There’s no way to tell how sure Kumar Mangalam Birla was about his journey when he took over his father’s business empire at a young age of 28. In fact, very few people thought the low-profile son of Aditya Birla could pull it off. When Birla took over the reins in 1995, the group’s turnover was close to $2 billion and overseas operations made for a fraction of the same. Today, the company is worth more than $40 billion, with operations in more than 40 countries and 60 per cent of the revenues come from foreign markets.
The industrial group has its fingers in almost all sectors – from textiles (Grasim), aluminium (Hindalco and Novelis), yarn (Nuvo), cement (Ultratech), telecom (Idea Cellular), retail (Aditya Birla Retail), chemicals (Aditya Birla Chemicals) and so on. Most of these companies are among the top ten in their sector and while they continue to grow, the company’s garment names such as Van Heusen, Peter England and Louis Philippe push the branding further.
Be it planning new ventures, acquiring firms, expanding existing companies or getting out of businesses that don’t fit in with the brand’s philosophy, Birla has shown what it takes to be a leader. From giving the Aditya Birla Group a brand identity to venturing into more foreign markets, the strategy for the group has been to stay focused.
The man leading the group has made sure that there is a significant degree of managerial skills and leadership acumen through the company. The group is known for its high-profile leaders and managers who spearhead various arms. After the targets and strategy have been finalised, Birla lets them have a free-hand of running the operations.As the result, the talented professionals not only take ownership of the project but are also empowered to take decisions that help the company.
Industry experts also admire the ways in which Birla infuses the company with fresh blood on a regular basis and, at the same time, keeps trusted veterans close to him.
For 45-year-old Birla, whose favourite past times mean spending time with the family and catching up with movies, handling business pressures comes with the territory. However, like a true leader, not only does Birla delegate to the right people and communicate effectively within and outside of the group, he also makes sure that there he leads by example. For, that’s what leaders do.
