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. 4D AGO

    Ambassador Alfonso Tiaoqui Yuchengco , Founder, Yuchengco Group of Companies in the Philippines (1923-2017)

    Ambassador Yuchengco founded the Yuchengko Group of Companies.  By the time I met him in 1998 he was already 75 and had  handed over day to day management to his eight children.  The group is prominent in many business sectors and includes major companies such as Malayan Insurance, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and House of Investments - https://www.ygc.com/ He has led an extraordinary life and, following his successful business career, has represented the Philippines as its Ambassador at the United Nations, Japan and China and held several other prominent advisory roles for Philippines' Presidents. He also had an unusual childhood with one particular experience which, as an Australian, feels very strange to me.  Several of his older brothers died at birth and his parents immediately adopted a boy in the place of the biological brother who had died.  His parents were quite superstitious so, when Alfonso was born and survived, to protect him they brought him up as a daughter until he was 6 or 7. 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.

    9 min

  2. FEB 17

    Radhe Shyam Agarwal, co-founder and Chairman, Emami, born 1946

    Radhe Shyam Agarwal, is the co-founder and Chairman of Emami (https://www.emamiltd.in/) which is leading Indian conglomerate involved in  the businesses of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), paper, real estate, edible oils, health care and cement.  He is almost always referred to as RS Agarwal along with his co-founder and partial namesake, Radhe Shyam Goenka who is similarly almost always referred to as RS Goenka. As you will hear the lives of the two founders are inextricably intertwined and in many ways they are alter egos and compliment each other brilliantly. 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

  3. FEB 14

    Venu Srinivasan, Emeritus Chairman of TVS Motor Company, born 1952

    Venu Srinivasan is one of the grandsons of the founder of TVS Motor Company,  T. V. Sundaram Iyengar.  Under Venu's "watch" TVS (https://www.tvsmotor.com/en/ec/About-Us/overview) has grown to be the third-largest motorcycle company in India by revenue. TVS is also the second largest two-wheeler exporter in India with exports to over 60 countries.  In addition, he serves on the board of Tata Sons and as one of the vice-chairmen of Tata Trusts. He received the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award in January 2020. Venu's wife Mallika Srinivasan is also a major Indian industrialist in her own right. She is the chairman and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited founded in 1960 by her grandfather.  The company is commonly known as TAFE and is the second largest manufacturer of tractors in Indian after Mahindra and Mahindra.  The life story of the late chairman of Mahindra and Mahindra, Keshub Mahindra is also covered in this podcast series. TVS' relationship with General Motors of the US was also extremely important in the early growth of the company and many family members including Venu's father were sent to General Motors for training.  Venu refers to General Motors as "GM" in the podcast.  You will also hear Venu refer to Professor Lord Bhattacharyya with huge respect and appreciation for his advice and assistance to TVS.  He was a British-Indian engineer, educator and government advisor. In 1980, he became Professor of Manufacturing Systems at the University of Warwick and founded the Warwick Manufacturing Group. In 2004, he was made a life peer and became a member of the House of Lords. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 79. 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.

    33 min

  4. FEB 14

    Keshub Mahindra, former Emeritus Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra 1923- 2023

    Keshub Mahindra was born in Shimla in 1923 into a well to do family.  Many in the family were educated at prestigious international universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and, in Keshub's case, Wharton.   Keshub's father, K C Mahindra (1894-1963) and uncle, J. C. Mahindra (1892-1950) founded Mahindra & Mahindra (https://www.mahindra.com/) in 1945. The group has grown to be one of the most respected groups in India with a dominant position in farm equipment (and particularly tractors where it is one of the largest producers globally) and in the automobile sector where it produces a range of SUVs and utility vehicles.  At the time I interviewed Keshub in 2011 the group had over 140,000 employees.  Today it has over 320,000 employees across more than 20 industries and in over 100 countries. Keshub had a stellar career and was the Group's Chairman and Emeritus Chairman from 1963 to 2012. The only "stain" in his long career was that he was non executive Chairman of Union Carbide India at the time of the Bhopal disaster in December 1984 which led to the death of over 10,000 people in and around the factory .  He and several senior executives were found to be responsible. At the time I interviewed him in 2011 he was 88 and still extremely lucid with an excellent memory.  I certainly enjoyed spending time with him and found him to be a true gentlemen of the old school. I should also add this is a podcast episode where I have used Speechify to turn my written word into speech using AI with an Australian voice.  Apologies for any imperfections but certainly my experience so far is that AI can read far better than me! 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

  5. 11/26/2025

    B M Khaitan, 1927-2019, former Chairman of Williamson Magor.

    The first thing that I felt on setting foot in 4 Mangoe Lane in Calcutta in 2012 where Williamson Magor has its premises is the enormous respect in which its Chairman, Mr. Brij Mohan Khaitan, was held.  You could feel this respect from the security guards at the gate all the way through to the receptionist, lift operator and his secretary and on into Mr. Khaitan’s office where we met.  Immediately on meeting Mr Khaitan I was struck by the peace that seems to emanate from him.  I guess I should not have been surprised as it is not uncommon to find this peace in elderly people who have accepted their lot in life, whether it has been full of success, failure or a mixed bag.  And, boy oh boy, what a wonderfully interesting and satisfying life I learnt he has led. Williamson Magor (www.wmtea.com) is one of the world’s largest tea producers with plantations and operations in India (Assam and West Bengal) as well as Vietnam and Uganda.  I should also add this is my third podcast episode where I have used Speechify (https://speechify.com/) to turn my written word into speech using AI with an Australian voice.  Apologies for any imperfections but certainly my experience so far is that AI can read far better than me. 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

  6. 11/20/2025

    Arunachalam Vellayan, 1953-2025, former Chairman Murugappa Group, India, https://www.murugappa.com

    I received sad news this week that Arunachalam Vellayan, the former Chairman of Murugappa and a 4th generation member of the storied  business family and a great grandson of the founder Dewan Bahadur Murugappa Chettiar passed away in Chennai on Monday 17 November at the age of 72 after a long illness. This is my interview with Arunachalam Vellayan in 2012 when he was Chairman of Murugappa and he gave me a fascinating glimpse into the family history and the strategy the family has pursued.  The group is one of India’s leading conglomerates and is a market leader in a number of sectors, including abrasives, auto components, cycles, sugar, farm inputs, fertilizers, plantations, bio-products and nutraceuticals.  The interview is covered in a chapter of my 2015 book - Profiles in Enterprise Inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published by Roli Books. Like the interview just published on my interview with Anand Burman it is interesting to see how the Murugappa family has handled the role of women in the family and overall it is seems clear why the strategies of these two families have succeeded in modern India.  What is unusual about the Murugappa group is its success internationally and particularly in South Africa. I should also add this is my second podcast episode where I have used Speechify (https://speechify.com/) to turn my written word into speech using AI with an Australian voice.  Apologies for any imperfections but certainly my experience so far is that AI can read far better than me. 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

  7. 11/20/2025

    Dr Anand Burman born 1950, Chairman Dabur Limited, India - https://www.dabur.com/

    This is my interview with Anand Burman in 2012 and which is a chapter in my 2015 book - Profiles in Enterprise Inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published by Roli Books. There will certainly have been changes in Burman Limited and the Burman family since the date of my meeting with Anand Burman but, in my opinion, the history of the Burman family is fascinating as is the way the family has successfully managed to make the transition from a small family business into the giant it is today.   And, as I mention in the book, from the hundreds of business leaders I have interviewed on their lives, Anand is the only one who explained the history visually by starting with a blank sheet of paper onto which he created a family tree. I should also add this is my first podcast episode where I have used Speechify (https://speechify.com/) to turn my written word into speech using AI with an Australian voice.  My next challenge is to clone my own voice into the system so it sounds more like me.  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.

    24 min

  8. 11/18/2025

    Dr Anji Reddy, 1941-2013, founder of Dr Reddy's Laboratories, India - https://www.drreddys.com/

    As will become clear as you listen to this chapter, not only did Dr Reddy have a brilliant scientific mind but he was able to pick and develop drugs which were "winners".  The world was indeed fortunate that his cousin persuaded him to study chemistry rather than history!  The company he founded is now the 10th largest pharma company in India and in the top 50 world-wide - https://www.drreddys.com/. This episode is my reading of the chapter on his life in my book Added Value (Roli Books, 2010) 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.

    22 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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