Return to Roots :: M V Subbiah
Volume 13, Number 1 Article by J Ramachandran March 2001
M V Subbiah: Return to Roots :
At a time when the future of manufacturing in India is being hotly debated, the Murugappa Group stands steadfastly by its core strengths in manufacturing. Those who have been merely mouthing the buzzwords, corporate governance and professionalisation of family businesses, have been left standing while M V Subbiah, Chairman of the Murugappa Group and Executive Chairman of one of its flagship companies, EID Parry, moved swiftly into action. Under his leadership, the Murugappa Group pioneered, in October 1999, an initiative that would transform the family business into a professionally managed one. A new Chairman, N S Raghavan, was appointed in April 2001 with a specific mandate to search for a highly qualified successor to lead the Group, actualise its vision and strengthen its corporate governance initiatives. M V Subbiah has held positions of operational responsibility in various companies of the Murugappa Group, a diversified conglomerate with business interests in engineering, abrasives, fertilisers, sugars and confectionery, financial services, sanitaryware and bioproducts, headquartered in Chennai. A recipient of the National HRD Award (1988), he is also an active member of the CII, and Chairman of the Family Business Council, with a particular interest in promoting modern corporate governance practices in family run and owned enterprises. In a wide-ranging interview, M V Subbiah speaks to J Ramachandran about the state of the industry, pre- and post-liberalisation, and what needs to be done to facilitate a world class competitive Indian industry. He relates how companies in the Group are discovering the benefits of resource leverage, rather than mere resource allocation, and of knowledge transfer and the development of synergies. He talks about the opportunities in ‘bricks and clicks’ in this IT age, of the positive rebellion of the younger generation, which, he predicts, will lead to a societal transformation, and of the Murugappa Group’s efforts in ushering in the new era of transparency and trust. M V Subbiah also shares with Ramachandran his own plans for the future: his interest in researching the origins of Hinduism and family business, and the traditional concept of welfare as opposed to wealth; and disseminating an understanding of our roots to the younger generation
Reprint No 01203