capital". Live Mint. Apr 17, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Ajay Piramal to strengthen role in Shriram Group, takes over as Chairman of Shriram Capital". The Economic Times. Aug 13, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Piramal Group Chairman". The Hindu Business Line.
  19. ↑ "ajay piramal to strengthen role in sriram group". The Economic Times. Aug 13, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Ajay piramal tata sons". TATA.
  21. ↑ "Ajay piramal appointed non executive director of tata sons". The Economic Times. Aug 25, 2016.
  22. ↑ "ANU" (PDF).
  23. ↑ "ANU" (PDF).
  24. ↑ "Industrialists Ajay Piramal and Venu Srinivasan appointed non-executive directors of Tata Sons". The Economic Times. Aug 25, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Member, Central Board of State bank of india". Asian Centre.
  26. ↑ "World Economic Forum". sbs.ox.ac.uk.
  27. ↑ "IIT Panels". Telegraph India. April 22, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Global Indian CXO Network". GICN. GICN. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  29. ↑ "Leading industrialists, Venu Srinivasan and Ajay Piramal, appointed non-executive directors of Tata Sons". Tata Sons. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  30. ↑ Bureau, ET (26 August 2016). "Venu Srinivasan, Ajay Piramal inducted as nonexecutive directors of Tata Sons". The Economic Times. Times of India. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  31. 1 2 "2005 summit on Indian Manufacturing Competitiveness". ISB.
  32. ↑ "Piramal Group's Ajay Piramal conferred with the IAA's 'Business Leader of the Year' award". The Economic Times. July 30, 2018.
  33. ↑ "The 9th Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards, India chapter recognizes 22 top business leaders". Asian News Channel. April 17, 2018.
  34. ↑ "CNBC-TV18 hosts 13th edition of India Business Leader Awards; Kumar Mangalam Birla named Outstanding Businessman of the Year". CNBC. April 7, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Asia business leader award". CNBC. Nov 2, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Doing Well and Doing Good: Piramal". The Silicon Review.
  37. ↑ "Ajay Piramal".
  38. ↑ "Doing well and doing good - piramal". The Silicon Review.
  39. ↑ "Forbes Philanthropy Awards".
  40. ↑ "Ajay Piramal Success Story". You Success. Nov 3, 2017.
  41. ↑ "management". DB Corp LTD.
  42. ↑ "Entrepreneur of the Year'".
  43. ↑ "Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the year".
  44. ↑ "Pharma bio Award". Bloomberg.
  45. ↑ "Lifetime achievement award".
  46. ↑ "Global leader of tomorrow" (PDF). Ashstevens.
  47. ↑ "Four Way Test Award". Dainik Bhaskar (DB Corp Ltd).
  48. ↑ "CEO of the year award". Bloomberg.
  49. ↑ "Harvard Business School" (PDF).
  50. ↑ "Honorary Doctorate Degree in Philosophy". The Silicon Review.
  51. ↑ "How Ajay Piramal is creating success stories by eschewing conventional wisdom". The Economic Times. April 8, 2018.
  52. ↑ "Well Known Entrepreneur - Ajay Piramal".
  53. ↑ "Ajay Piramal's Net Worth Soars As Flagship Stock Surges". Forbes. Sep 22, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Ajay Piramal Wealth". Forbes India. March 19, 2014.
  55. ↑ "Ajay piramal Success".
  56. ↑ "CSR : NITI Aayog partners with Piramal Foundation to transform aspirational Districts". India CSR. March 21, 2018.
  57. ↑ "Shriram Transport Finance and Piramal Swasthya jointly announces the launch of Mobile Medical Van in Pune". News Barons. March 9, 2018.
  58. ↑ "The Piramal family's purposeful philanthropy". Forbes India. Jan 6, 2015.
  59. ↑ "Piramal Sarvajal Marks World Water Day, with the Launch of 'Safe Drinking Water' Awareness Drive". Orissa Diary. March 14, 2018.
  60. ↑ "Making districts 'aspire' for better health". Press Reader. April 25, 2018.
  61. ↑ "NITI Aayog partners with Piramal Foundation to transform aspirational Districts". India CSR. March 21, 2018.
  62. ↑ "Advisory Committee Members of Annamrita". Annamrita.
  63. ↑ "Annamrita Meal Project". Annamrita.
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