In this article Aditya, Content Marketing Manager lists out the five family businessmen who took their companies to new heights

As per siliconindia.com, “India has the highest percentage of family businesses in Asia, accounting for 67 percent of the listed companies with market capitalization of more than $50 million.”

This survey points out that 663 out of 983 companies were family businesses which accounted for half of the corporate hiring. This directly means that family businesses in India account for 46.8% of the total market capitalization. In the same study, reports reflected that most of these family-controlled businesses have been delivering impressive returns on investment and investors have been willing to fund more such businesses.

However, what is it that has brought a boost in the family business sector?

As per a report by PWC, growth in the Indian economy between 2014 (GDP growth of 7.3%) and 2016 (GDP growth of 7.6%) is reflected in the growth of family business enterprises. 75% of those interviewed said that their business had grown over the last 12 months.

The reasons for such growth can be many. Right from the ways to venture out and bring additional capital to the family business, to bringing in the successor to the business. The past decade has seen an incredible integration of new and old generation coming together and implementing the best of marketing techniques, product ideas and law to take the family business to new heights.

For example, in my last article “How can you help your family business to go to the next level of growth” I had mentioned about how an able son after taking an online course could figure out why the tenders of the family business were not bringing favorable results. It was then when he changed his family business strategy and took it to new heights.

There are individuals who have taken their family business to heights and this article is nothing less than a tribute to them.

Here are some of the lesser acknowledged family businessmen who have done wonders with what was handed over to them by their forefathers:

Anand Burman, Dabur India

Mr. Burman is the chairman of Dabur India. At the age of 60, he is the fifth generation of the Burman family handling this multi-million empire. Ever after getting a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry, Mr. Burman played a key role in setting up the company’s pharma division. He grew the consumer goods company and was eventually appointed as the company’s chairman.

Mr. Burman’s focus has primarily been to turn the business into a multinational empire. After he was convened the chairman, Dabur made its acquisition of Hobi Kozmetic, a Turkish Personal Care Group. It looks like after Dabur got on a spree to acquire other companies like Namaste Laboratories, Ajanta Pharma, etc. As per this report by the business world, Anand Burman has by been the best bid by the Burman family post their exit from Dabur Pharma. The revenues have hit an all-time increase of 30% ever since Mr. Burma took over in 2007.

Adi Godrej, Godrej Group

Even in his 70s, Mr. Godrej is still a prodigy when it comes to taking care of family business. Mr. Godrej is a perfect example of how to be a constant protagonist to keep the name of the company up and running, both nationally and internationally.

Under Mr. Godrej, Godrej Group has managed to come up with the maximum number of products in a plethora of markets. As per MBA Rendezvous, these products capture 40% of the market share which includes hair colors, almirah, refrigerators, locks, etc.

It is a known fact that after Mr. Godrej inducted himself into the family business, he has managed to bring in innovation and consistency in hierarchy, systematic management and channelized the process. Under his leadership, the Godrej Group has undoubtedly grown leaps and bounds.

Pawan Munjal, Hero MotoCorps

Aged 52, Mr. Pawan Munjal has been the man behind turning Hero MotoCorp into a global company. Being the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, Hero MotoCorps saw a rise in the revenue of the company of about 48% after he joined.

A graduate of mechanical engineering from NIT, Kurukshetra, Mr. Munjal has played an instrumental role in bringing technological and managerial evolution in the company. If the reports are to be believed, in the year 2008 which casted a dry spell on the global market due to the global recession, Mr. Munjal passionately sailed Hero MotoCorp out of the crises and registered sales of over 4.4 million units.

If I were to go by my previous article titled What Can Lawyers Learn From Wolves, comparing qualities of wolves and what’s common between them and lawyers, Mr. Munjal would be termed a leader wolf as he has always managed to keep his pack ahead of everyone.

Rajan Nanda, Escorts Group

The chairman and joint managing director of the Escorts Group Mr. Nanda rose to fame between 2009 to 2011 when the sales jumped by 49%. Escorts Group was well-known to manufacture tractors and construction equipment from 1994.

Today, Mr. Nanda has managed to expand the company to new markets. The group now has links with many international firms, and are actively changing the company policies, hiring, and management to suit the international standards.

Arunachalam Vellayan, Murugappa Group

Mr. Vellayan is the executive chairman of the Murugappa is the fourth generation successor of the group. As per this report he is known to be the most aggressive of the lot. As per Mr. Ravichandran, director at Murugappa Board, “Earlier, the focus was on control. Now it’s about finding opportunities.”

Mr. Vellayan is passionate and farsighted. Under him, Murugappa Group acquired Godavari Fertilisers in Andhra Pradesh, GMR Sugars in Karnataka, Sabero Organics in Gujarat, an abrasives plant in Russia, and the world’s largest manufacturer of zirconia in South Africa. It also sold its confectionaries business to Korea’s Lotte, sanitaryware business to Spain’s Rocco, and most recently its mutual funds business to L&T Finance. Under him, the revenue grew by 64% from 2009 to 2011.

All of these individuals have made a massive difference in their industries, home groups, and family business. It is not just the background that matters, it is what they learn, experience and apply. Mr. Vellayan for that matter took some bold steps to build the Murrugan empire. He had to restructure his companies to bring them under one unit. However, that wouldn’t have been possible without him having a thorough knowledge of the business.

These issues do not only pertain to the biggies of the Indian commercial sector but also the small-scale family businesses. For example, one of our NUJS Diploma Course student’s family was engaged in chikan work in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. They had been exporting such dress material to various countries through an agent.

After taking our course and understanding the import-export laws, she realized that all it would take her is a clearance certificate and she could save the commission that the family provides to the export agent, which was a huge cut. After she did that, the family started making more profits. You can find a link to our course on import and export here.

A successful successor is someone who can take the family business to the new heights. A lot of knowledge, some innovation and immense respect to what’s been done so far can make anyone go a long way.

Who knows, you could be on the list next.