Billionaire business tycoon and chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam Birla has earned a lot of adjectives over the years. He has been written about and his every move has been scrutinised by the world, given his global status. However, a packed banquet hall full of people gathered at the ITC Royal Bengal witnessed a session that gave a rare insight into the man that he is. Excerpts from Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla Unplugged by Ladies Study Group on June 12:

Starting out

It was very overwhelming as I was just 28. There were lots and lots of emotional turmoil because my father (Aditya Vikram Birla) passed away very young, unexpectedly. I had something that kept me going and that could take my mind off all the personal stuff that had happened in the last few years before that.

I had done my CA and MBA. More than that, I had spent a lot of time working with my father. I understood business and its dynamics and my father made sure I knew that. I had worked with him for two years and he made sure I paid attention. I remember that I was supposed to go on a work trip and I didn’t end up going. I told my dad that I was “very tired” and I remember him telling me that he hadn’t heard of anyone who died of being tired. What do I say to that?

I have learnt from my grandfather and great grandfather that wealth has to be used for society as opposed to being lavish and spending mindlessly and that wealth wouldn’t stay very long with you if you were to do that. They also talked about personal habits and how that leads to character formation and the kind of impact it has on your future generations. My great grandfather was very influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.

Next-gen Birlas

I think everyone’s style of parenting and views on parenting are personal. For Neerja (his wife) and me, we believed that we wanted our children to start off with what they wanted to do, which would help them to groom themselves as individuals and to pursue their passions. Our only condition was that they had to work very hard at it. So you have to work very hard at what you do and try your very best to excel in it. And we are really happy because I see both of them do that. My daughter (Ananya Birla) is not just a pop singer but she also runs her own micro-finance start-up. She has also gotten into affordable housing that we keep a watch on — well, at a very broad level because they won’t let you get closer than a point, this generation. But we have a very good sense of what she is doing. Her music is very interesting and she is doing quite well. She’s got a little fan following of her own. My son (Aryaman Birla) plays cricket. He is with the Rajasthan Royals and plays for Madhya Pradesh Under-23, of which he is the captain. So the point being these kids are really brilliant. This generation is a really different generation from ours. I think it’s important to give them freedom as long as they are reasonable, as long as they are very clear about family values and sticking to those, as long as they are associating with the right people and in our case, we are fortunate that all of these are regarded.

Word of advice for young ’uns

I think from a business point of view it’s very important before you get into a business to understand the basics of the business and to really understand its value-drivers and what makes it click as opposed to getting into a business because it’s sexy and savvy — it’s the worst thing to do, which many kids of this generation are falling prey to. There are many of them who are also doing very well. So I think, from a business point of view, that’s the advice I would give.

I think Indian entrepreneurship is one of the biggest strengths of our country. But it’s also important to do your homework. So that’s the advice that I would give.

Business reform wish list

Wow, I wasn’t expecting a business question! I think that there’s a lot more that can be done to ease businesses. The government has done a lot. I think the state governments have to follow suit and work in a collaborative way. That is one thing I think that can really move the needle and make a huge difference.

So we know that there are many such issues that India as a country is facing. There are two-three that strike out to me. I think our education needs a reform. Education, as a sector, in our country is hugely regulated and there’s so much of intellectual capital. We are known as one of the intellectual capitals of the world, thanks to the IT industry, but the sector still remains highly regulated. The other is to make India green. I don’t think we are going to leave the planet a better place for our children, so emission norms and sustainability initiatives should be looked into.

Success mantra

We always say this that our group is all about the people. And I think one of the most important responsibilities and duties for each one of us in the company is to create a pipeline of leaders. In fact, one of the asks that we have is how many leaders are you creating below you? Are you creating a pipeline of leaders? Not just at the top of the company but also across the length and breadth of the company. It’s a very competitive environment in corporate India now. So if you have two people who are performing as well, the one who has spent more and is more inclined to develop more leaders would steal a march over the other. We also say that we don’t want to have individual stars who can’t work in a team, we need people who can create teams around them. So it’s about people and it’s about building things.

Women in business

We have, if I remember right, 23,000 women managers out of a total of out of 130,000. In top management it’s just five per cent. It is very disappointing. So diversity is something important for us for going forward. We want to see many more women. I can see that at middle-manager level, we have several women but our endeavour is to create jobs for women that are not just jobs in PR and marketing but frontier jobs. So we have a woman who heads our aluminium rolling company unit in a town near Mumbai and she is doing a great job. And I think that women make very good managers. We hope to have more than 30 per cent women in the next five years. I don’t think women need any kinds of concession, I think they can make it on their own merits.

The legacy of things

I have no interest in leaving a legacy behind, to be really honest with you. Continuing my family legacy has always been a big thing for me right from the start. Leaving my own legacy is not just something that I really think about or I honestly feel about.

Each of my roles has been very interesting. It’s taught me and stretched me. You know it has taken me to dimensions that I would not have needed to go to earlier. I think that BITS (Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani) is a role that is particularly interesting. It’s a family legacy and I’ve been entrusted in leading it. It’s a rare legacy and something that I feel really proud about. IIM (Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad) is something that is really close to my heart because not only is it such an iconic institution, it’s my subject, I have lived my last 30 years so I can relate to it much more whether it’s pedagogy, whether it’s curriculum — that’s something that I can relate to. Education is something that’s of interest but my heart is in my work. I mean, I have spent I think most of my energy in the last 25 years doing what I have done at work.