Kumar Mangalam Birla

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Introduction

Most Indians are well aware of how influential the ‘Birla family’ has historically been in the economic development of India. One of the visionary leaders of modern India, Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, needs no introduction.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, a renowned businessman, and an exemplary leader of modern India, he led the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest Indian conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies with a turnover of around US$ 50 billion in 2020. As per the latest Forbes’ The Real-Time Billionaires List’, Mr. Birla’s net worth is close to US$ 14 billion.

Let’s explore the inspiring life of Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla.

Early life and Family background

With their business foundation as early as 1857, the influential Industrialist family’s journey began when Seth Shiv Narayan Birla started cotton trading operations at Pilani Rajasthan.

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (‘Mr. Birla’), the son of Aditya Vikram Birla, hails from the reputed Marwari Birla family from the state of Rajasthan. He was born on 14th June 1967 in Kolkata and raised in Mumbai.

His father, Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla, a chemical engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), led the diversification of Aditya Birla Group’s businesses into textiles, petrochemicals, and telecommunications.

The members of the Birla family by succession include-

Shiv Narayan Birla,
Baldev Das Birla (first generation)
Ghanshyamdas Birla (second generation)
Aditya Vikram Birla (third generation)
Kumar Mangalam Birla (fourth generation)

Education

Mr. Birla completed his high school at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics (Mumbai), his bachelor’s from HR College of Commerce and Economics from the Mumbai University, and his MBA at London Business School (LBS) in 1992. He is also an honorary fellow at LBS. He is a Chartered accountant (CA) from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

Business Career

Owing to his father’s untimely demise in 1995, Mr. Birla took over the family business empire Aditya Birla Group (‘ABG’ or ‘the Group’) as the Chairman. Many people doubted Mr. Birla’s ability to lead a large business organization at the young age of 28 years with limited experience. However, he proved to be a very successful businessman and a great leader. Even today, he is the Chairman of most of ABG’s foremost companies in India and globally. He was successful in achieving a high level of growth throughout his leadership. In the 26 years of managing the Group, he developed good business strategies, accelerated growth, built meritocracy, and enhanced value to all stakeholders.

Over the years, Mr. Birla raised ABG’s turnover from just US$ 2 billion in 1995 to around US$ 50 billion in 2020. ABG’s businesses spread across various industries, including aluminium, copper, cement, textiles, carbon black, insulators, natural resources, solar power, agribusiness, telecommunications, financial services, retail, and trading.

Let’s have a look at the Aditya Birla Group’s business empire. I bet you did not know that many famous companies are part of this Group-

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) strategy has been a significant cornerstone of the Group’s business growth. Mr. Birla led over 40 acquisitions in 20 years in India and globally, the highest by an Indian multinational in India. After the recent merger of ABG’s telecom business- Vodafone and Idea, it has become the 2nd largest telecom operator in India and 5th largest in the world, based on the subscriber base.

Under Mr. Birla’s supervision, the ABG achieved a leadership position in all the significant sectors it operates. Over the years, he built a highly successful meritocratic organization, employing over 140,000 people from over 100 different countries. As per the ‘Top Companies for Leaders’ study 2011, conducted by AON Hewitt, Fortune Magazine, and RBL, ABG stood 4th in the world and 1st in the Asia Pacific. ABG also won the coveted recognition of ‘The Best Employers to work for in India’ by AON – Hewitt in 2018.

Some of Mr. Birla’s notable quotes on business and teamwork-

Being a conglomerate, each of our businesses has a different challenge; the business landscape is different for each business. It makes it challenging as well as exciting.

If you cannot collaborate, you cannot succeed. The joy of accomplishing something as a team is far greater than any individual achievement.

Individual brilliance can only take you so far. From business to any other field of activity, teamwork is the key to success.

Key Responsibility Positions in India

Mr. Birla, due to his able leadership and comprehensive business acumen, held and still holds many key positions on various regulatory and professional Boards. He was a Director on the Central Board of Directors of RBI. He was Chairman of the Advisory Committee constituted by the MCA. Also, he served on The Prime Minister of India’s Advisory Council on Trade and Industry.

As the Chairman of SEBI’s Committee on Corporate Governance, he authored the First Report on Corporate Governance titled “Report of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee on Corporate Governance.” Its recommendations were path-breaking and became the basis of corporate governance norms. Furthermore, as the Convener of the PM’s Task Force on Administrative and Legal Simplifications, the extensive recommendations made by him in his report have been completely implemented. Mr. Birla also served as the Chairman of SEBI’s committee on Insider Trading, which formulated Corporate Governance principles for Indian corporates.

He is on the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Apex Advisory Council of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.

Birla Family's Contribution to Education and Building Leaders

Mr. Birla and his family firmly believe that India’s young generation has immense potential, and India’s economic development depends on them. Mr. Birla is an educationist, attached with multiple Educational Institutions. He is the Chancellor of the renowned Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), having campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad, and Dubai.

He is the Chairman of IIT, Delhi, and IIM, Ahmedabad. He also serves on the London Business School (LBS) ‘s Asia Pacific Advisory Board and is also an Honorary Fellow of LBS. He is one of the Directors of G. D. Birla Medical Research & Education Foundation.

Further, Mr. Birla is also the Rhodes India Scholarship Committee chairman for Oxford University, England.

The Aditya Birla Group also has Flagship Leadership Development Programs. Its objective is to groom future leaders by giving them challenging assignments in various business sectors in which the Group operates.

Community and Social Cause

Mr. Birla is a philanthropist and has been instrumental in promoting welfare activities using the resources of ABG. ABG is involved in many welfare activities that help improve the weaker sections of Indian society and many other countries.

Under his stewardship, the ABG’s CSR investment is around INR 250 crore. In India, ABG is engaged in 5,000 villages, making a difference in the lives of around 7.5 million people each year through meticulously conceived projects focusing on health care, education, sustainable livelihood, infrastructure, and social causes. ABG has partnered with the Columbia University in establishing the Columbia Global Centre’s Earth Institute in Mumbai in line with its commitment to sustainable development. To embed CSR as a way of life in organizations, it has set up the FICCI – Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence in Delhi.

Recognition and Accolades to Mr. Birla

Mr. Birla has received innumerable accolades to his name throughout his life. Some of the recent and notable among a vast list of awards and recognition are as follows-

Outstanding Businessman of the Year 2017
The Global Innovation Leader- Visionary Leadership Award 2017
CEO of the Year Award 2016
2014 Global Leadership Award
Business Leader of the Year 2012-13
4th Most Powerful CEO in ETET Corporate India’s Definitive Power listing of 100 CEOs (2013)
Entrepreneur of the Year (2012)- Forbes India
Most Inspiring Leader- NDTV Profit Business Leadership Awards 2012
Global Business Leader Award 2012- NASSCOM
Business Leader of the Year 2010- AIMA
JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award 2008- AIMA
Exemplary Leader Award 2007- The Asia Pacific Global HRHR Excellence
The Global Indian Leader of the Year- NDTV Profit (2007)

Quotes and Teachings by Mr. Birla

In a recent address to IIM-A students in the 56th convocation (batch of 2021), Mr. Birla revealed to the students four valuable lessons for success –

Define your North Star

A more important time than ever to define your principles and set your heading. Where do you fit in, and what do you want to be known for? Now is a good time to mull over and define the answer.

Experiment in your 20s

Start early and experiment. Be impulsive. But temper your impulsiveness with creativity and positivity. Be thoughtful of what you want to focus on and what is the common thread that strings together your experiments and experiences

Units of Learning should guide your career choices

If you’re ever wrestling with a career choice, the defining factor should be the units of learning. Always make a choice that accelerates your own learning curve and improves your understanding of the world.

Build your Personal Flywheel

Your personal flywheel is nothing but your own set of cumulative personal experiences. Think about experiences as units of learning. The more units you can accumulate in a year, the more valuable you become.

Some other wisdom quotes of Mr. Birla-

I think a leader has many roles to play. So, you know, one role is that of incubating talent; the other is that of being a strategist. It’s a very interesting job I’ve got.

The one important factor that keeps me going is the kind of people I work with.

Failure is not fatal, it’s inevitable. If you don’t fail, it perhaps means you aren’t taking enough risks.

We all fail. We all make mistakes. The key is to not be oblivious to the mistake. When you make a mistake, you have three choices: You can be in denial, you can let it cripple you, or you can acknowledge the error, take swift corrective action and learn from it.

Well, I think the golden rule I can think of is the fact that you must follow your passion and do something that’s close to your heart. And I think that that’s very important, well, to be successful and to be happy.

I don’t see IQIQ and EQEQ as binary qualities, but rather as complementary traits that make a personality wholesome.

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