Life stories of Indian and South East Asian business leaders

Peter Church
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Life stories of Indian and South East Asian business leaders

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.

Episodes

  1. 6D AGO

    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 adv...

    30 min

  2. MAR 22

    Sengkham Phinith (1940-2022), civil engineer and former Vice Minister of Construction of Lao PDR

    Sengham Phinith was born on 2 December, 1940 near the Lao capital, Vientianne. He trained as a civil engineer rising to Vice Minister of Construction before being falsely accused, dismissed and exiled to a remote region for four years. The way he dealt with this cruel experience is inspirational. On his release in 1988 he founded a civil engineering consulting firm. He passed away on 31 January, 2022. This chapter appears in my book, Added Value -the life stories of leading ...

    13 min

  3. MAR 19

    Shahnaz Husain (born 1941) is the founder of The Shahnaz Husain Group of India which is internationally renowned for organic beauty care, based on Ayurveda, blending ancient traditions with advanced techniques.

    Shahnaz Husain has built an enormous health care business from very humble beginnings starting in her New Delhi home. It is an extraordinary life where she was born into a conservative Muslim family, married at 15 and became a mother at 16, spent time in Tehran before being ordered to return to India by her father when he heard that Shahnaz and her husband might take up Iranian citizenship. That was when she started her business which was an immediate success. Her father did not a...

    31 min

  4. MAR 14

    Vijaypat Singhania (born 1938) is a member of the prominent Indian Singhania family having been chairman and managing director of the leading textile company, Raymond Group

    Vijaypat Singhania, often known as VPS, has led an extraordinary life which is unique in many ways. He was born into a prominent and successful Marwari "joint family" whose original business was founded over a century ago, experienced an unhappy childhood at the hands of a "wicked stepmother", was betrothed at 12 to his future wife who was 9 at the time and somehow managed to combine a career as an industrialist with his "addiction" or obsession with flying a huge range of aircraft from micro...

    38 min

  5. MAR 5

    U Nay Oke was born into a prominent Burmese family in 1943 and is the founder of a well known English language school

    There is a chapter on U Nay Oke's life in my South East Asian Added Value book. However, I also interviewed U Nay Oke a few years ago for my Myanmar Oral History podcast ( https://myanmaroralhistoryprojectlifestories.buzzsprout.com) and, although it is a far longer interview than what is covered on the chapter on his life in the book, I thought you would find it interesting in providing an insight in the life of post WW2 life in Myanmar. For those who do not have time to listen to...

    1h 9m

  6. FEB 27

    Phu Kok An, founder of Anco Brothers Cambodia (born 1954)

    Okhna (Lord) Phu Kok An has had a remarkable life. He successfully navigated the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime and the life threatening risks of being killed by pirates when he was involved in the early days of smuggling goods from Thailand to Vietnam during the US trade embargo. He then moved into the cigarette business and for many decades has been the exclusive agent for BAT in Cambodia and now represents other famous brands such as Evian and Budweiser. Anco Brothers is now...

    22 min

  7. FEB 25

    G M Rao, Founder and Chairman of GMR Group, India (born 1950)

    Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (often known as "GMR") is the founder and Chairman of GMR Group, a major Indian conglomerate with businesses in a range of sectors such as airports (e.g. Delhi, Hyderabad, Goa and Medan), Energy (a mix of coal, gas and renewables), Transportation (e.g highways), Urban Infrastructure and Aero Services - see https://www.gmrgroup.in/. My interview with GMR is contained within my book, "Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders" published by Roli boo...

    30 min

  8. FEB 25

    Eka Tjipta Widjaja, Indonesian - founder and chairman of the Sinar Mas Group (1921-2019)

    I interviewed Eka Tjipta Widjaja around 1995 when he was in his mid 70s and had already started handing over day to day running of Sinar Mas (https://www.sinarmas.com/en/) to his sons. His was a remarkable life and I must admit I was amazed at the ingenuity and business acumen he demonstrated from an early age and how he worked his way through his early failures. This podcast covers his chapter in my book Added Value -the life stories of leading South East Asian business people pu...

    23 min

  9. FEB 25

    Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair, Indian (1922-2014), the founder of the Leela Hotel Group

    Captain Krishnan Nair led an extraordinary life as you will hear from the excerpts I will read from the chapter on his life in Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders (published 2010 by Roli Books - https://rolibooks.com/). He founded The Leela Hotel Group (https://www.theleela.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 li...

    20 min

  10. FEB 25

    Yusuf Khwaja Hamied (born 25 July 1936) is Non Executive Chairman of Cipla, a major Indian generic pharmaceuticals company founded by his father Khwaja Abdul Hamied in 1935.

    Yusuf Khwaja Hamied (born 25 July 1936) is Non Executive Chairman of Cipla (https://www.cipla.com/), a major generic pharmaceuticals company founded by his father Khwaja Abdul Hamied in 1935. I interviewed him around 2005 in his office in Mumbai. His story appears in my first Indian life story book, "Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders" which was published in 2010 by Roli Books (https://rolibooks.com/) Please note that these interviews took place some time ag...

    40 min

  11. FEB 25

    Henry Sy, Founder of SM Investments/SM Group of the Philippines (1934-2019)

    Henry Sy, the founder of SM Investments/SM Group (https://www.sminvestments.com/) started with a small shoe shop in Manila and built the business into the largest shopping mall business in the Philippines and China along with many department stores, supermarkets and grocery stores. The business also includes Banco de Oro and numerous real estate projects. At the time I interviewed him in 1998 his business was already massive but much of the growth was in the years after my interview and for a...

    14 min

  12. FEB 25

    Introduction to podcast on life stories of leading South East Asian and Indian businessmen and women

    I have written three life story books - two on India and one on South East Asia. The first being Added Value - the life stories of leading South East Asian business people published in 1999 by Murmeli , the second being Added Value - the life stories of Indian business leaders published in 2010 by Roli Books (https://rolibooks.com/) and the third being Profiles in Enterprise - inspiring stories of Indian business leaders published in 2015 also by Roli Books. The books cover...

    2 min
  • 12 Episodes

    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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