The pune-based auto tycoon is carrying forward his father’s legacy of transformative mass travel.
Ask for a meeting with Abhaykumar Firodia and you hear back within hours. Exact timings are given. The directions to his office in Pimpri-Chinchwad, an industrial cluster on the outskirts of Pune, are short and crisp. Once there, the meetings proceed with clockwork precision.
This discipline is hardly surprising given that Firodia has had a long history of collaborating with the Germans. “Over the years, dealing with the Germans, their purity of technical thought, their dedication to quality—they’ve became part of the operating DNA of our company,” says Abhay Firodia, 72, chairman of Force Motors. Spend time with him and it becomes clear that the ethos has seeped into the organisation.
It is also evident that he’s not afraid to speak his mind. Just a day before Forbes India met him in September, he’d spoken out on the ad-hoc nature of the Supreme Court imposed ban (which was lifted in August after the imposition of a new tax) on diesel cars (above 2000 cc) at the annual meeting of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. “The courts and the green brigade have to engage the country in a manner that is constructive,” he says. “Bans won’t necessarily solve things.” He was also concerned that the industry would have trouble in meeting the new Bharat Stage IV emission norms that are due to be implemented by April 2017.
Denne historien er fra Richlist 2016-utgaven av Forbes India.
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Denne historien er fra Richlist 2016-utgaven av Forbes India.
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Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
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Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
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DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet
