In my long innings as a business journalist, I have interacted and interviewed almost all top indusrialists and CEOs in TN. I have won their goodwill thanks to my strong platform- ET and by belief in fostering long term relationship.
One among them is Shri A Sivasailam, Chairman of Amalgamations group. I have lot of respect for him and his family. He has shared several exclusive stories with me for ET. I was terribly upset when he expired on January 12. I had visited his house to pay my homage. When I last met him on August 31, 2010 at a function organised by AMCO batteries to honour the employees who had completed 25 years of service, he was very kind to me and promised to give me an interview. Before that, I lost him.
In his demise it is not that corporate world in Tamil Nadu but the entire India Inc has lost a legend of industry and towering figure in Indian family business.
Born on August 24th,1934, Sivasailam was the elder son of S. Anantharamakrishnan, a pioneering industrialist of his times.). He took over the mantle from his father at a young age in 1968 and successfully transformed the group into a top industrial house in the country. He is known for his astute, quiet, and very supportive leadership qualities besides his concern for the welfare of employees and environment.
Spic Chairman, A C Muthiah has said, " I have lost a wonderful friend. A very disciplined person, he was a man of ethics, few words. He has a left proud legacy worth following by gen next"
Leading auditor and ex- partner, Fraser & Ross, N Srinivasan said"Its a great loss for the family and me. He was a fine and a true gentleman. He was very humane and understanding. He was the person who developed the industrial empire after his fathers death."
In his poem on Sivasailam written in 2007 ( when Shri Sivasailam got Padmashree award) Srinivasan said, " A worthy son of a worthy father, well supported by equally worth brother ( A Krishnamurthy), Amalgamations group a shining example of promoters unity, third generation also webbed together in perfect harmony".
N Shankar – Sanmar Group – Chairman said " Sivasailam was one of the best known business personalities from Tamil Nadu. He took over the reins of the group at a very young age and built it up over the next few decades in to one of the leading industrial houses in India. He was a philanthropist and was involved with many management associations and other public bodies. I had worked with him closely in Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Assocham and have learnt a lot from him".
Suresh Krishna, CMD, Sundram Fastners said "I have great respect for Sivasailam. He was a pioneer of Indian automotive industry, especially TN and and it is a great loss for the industry. Single handedly, he built Amalgations group companies around which several volcanos came up. This had helped TN to get a prominent place in the industrial map of India. Always a very soft spoken gentleman, Sivasailam was very forceful in his own way"
M V Subbiah,former chairman, Murugapa group " I am sorry to hear the demise of Sivasailam. He was doyen of the Indian industry and will be remembered by all for his values and principles. The industry has lost a great son and a noble human being"
His leadership of the Amalgamations Group was based on the business philosophy of the highest standards of Business Ethics, Integrity and Social Responsibility - something that his father had practiced assiduously during his time at the helm of affairs of the group. Even today, the group continues to subscribe ti this philosophy and continues to set benchmarks for responsible corporate citizenship and governance.
In the liberal era, focusing on core competence ( engineering and automobile), the group has emerged India’s largest light engineering group with 47 companies and 12,000 workforce. In 2003-03, its turnover was Rs 2500 crore, which had grown to Rs 7000 crore in 2009-10.
Sivasailam is soft spoken and unpretentious. Perfectly at home in a well tailored suit or a simple Dhoti and shirt ensemble, he is a unique combination of seasoned business leader, opinion maker, educator, philanthropist and family man.He is strongly advocated industry’s support for educating the masses.
He had underlined the the contributions made by leading Indian business houses like Tatas, Bajaj, Mafatlal, TVS, Shakti group, Karumuthu Thiagarajar group and PSG in the fields of education and urged others to follow their model
He said the fast growing and successful Indian IT companies, enjoying tax benefits and making high profits, can earmark a portion of their profits to support primary and school education and providing healthcare at affordable cost to underprivileged sections.
He suggested the Government, which is providing tax benefits to IT companies, could make it mandatory for them to earmark a part of their profits to support these efforts.
He said Infosys Founder, N Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murthy have taken the lead to support the cause of education and it is worth following by more companies in the IT sector.
Similarly, Sivasailam referred to several stock broking firms and FIIs, who have no roots in the country but making huge gains out of their trading and investment in stock market. It should be made mandatory for them to earmark a part of these earnings to support education and healthcare facilities.
Sivasailam referred to the significant changes taking place in management which he felt were largely due to technological advancement and development of democracy.
Talking of changing values, he said encouraging speculative investments by means of policies affect the interest of small investor and middle class. Similarly, a credit based approach to development raises the question of long term sustainability as has been evidenced in the recent global economic down turn.
Stressing the need for fostering national interest in global competitiveness, he said policy makers need to more sharply focus and ensure that in the current shifting scenario, national interest is not forgotten. He also stressed the need for governance at all levels including Government.
