The 117-year-old Murugappa Group
The Murugappa Group headquarters in Chennai – Dare House – is located in Parry’s Corner, a landmark in the port city. It’s named after a Welsh merchant Thomas Parry, who set up EID Parry in 1787, a company the Murugappas acquired in 1981 from a clutch of institutional investors and successfully turned around. Today, EID Parry is a major national player in sugar, bio-pesticides and nutraceuticals.
The extended Murugappa clan works out from a maze of interconnected but thoroughly modern offices in Dare House. In spite of its headquarters’ name, the 117-year-old Murugappa Group is known for its caution, collective decisionmaking and conservativeness. Sometime last year, however, celebrations broke out at Dare House. For the first time, group company Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company (CIFC), a non-banking financial company (NBFC) into vehicle and home equity financing, had overtaken cross-town rival Sundaram Finance in market capitalisation on the bourses. There was a history to why this achievement was being celebrated. When Arunachalam Vellayan, current Executive Chairman of Murugappa Group, took over in 2009 from his uncle M. A. Alagappan, CIFC was just in the process of ending a disastrous joint venture (JV) with DBS of Singapore. The JV had made ill-advised moves in consumer and personal finance. Uncharacteristically, it had imprudently advanced consumer and personal finance loans in the go-go years between 2005 and 2009, which had turned bad; the losses threatened to bring down the group’s reputation, if not the group itself.
Denne historien er fra June 18, 2017-utgaven av Business Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 18, 2017-utgaven av Business Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
"Moving to cloud helped us grow❞
What was the problem you were grappling with?
She's Got Time
MORE WOMEN ARE BECOMING WATCH CONNOISSEURS, SEEKING OUT BOTH JEWELLED AND TECHNICAL WATCHES FOR THEIR STYLE AND CRAFTSMANSHIP
RISING STAR
PARUL GULATI IS a name that's been steadily gaining prominence in the Indian entertainment industry after she appeared on season 2 of Shark Tank in 2023. She has become a multifaceted personality who effortlessly transitions between acting and entrepreneurship.
Building on a Legacy
WHEN ZAHABIYA KHORAKIWALA stepped into her role as Managing Director of Wockhardt Hospitals over a decade ago, she confronted formidable challenges that have since turned into achievements.
LEADER IN INNOVATION
AS FEDEX'S PRESIDENT (Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Africa), Kami Viswanathan has a lot on her plate.
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Here are those who missed out as they have not yet completed a year in office; they'll be strong contenders in 2025
A DECENT PROPOSAL
IN TODAY'S WORLD OF TRYING TO CREATE AN EQUITABLE SPACE, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR HOUSEHOLDS. WOMEN ARE ENCOURAGED TO HAVE THEIR OWN SAVINGS POOL AND INVESTMENT ROUTINE. GIVEN THIS, HOW SHOULD FUTURE BRIDES APPROACH FINANCIAL PLANNING?
Women and the STEM Bias
EMPOWERING WOMEN IN STEM WILL NOT ONLY BENEFIT INDIVIDUALS, BUT ALSO STRENGTHEN THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY, DRIVING INNOVATION AND PROGRESS.
ROCKET WOMEN
WOMEN IN INDIA ARE NOT ONLY VENTURING INTO SPACE BUT ARE ALSO STARTING TO SPEARHEAD THE COUNTRY'S EFFORTS IN THE GLOBAL SPACE RACE.
ONE STEP FORWARD
THE NUMBER OF WOMEN INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS IS GROWING STEADILY, BUT IT'S A LONG WAY FROM GENDER PARITY. MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO BREAK THE GLASS CEILING IN BOARDROOMS.