Anand Mahindra

Born On: 1st May, 1955
Born In: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Career: Entrepreneur

Anand Mahindra is the Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group, which is amongst the top ten industrial houses in India. This renowned group was established by his grandfather K.C. Mahindra in Ludhiana, Punjab. Anand Mahindra is interested in educational issues and sports and thus, is a member of Harvard Business School - Asia-Pacific Advisory Board, Harvard Business School - Member of the Board of Dean's Advisors, Harvard University Asia Centre - Advisory Committee, Asia Business Council, National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), Government of India - Council and Executive Committee, The Nehru Centre, Mumbai - Executive Committee, National Council of Applied Economic Research, National Institute of Bank Management, Pune - Governing Board. A long list, don't you think? Apart from this, he is a big fan of football and plays tennis quite a lot too. Read on to know more about the man behind the Mahindra & Mahindra Group.

Early Life
Anand Mahindra was born on 1st May, 1955 in Mumbai, Maharashtra and belongs to a famous business family. He is the son of late Harish Mahindra and Indira Mahindra. In 1977, he pursued a graduate degree at the Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Phoenix S.K. Club. In 1981, he finished his Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts. He is now married to Anuradha Mahindra, who is the famous editor of the magazines 'Verve' and 'Man's World' and is the Editor-in-Chief of Rolling Stone India. The couple together has two daughters.

Career
In 1981, Anand Mahindra came back to India and joined the Mahindra Ugine Steel Company (MUSCO) as an Executive Assistant to the Finance Director. In 1989, he became the President of this leading group and this was when he expanded the company into the sectors of real estate development and hospitality. In 1991, he was assigned the duty of Deputy Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Group. He took the responsibility as the Managing Director of the business in 1997 and became the Vice Chairman in 2003. Besides this, he was a Co-Promoter of Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd., and transformed it into a bank in 2003. Kotak Mahindra Bank is now one of the leading banks in the private sector. It was under Anand's management that his group successfully set up global objectives and standards for achieving success. In the year 2002, the Mahindra & Mahindra Group introduced an indigenously developed SUV, the Scorpio, which built positive impressions for the company and helped give it a global identity. Thus, the company has developed through both acquisitions and Greenfield business development. The company's possession activities include the possession of Satyam Computer Services in 2009, Reva Electric Vehicles in 2010 and Ssangyong Motor Company in 2010.

Anand has been the past President (2003-04) of the Confederation of Indian Industry and has also served the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) as its President. Anand Mahindra is the Co-Founder of the Harvard Business School Association of India, which is an association devoted to the advancement of professional management in India. He is also the Co-Chairperson of the World Economic Forum at Davos. Mr. Anand is a Director of the National Stock Exchange of India Limited selected under the 'Public Representatives' category. Along with this, he is the Trustee of the K.C. Mahindra Education Trust, which offers scholarships to students and he also on the Board of Governors of the Mahindra United World College of India. He is the Chairman of the National Safety Council of India and is the Founder Chairman of the Mumbai Festival, which began in 2005. This occasion was the first inclusive festival to celebrate the opulent cultural diversity of Maharashtra. Anand Mahindra is the Co-Chairman of the International Council of Asia Society, New York.

Awards and Accolades
Anand Mahindra was honored as the Knight of the Order of Merit by the President of the French Republic in 2004 and also received the Rajiv Gandhi Award for his outstanding contributions to the business field. It was in 2005, when he was awarded the Person of the Year award from Auto Monitor and the Leadership Award from the American India Foundation for the commitments to corporate social responsibility met by him and the Mahindra & Mahindra Group. In 2006, he received the CNBC Asia Business Leader Award and the Ludhiana Management Association presented him with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2007, he received the honor/title of the 'Most Inspiring Corporate Leader of the Year' from NDTV Profit. He has been entitled as the Business Leader of the Year (2008-2009) by the Economic Times Awards. Recently, Anand was ranked as one of the most influential men & women in Mumbai by Daily News and Analysis.

Contribution
Anand Mahindra contributed $ 10 million to the Harvard University in the name of his mother, Indira Mahindra for supporting the Humanities Center. This huge amount was contributed for the advancement of the distinctive interdisciplinary alliances led by the Director of the Humanities Center, Homi Bhabha. Under Anand's supervision, the company opened a new and separate field, Mahindra Systems and Automotive Technologies to lay emphasis on enhanced modules and to offer better engineering services. Apart from this, the firm has made strategic acquisitions of plants in the United Kingdom and China. It has three assembly plants in the United States of America and has collaborated with international companies like Renault SA, Nissan and the International Truck and Engine Corporation, USA.

Timeline
1955: Born in Mumbai, Maharashtra
1981: Returned to India and joined Mahindra Ugine Steel Company (MUSCO) as an Executive Assistant to the Finance Director
1989: Became the President of this leading group
1991: Became the Deputy Managing Director of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group
1997: Became the Managing Director of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group
2003: Became the Vice-Chairman of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group
2004: Knight of the Order of Merit by the President of the French Republic.
2005: Person of the Year from Auto Monitor and Leadership Award from the American India Foundation.
2006: Received the CNBC Asia Business Leader Award and Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Ludhiana Management Association.
2007: Received the Inspiring Corporate Leader of the Year Award from NDTV Profit.