Life stories of Indian and South East Asian business leaders

Peter Church
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I have written two life story books on Indian business leaders and one on South East Asian business leaders.  The first is Added Value - the life stories of leading South East Asian business people published in 1999 by Murmeli , the second is Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders published in 2010 by Roli Books (https://rolibooks.com/) and the third is Profiles in Enterprise - inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published in 2015 also by Roli Books.  Many people these days like to listen to audio books, podcasts and interviews rather than, or in addition to, reading books, magazines or newspapers.  There were so many inspiring and extraordinary stories told to me by the subjects of my books that I thought podcast fans might like to hear the best of them in this podcast - https://lifestoriesofindianandsoutheastasianbusinessleaders.buzzsprout.com.

  1. 11 JUNE

    Ir. Ciputra, born Tjie Tjin Hoan (1931-2019), a major Indonesian property developer and later in his life a significant philanthropist

    Like all of the interviews for my books you may find it strange that I find each one unique in different ways.  This is the only interview where I was first interviewed by the subject and, having satisfied him of my bona fides, it is one of the most unusual interviews I have ever done.  It extended over several hours as, once Ciputra got flowing with his life story, he did not want to stop. But, as he had many meetings that day, he took me to them and this allowed us to continue in his car on the way to and from the various meetings. I interviewed Ciputra just after the Asian Economic Crisis hit Indonesia in 1997.  His group was significantly affected and it is my understanding he is one of a small number of developers who honoured his debts which meant it took many years for his Group to recover and continue to grow. There is one haunting story he told me of the last time he saw his father.  A distressing image of that has remained with me until today some 25 years later. Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    18 min

  2. 25 MAY

    Rahul Bajaj (1938-2022) was Chairman Emeritus of the Bajaj Auto empire founded by his grandfather, Jamnalal Bajaj

    Rahul Bajaj who passed away at the age of 83 in 2022 had a larger than life personality and, like many of those who I have interviewed for my life story books, was a clear business thinker.  He was Chairman Emeritus of the Bajaj Auto empire founded by his grandfather, Jamnalal Bajaj and which was developed to become one of the largest Indian auto groups during his and his father's generation.  He was awarded India's third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan in 2001.  Most of this podcast is my reading of the chapter on his life in my book Added Value (Roli Books, 2010) but includes at the end a story from a very small lunch he attended in Delhi with me, the then Australian High Commission and an Australian billionaire.  Rahul's response to what I considered to be a most inappropriate question by the Australian businessmen is one of the most polite, but crushing, "put downs" I have ever experienced. Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    29 min

  3. 15 MAY

    Julius Tahija (1916-2002) a leading Indonesian businessman and pre Independence politician and military officer.

    Julius Tahija who died in 2002 at the age of 86 was an extraordinary man.  As you will hear he followed a number of core principles which served him well throughout his life as a soldier (awarded the Netherlands Military Order of William during WW2 being that country's oldest and highest military honour) as a politician (holding several Ministerial posts in East Indonesia pre Independence) as a businessman as an investor in many businesses (via his holding company P.T. Austindo Nusantara Jaya), as a corporate leader (through his Chairmanship of Caltex Indonesia) and as a family man (to his Australian wife Jean and their two sons, Sjakon and George). Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    25 min

  4. 11 MAY

    Ela Bhatt (1933 – 2022) founded the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) in 1972. From humble beginnings it now has over 3.2 million members.

    Ela Bhatt was an absolutely extraordinary women who passed away in 2022 at the age of 89. The Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) she founded against strong opposition now has over 3.2 million members across 18 states in India. SEWA advances the rights of women workers in the informal economy such as those selling fruit and vegetables in the street.  Not only did Ela have to fight long and hard to establish SEWA but that is not the only fight she had as it took many long years for her to persuade her parents to allow her to marry Ramesh Bhatt, the love of her life. As you will hear her long association with SEWA ended sadly but opened up another chapter in her long life. As an indication of her global prominence in the area of the rights of women she was an inaugural member of the influential global problem solving group called The Elders  (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elders_(organization)) which was founded in 2007 by Nelson Mandela along with other prominent members such as Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Graca Machel, Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, Muhammad Yunus, Li Zhaoxing, Lakhdar Brahimi and Aung San Suu Kyi. My interview with Ela is contained within my book, "Profiles in Enterprise - inspiring stories of Indian business leaders" published by Roli books in 2015 ((https://rolibooks.com/). Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    48 min

  5. 6 MAY

    Professor Bala V Balachandran (1937-2021) was the founder, chairman and dean emeritus of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, India

    Following receiving his undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Maths and Statistics  at Annamalai University in his birth State of Tamil Nadhu, a young Bala Balachandran followed the path of many bright young Indians in the 1960s and moved to the US where he had a very successful academic and management consulting career ending as Professor Emeritus of Accounting Information and Management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University  (which was ranked the #3 US business school in 2025 ).  However he always yearned to establish a business school in his home state of Tamil Nadhu which could offer management training courses (equivalent to an MBA in the US) .  This wish became a reality when in 2004 he founded Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai whilst continuing his professorial role at Kellogg.  Under his guidance, until he passed away at the age of 85 in 2021, the Institute has gone from strength to strength. Great Lakes has been accredited by the Association of MBAs in the UK.  It is the youngest  and 7th institute in India to get accreditation from this association. Great Lakes is also accredited by the South Asian Quality Assurance System and by the US based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business which is one of the three bodies authorised to accredit business schools. My interview with Professor Bala is contained within my book, "Profiles in Enterprise - inspiring stories of Indian business leaders" published by Roli books in 2015 ((https://rolibooks.com/). Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    32 min

  6. 24 APR

    Alluri Venkata Sathyanarayana Raju (born 18 April 1937), commonly known as AVS Raju is the founder chairman of Hyderabad headquartered Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd.

    AVS Raju (born 1937) is certainly one of the most unique businessmen I have met. Not only is he obsessed with punctuality in a country where being on time is the exception rather than the rule but he is also a deeply spiritual man and a devout follower of the late His Holiness Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba who passed away at the age of 85 in 2011. So devout in fact that AVS has written over 17,000 short poems on this guru.  When I interviewed AVS in 2007 his poems had been compiled to create a book over one meter high! My interview with AVS Raju is contained within my book, "Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders" published by Roli books in 2010 ((https://rolibooks.com/). Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    19 min

  7. 20 APR

    Narayana Murthy, born 1946, is one of the seven co-founders of Infosys, the leading global technology company

    Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy (born 20 August 1946) is an Indian businessman. He is one of the seven co-founders of the leading global technology company, Infosys and was at different times its chairman, chief executive officer, president, and chief mentor before retiring and becoming chairman emeritus. Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He has been described as the "father of the Indian IT sector" by Time magazine and CNBC for his contribution to outsourcing in India. Murthy has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards.  He is the father-in-law of Rishi Sunak, who was Prime Minister of the UK from 2022 to 2024. My interview with Professor Swaminathan is contained within my book, "Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders" published by Roli books in 2010 ((https://rolibooks.com/). Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    21 min

  8. 31 MAR

    Professor MS Swaminathan (1925-2023) - the father of India's green revolution

    Professor Swaminathan died at the age of 98 in 2023.  He was an extraordinary man and it is said his skills in genetic engineering and his powers of persuasion made famine an unfamiliar word in Asia. There is a memorable story of his encounter with the formidable Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who initially refused to allow him to take up what for him was the role of a life time as Director General of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.   The few words of advice he gave me as I was leaving his apartment after the interview have had a deep and lasting impact on me. My interview with Professor Swaminathan is contained within my book, "Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders" published by Roli books in 2010 ((https://rolibooks.com/). Please note that these interviews took place some time ago - over 25 years ago in the case of the South East Asian life story book and around 10 to 15 years ago in the case of the two Indian life story books. However, their stories are correct to the time of the interviews and the objective is to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills they exhibited at the time of the interviews in building their businesses.

    30 min
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About

I have written two life story books on Indian business leaders and one on South East Asian business leaders.  The first is Added Value - the life stories of leading South East Asian business people published in 1999 by Murmeli , the second is Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders published in 2010 by Roli Books (https://rolibooks.com/) and the third is Profiles in Enterprise - inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published in 2015 also by Roli Books.  Many people these days like to listen to audio books, podcasts and interviews rather than, or in addition to, reading books, magazines or newspapers.  There were so many inspiring and extraordinary stories told to me by the subjects of my books that I thought podcast fans might like to hear the best of them in this podcast - https://lifestoriesofindianandsoutheastasianbusinessleaders.buzzsprout.com.

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