mr. a m naik’s story - lntecc€¦ · students! if you go to vallah vidhya nagar, there are three...

2 3| ECC CONCORD, Jan - Mar 2015 ECC CONCORD, Jan - Mar 2015 |

Howard Schultz, Oprah Winfrey, Ralph Lauren, George Soros, A M Naik … they all have one thing in common apart from the fact that they are globally recognized celebrities and outstanding successes in their respective fields. They have all had a humble beginning. All these success stories are of individuals chasing a dream and finally realizing it. Mr. Naik’s saga is all about ‘devotion beyond dedication’ which has driven him from a small village in Gujarat to spearhead the fortunes of a true Indian multinational – Larsen & Toubro. His has been a tough and arduous journey but he has negotiated the twists and turns with elan, turned adversities into fantastic triumphs, helped many in Team L&T to become millionaires and placed L&T as one of the brightest stars in the global corporate firmament. A journey that is now five decades strong and growing stronger, and half a century of passion for all of us to learn from and salute a true champion!

Mr. A M NAik’s story

Living Lifethe L&t way!

The secret of my success is very simple.

It is passion and devotion.

Devotion is beyond the stage of dedication …

and far beyond that of hard work.

Devotion is when you worship your God in a temple.

My mandir, my temple has been Larsen & Toubro.

A M Naik


My upbringing has a lot to do with who i aM today

Mr. Naik hails from a ‘family of teachers’

or ‘Master Kutumb’ as they were referred

to in Gujarati. His grandfather was the

headmaster of the Gurukul school while his

father, an M.Sc. M.Ed, moved to Mumbai

in 1944 and became a senior teacher at

Hansraj Morarjee Public School at Andheri,

Mumbai, one of the best schools in the city.

Mr. Naik’s strong patriotic fervor comes

from his father who participated in

Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India movement

and, as Mr. Naik recalls, “under the

philosophical influence of Gandhiji that

India lives in the villages,” he decided to

return to his village, Kharel in Surat to

serve the community. A math and science

teacher par excellence, he soon became

the Principal of a newly started high school.

A forward thinking person, well ahead of

his time, he, despite strong opposition, got

his daughter educated in medicine making

her the first ever doctor and MD in their

entire community!

“I have only one role model – my father!’

avers Mr. Naik who carries other sterling

qualities of his father like indomitable

courage, relentless hard work, unyielding

passion and a ‘never say die’ attitude.

The move from Mumbai to a nondescript

village in 1952 did have an impact on young

Mr. Naik, leaving behind his expansive

public school with a large playground and

proper benches to be sitting on gobar

floors and having to appear for exams at

centres that were 15 km away. Undeterred,

he took everything in his stride and soon

school days were over and the more

exciting college days dawned. Though IITs

beckoned, he enrolled with Vallabh Vidhya

Nagar, Anand “which had an university

environment,” he points out.

College, however, couldn’t restrain this

exuberant young man who involved

himself in various student initiatives

and programmes and soon became the

undisputed Student Secretary. Not only

was he an all-rounder in sports, the lure of

the silver screen was very strong that saw

him sneak away to Baroda and Ahmedabad

to see multiple shows one after another. “I

saw Madhumathi seven times,” he declares

unabashedly.

The classroom saw little of Mr. Naik but

come exam time, he would focus sharply

on his studies. He once asked his roommate

to lock him up in his hostel room for a

few intensive weeks. Inevitably, when the

results were declared, the young Anil Naik

would be among the toppers.

PickiNg uP the threAds …the formative years of a leader in the making


When I was a student 52 years ago, there were two well-known companies where mechanical and civil engineers wanted to go - Larsen & Toubro and the Tata Group. Both professionally managed but not entrepreneurially professionally managed and while L&T was semi bureaucratic, the Tata group was a bureaucratic organization though now they have changed and have become entrepreneurial. I always desired to work in L&T while I was in engineering but couldn’t make it initially.

My father was a great social worker, committed to working for the poor and the down-trodden. Though, a very senior teacher who could have become a Principal of one of the best schools in Mumbai, he joined the Quit India movement in 1942 along with his sister, my aunt, and under Gandhiji’s philosophical influence strongly believed that India lived in villages and that villages have to come up for India’s prosperity. So when the opportunity arose of starting new schools, the trustees approached him to become the founding principal which he accepted, gave up his Mumbai job and returned to the village. Consequently, all of us went too. The change was radical. In Bombay I was sitting on a bench in a nice classroom but in the village I was sitting on a gobar floor till the 7th standard.

The first IIT came up in the year I finished 11th standard and I could have appeared for an open test in IIT, but my father told me to go to Vallah Vidhya Nagar, Anand, which had a university environment from where I graduated with a degree in engineering. Each of these events are important chapters in my life and hopefully one day I will write a book about them. Anyway, when I returned to Bombay after doing engineering, my English was very poor as I had studied in a vernacular language in a village all of 2500 people.

By the way, I was also a student leader and a president of 29,000 students! If you go to Vallah Vidhya Nagar, there are three buildings one of which is named Brilla Vishwakarma Mahavidhyalay, who established the college, the second is the founder and first principal’s hostel, called Junakar’s hostel. The third is named after a student – me, a huge building called the A M Naik block. I was an all-rounder; a sportsman and I used to play table tennis, shuttle, a little bit of cricket, a little bit of volley ball. Then, I was a secretary

“My fAther hAs beeN My oNly role Model iN life!”

of sports in the first year. Initially, I used to fight the elections every year but later there was no need because everybody knew that if I stood, I would win. Those were very interesting days indeed.

L&T did not call me for an interview initially as I was not from IIT because at that time they would only interview students from IITs and VJTI, Bombay. So I joined a small company called Nestor Boilers which is another chapter of my life. I was rising like a bullet in that company: At the age of 22, I first became a workshop-in-charge for burners, then for boilers and then for the whole workshop, both divisions. I was dealing with the union too. Things were going well and in January 1965, I was to go to England for training on the firing systems and boilers and my salary was to be Rs. 850 on my return.

However, one incident changed all this. There was only one phone in the entire factory. My cabin was the farthest so I had to run to take the call. One day when I came to take the phone, I saw the son of the owner who used that cabin and who always wanted everything instantly which was difficult in those days, call a Quality Control In-charge named Punewallah and fire him. Actually, he ridiculed him. I also fire people but I mean good to them so that they can improve and come up in life. When you ridicule, you are belittling and insulting people that can demoralize them and result in counter productivity. At such moments, I always think about how my father would react if he was in my place for he has been my only role model in life and I realized that I could not tolerate this value system. So, for the second time in my life, I sent applications to many companies one of which was Larsen & Toubro who wanted to enter pressure vessel manufacturing and boilers were one step higher than pressure vessels. The job was appropriate for me and I was called for the interview which is another big chapter in my life.

An

Inte

rvie

w

1963 saw Mr. Naik retrace his steps back to

Mumbai armed with an engineering degree

but he says with complete honesty, “an

engineer with poor English!” a drawback

that was soon to cost him dearly. Thanks

to a letter of introduction from his father to

Viren Shah of Mukand Steels, he was called

and asked to fill a form for the interview.

Disaster struck because the personnel

manager pointed out eight mistakes in the

form he had filled out. Realizing the need to

improve his English, Mr. Naik threw himself

the returN of the NAtive …and the first steps in his professional life!

into the exercise with his customary zeal.

Language audio cassettes and long hours

practicing in front of a mirror helped him

gain proficiency over the language.

His first stint as a professional was with

a Parsi company named Nestor Boilers,

located in the quiet environs of Byculla in

Mumbai. “They didn’t have money,” recalls

Mr. Naik but that did not prove to be a

growth deterrent for a young, enthusiastic

engineer who quickly grew the ranks

to become the workshop in-charge for

burners, later for boilers and soon followed

by the whole workshop for both divisions.

Mr. Naik, however, did not find their value

system palatable and although he was

destined for bigger things like being sent

to England for training and a salary hike on

his return, made up his mind to find fresh

pastures and started applying for jobs in

many companies, including L&T. uP close & PersoNAl

“i sAw MadhuMathi 7 tiMes!”I used to play cricket for the college though not for the university, but I still follow the game. Yes, my favourite actor in the old days used to be Dilip Kumar. I saw Madhumathi 7 times and 105 movies in my first year science. Today I like Amitabh Bachchan. But that’s another story. I used to see films one after another – 12-3, 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12. The theaters were all in a line in Baroda and you can come out of one and enter the other. At midnight after the last show, I used to catch the last train from Baroda at 1.45 am, reach Anand station at 3.15 am and then cycle the 5 kilometers to the hostel and then sleep. I rarely went to college because I was involved in all other activities. But I was always in top 5 ranks!


Earlier, L&T had not called him for an

interview as he was not an IIT-ian but now

with a year’s experience under his belt, Mr.

Naik found himself within the portals of

L&T, sitting in front of Mr. Baker answering

questions for an interview for the position

of Assistant Engineer. Though he scored

well with Mr. Baker who offered him the

job with a salary of Rs. 760 per month, Mr.

Gunnar Hansen, a stern Danish gentleman,

found Mr. Naik too cocky and watered

down the offer to a far poorer one. A

true gentleman, Mr. Baker felt bad that

the smart youngster was being unfairly

short-charged and attempted to mollify

him but Mr. Naik politely told him that he

had dreamt of joining L&T from his days

as a student and this was its realization;

“Money does not matter!”

So Mr. Naik joined L&T on March 15, 1965,

to mark the beginning of an era!

Mr. Baker had promised him a promotion

if he did “a damn good job” and both

were true to their word. Mr. Naik did a

damn good job and Mr. Baker rewarded

him with a pay hike to the afore promised

Rs. 760 and a confirmation. Again, as Mr.

Naik had predicted, time did tell and how!

18 months was all that it took for the

dynamic Mr. Naik in his early-twenties to

have the entire workshop of 850 workmen

at Powai reporting to him. Striking a quick

rapport with the workmen, he led from the

front, greatly enhancing productivity and

enforcing discipline using his inimitable

charm, and considerable persuasion skills –

backed by an unflinching sense of purpose.

He kept punishing hours starting his day at

7.30 in the morning and pushed himself

very hard. Often, his departing message

to his young wife would be, “if I am not

back by midnight, I will be back tomorrow

morning!” Such undeterred commitment

and fiery passion were reasons for his

meteoric rise to become the youngest

Production Manager and later the youngest

Deputy General Manager. Mentally ticking

off all the day’s events every morning

followed by a hard day’s work and a

thorough introspection at the end of the

day are habits that he cultivated right

from Day One of his career. These traits,

he feels, can help hone one’s skills. Old

timers of L&T still recall how he would ride

through the gates of Powai on his Vespa

scooter at odd hours of the night to inspect

production. This earned him the respect of

the workmen resulting in a harmonious

relationship with them that held him in

very good stead during negotiations with

the unions of yesteryears. Freedom at

work, the culture of learning from mistakes

and not repeating them, and a sense of

ownership were virtues that formed the

bedrock of Mr. Naik’s blossoming career at

L&T.

The early seventies saw the progressive exit

of Scandinavian Directors to be replaced by

their Indian counterparts. Mr Naik’s career

trajectory was not as rapid as before but

he did not let it affect his performance

and work. He remained steadfast in his

commitment and recognition and rewards

followed soon enough. By 1989, AMN was

on the board and a decade thereafter he

took over the reins of L&T as CEO.

l&t welcoMes Mr. A M Naik

you Make the coMpany strong, you Make your nation strong

At L&T, I met Mr. Baker, a Britisher for my interview. He was impressed with me and offered me a job as assistant engineer in the supervisory cadre with a salary of Rs. 760 but he said, “before I appoint you, I have to take you to the old man.” The old man was a General Manager from Denmark named Hansen who used to speak rhythmic English like the way Danish people speak and he asked me, among many questions, how many people report to me. I said about 350. “Oh that’s a lot … that’s a lot. In L&T it will take a long long time before you get such responsibility,” replied Mr. Hanson. Now I used to think in Gujarati and convert into English and I told you that my English was very poor so I just told him “Who knows, time will tell.” Now, in Gujarati it doesn’t sound so bad but in English it sounded cocky. He asked me to leave the room immediately. Within 30 seconds, Baker also came out of the room mumbling and back in his room he said that the old man thought that I was over confident and that I was being offered a salary of only Rs. 670 and not Rs. 760, not assistant engineer, not supervisory cadre. So I was downgraded across all three points … all within 45 minutes.

Language, I believe, is a vehicle of thought and anyone who has complete control on vocabulary can be a very successful speaker and a convincer for he will be able to share his thoughts and ideas.

Mr. Baker was apologetic because he liked me and promised to make it up in future if I did my best. I told him not to worry because as a student I had dreamt of joining L&T and now I was getting a chance to do so and that I was not worried about money. It is another matter that my previous company did not release me for three and half months because I was the key man for the whole company.

Finally, I joined L&T on 15th March, 1965 and since I did a damn good job, Mr. Baker gave me my confirmation on 15th September along with a rise in salary to Rs. 760 and I was made assistant engineer.

My entire life I have worked in L&T with passion, conviction, determination, commitment. One day about 7-8 years ago, my wife was interviewed on ‘Walk the Talk’ and she was asked how does she spend her time when her husband was hardly there, either travelling or not at home. She replied, “Look, when I got married and came into this house, I soon realized that my husband’s first wife was Larsen & Toubro and I was the second and I have accepted that situation because he works for a company that builds India.” She also said that she was very proud of me because all my energy goes towards building a brighter India of tomorrow.

“My eNtire life i hAve worked iN l&t with PAssioN, coNvictioN, deterMiNAtioN, coMMitMeNt.” A

n In

terv

iew

uP close & PersoNAl


Mr. Naik took charge as CEO in 1999 and

his first issue was to tackle L&T’s diversity;

precious resources were getting frittered

away into too many businesses, some

of which a legacy of the License Raj. In a

bold but brilliant move to rationalize the

portfolio, he decided to exit from over

a dozen companies while at the same

time create new opportunities in sizeable

segments to the tune of USD 1bn per

annum for long-term sustainability that

paved the way for L&T’s accelerated

growth. It was very much like pruning a

banyan tree for it to grow better.

Another challenge before him was to

transform market perceptions. Though

a professionally managed company, that

positive perception was not being reflected

in the company’s valuation because L&T

was too technology-focused with limited

emphasis on value creation. Mr. Naik

developed a long term vision to make L&T

A ceo’s eArly dAys

an Indian multinational by benchmarking

all its processes with the global best,

constantly creating value for stakeholders

and maintaining trust, faith and respect for

its prime asset – people.

He encapsulated this strategic thinking

in LAKSHYA – literally meaning ‘goal’ in

Sanskrit. LAKSHYA was also an acronym

with each letter standing for an attribute

of the organization that he dreamt to

create. ‘L’ stood for Lean, ‘A’ for Agile, ‘K’

for Knowledge, ‘S’ for Speed, ‘H’ Human,

‘Y’ for Yielding Value and ‘A’ for Action-

oriented.

Bullish about L&T, he ferociously and

fearlessly fought off several take-over bids

and in what analysts consider a brilliant

move and Mr. Naik himself says was a

“masterstroke”, he made employees of

L&T, co-owners of the company through

his stock option plans and the creation

My Mantra:

passion. coMMitMent.

devotion.

of an employees’ trust that held majority stake.

Having successfully played this masterstroke, he

declared, “Grow L&T to such a size and stature that

people will think twice before making overtures.”

Aligning L&T’s broad capabilities to the demands

of the emerging economic environment, Mr. Naik

deftly transformed the organization into a world-

class conglomerate, providing total project solutions

in critical sectors such as power, hydrocarbon,

infrastructure, IT & engineering services.

Over the years, Mr. Naik has led with conviction

and sagacity, steering the company through tough

times but never losing sight of his lofty goals. The

numbers tell the story: Rs. 1,55,000 crore market

cap, 8,70,000 happy shareholders, a 54,000-strong

workforce, expanding global presence and an ever

renewed vigour to deliver perfection.

13ECC CONCORD, Jan - Mar 2015 |12 | ECC CONCORD, Jan - Mar 2015

Be it tough negotiation with the workmen

on wages, or cordially requesting a

colleague to take up an overseas role,

Mr. Naik works his disarming charm to

advantage. The note of conviction in his

voice is all that is needed for one to accept

his point of view on things, which, most

often, is far-sighted and futuristic.

His working day has always been longer

than normal. Right from his early days

he was given to spending upwards of 14

A PeoPle’s chAirMAN

hours a day on the shop floor or in the

office, seldom taking a day off.

He could therefore empathize with the

issues faced by workmen and they in-turn

found in their Chairman, an approachable

and hardworking person who led by

example. Cutting across hierarchy, he

symbolized trust and assurance to the

entire workforce making him not just a

Chairman, but a ‘People’s Chairman’.

i was not a salesMan, nor a design Man.

i was always a people’s Man.

Firmly advocating the core principle, ‘People are our Prime Movers’, Mr. Naik created the

unique L&T Employees Welfare Foundation Trust that holds the company together. He

personally took it upon himself to steer HR, Training and Development, IT in business and

self-reliance in the organization’s transformational journey.

When I inherited L&T, the economy was not in a good shape. Secondly, two cement plants got capitalized so that the entire burden of depreciation and interest came on the company. Then, there was a hoarding contract signed before my time initially for one year and then it was converted to ten years with 15% escalation every year. The contract value was Rs. 500 crores while our profit was only Rs. 210 crores! I did not see the need for this because we were an engineering company, not a white goods company needing so much of advertising. It became a legal and then a criminal case but we won all of them. Finally, I cancelled the contract half way, converted the balance to 1/4th the cost and saved about Rs. 200 crores for the company. This took me one and half to two years.

I couldn’t make any significant new strategic decisions until I was out of all these past troubles. Then came the take-over bid and I fought virtually single-handedly to avert it. The final outcome was win-win for both: Grasim got cement and L&T, engineering and that is how the L&T Employee Foundation came into being. We are the largest shareholder from zero and none of the employees have paid for that money. We earned dividend and repaid the loan out of that dividend. It was a masterstroke. Then we gave stock options to about 2000 employees who all became millionaires. Since the entire debt was with L&T, our debt equity ratio had become 1:121, we had been downgraded by the rating agency to AA+ from AAA. Once I transferred all the debt to the cement company, our debt equity ratio improved from 1.121 to 0.1921 and we were upgraded to AAA. That was a terrific move. Our equity was Rs. 250 crores and with balance sheets of the past 21 years that I personally drew up, I proved to the board that all the money raised in the past was for cement, otherwise my equity should have been Rs. 15 crore not Rs. 250 crore. Finally, I settled with equity of Rs. 25 crores.

Fortunately, after 2003, the economy started to improve. I was in need of some capital to the tune of Rs. 275 crores, so I pledged the Grasim shares but managed only about Rs. 150 crores from the banks. Then I decided to give a 5% increase to all the employees on the condition that post tax, they contribute 3.5% to the L&T Foundation to repay the loan. This was a boon out of the blue for

"My MAsterstroke hAs chANged the lives of MANy of our eMPloyees ANd MAde theM MillioNAires ANd crorePAtis!“

them as they would get their money over 7 years with guaranteed returns of 5% post tax. We were able to repay L&T Foundation 2 years earlier and the banks 2 to 4 years earlier all because our dividend income went up. Starting from zero, our Employees Foundation today has Rs. 460 crores. What’s more, all employees got stock options, we became owners of the company as the largest shareholder, reduced debt, improved credit rating back to AAA, brought down equity and was able to give three bonuses in 2006, 2008 and 2011. The share price has multiplied some 1600 times and that is how many of our employees have become millionaires and crorepatis. There are many General Managers living in 2-bedroom flats who would have been forced to move to one-bedroom flats post retirement like many of their predecessors, but I changed all that.

Those were very eventful years for me but also very fulfilling. All of my 50 years, I have been devoted only to one thing and that is L&T. I have worked on an average about 14 to 16 hours a day so I have actually worked close to 80 to 100 years, not 50 years. For 21 years I did not take leave and I had a very young wife of 17 and a half. I used to leave her at home and never come back at night because there was no transport available and we had an understanding that if I didn’t come back at night I would return early next morning. The last 50 years have been tough and it continues to be so, especially with the ups and downs in the economic situation of the country.

An

Inte

rvie

w

uP close & PersoNAl


As early as 1988, he foresaw India’s need for a world-class, global-scale heavy engineering facility to cater not only to the country’s strategic requirements but world markets as well. To the existing heavy engineering workshop facility at Powai, Mumbai, he added a new one at Hazira in Gujarat, which was globally competitive in size and sophistication. Being a coastal based facility, it also served the dual purpose of manufacture and transportation of large and heavy equipment such as submarine components, modules and offshore structures for major core sector industries. Ranked amongst the top ten in the world, Hazira Works is not only L&T’s pride, but of the nation as well.

The creation of an integrated shipyard cum port project at Kattupalli near Chennai was again his brainchild. Built over an area of 1200 acres, this project is a landmark for building modern vessels, warships,

My focus is on building capability and not just capacity.

anybody with Money can build capacity.

A visioNAry PAr excelleNce

submarines, ship repair, as well as having the wherewithal to be an important port on the eastern coast of India. This facility will not only strengthen India’s defence infrastructure through the Indian Navy but also boost maritime trade, thanks to its containerisation facility. He was also the moving force behind the setting up of a state-of-the-art 200 acre manufacturing facility at Kanchipuram near Chennai and an advanced transmission line research and testing centre that is among the best in the world.

His dynamism, dedication and passion helped unlock the organization’s real value and during his stewardship, L&T’s total income grew from Rs. 7400 Crore to Rs. 85,128 Crore – an exponential growth of 12 times while Profit After Tax went up from Rs. 470 Crore to Rs. 4875 Crore – an increase of over 10 times!

His characteristic restlessness drove him to seek more for his company, constantly scanning the horizons and sensing opportunities long before they became realities.

L&T Construction or ECC as it was earlier

known and, is still referred to by Mr. Naik,

had a special place in his scheme of things

because it was the most visible face of the

organization’s varied businesses. Many

magnificent structures across the country

bore the L&T mark of excellence - buildings,

airports, commercial complexes, places of

worship, stadiums, malls, bridges, dams …

the list was long and getting longer.

Mr. Naik entered the frame around 2006

and gave the business a new orientation,

redefined its vision, urged the business

leaders to think big and the result is there

for all to see: the construction division’s

business has grown 15 times and profits

have gone up 45 times since then. It is

the largest construction organization in

the country and its phenomenal success

has prompted Mr. Naik to christen it as

a “Jewel in the crown of L&T.” He was

also instrumental in pushing its influence

beyond the shores of India and the

setting up of ‘L&T 2’ in the Middle East

to capitalize on the opportunities there.

The growth of several Asian and African

economies caught his attention and many

of these markets of potential have already

been tapped. These are significant steps

towards realizing one of Mr. Naik’s dreams

of making L&T a truly global company.

Towards creating a jewel iN the l&t crowN

i always tell My people - l&t is a platforM where you can help to build the nation


While scientists like Homi Bhabha drew the

blue print for India’s nuclear programme, it

was the engineering expertise developed

by Mr. Naik in L&T’s workshops that turned

this vision into reality. He masterminded

the manufacture of critical components

for nuclear power plants such as calandria,

end shields, nuclear waste storage tanks

and steam generators and thus it is no

wonder that L&T has built almost all

the nuclear reactors in India. Mr. Naik

has been the driving force behind L&T’s

close association with the country’s

A thoroughbred PAtriot

space research programme for over three

decades and under his leadership, L&T has

mastered the technology to manufacture

vital elements of space launch vehicles. A

crowning achievement was the vital hand

the company played in India’s successful

Mars mission.

Under his astute stewardship, L&T

transformed from just an infrastructure

and construction company into a builder of

nations!

My country first.

and last, Myself.

Patriotism runs deep in Mr. Naik’s veins, obviously inspired by his father’s Gandhian

philosophies and reflected in the tricolor that he always sports on his lapel. The needs of

India’s defence have always struck a chord in him realizing that technological self-reliance

can be the difference between uncertainty and assurance. Towards this end, he developed

capabilities to make L&T a reliable private sector partner for a broad range of defence needs

including some of the country’s most strategic initiatives. It was 2006 onwards that ECC started to become a jewel when my real contribution started. Until then I was making only a marginal contribution but 2006 onwards I got more involved, we devised a strategy and I worked closely with Rangaswami (Mr. K V Rangaswami) and later with Subrahmanyan (Mr. S N Subrahmanyan) and we decided how to take ECC to the next level. Looking at the global scenario, we still have several steps to go to be considered the best construction company in the world. But we are definitely moving towards that.

I recall an incident back in 2006-07. I was invited by a Site Manager to visit the IIT Hostel project in Chennai that was under construction. I went and the Site Manager was very excited since the Chairman had come visiting. I asked him how big the job was and he replied about Rs. 12 – 13 crores. I asked him the cost of the project but he could not respond properly and he did not have any answer to my question as to whether we were making any money from the project. But there was great excitement of doing the job. Historically, L&T has thrived on doing things with excitement but in the bargain completely forgetting the investors and other stakeholders like the shareholders, media, analysts, institutional investors with the result, L&T’s share price never went up for 15 years between 1985-2000. In fact, after 1983 we were unable to give shareholders a bonus for 20 years!

ECC always had a mindset that they were different; they wanted to be a part of L&T and yet be independent and gradually I matured to understand the dynamics of how ECC functioned. Though I could not make the kind of contribution that I could have, things changed when Rangaswami took over in 2006 and we started working very closely.

He would implement whatever we decide. That site engineer at Chennai awakened and prompted me to list all ECC projects and I discovered that all projects of up to Rs. 10 crore were running in losses; projects between Rs. 10 to 25 were running with minor losses or just breaking even so I told Rangaswami not to take any job below Rs. 25 crores. This completely shook up the system in ECC and there was widespread fear as to how to fill the order basket. But we stuck to our guns and subsequently raised the bar by saying that no project should be taken that was below Rs. 50 crores and the following year I raised the ceiling further to Rs. 100 crores. Gradually as the shock wore off, ECC started to grasp the situation with the result, today I don’t have to tell anything because they themselves say that a Rs. 250 crore job is too small.

“ecc hAs blossoMed ANd thAt hAs beeN very sAtisfyiNg ANd fulfilliNg for Me … it coNtiNues to be Not oNly A jewel but A kohiNoor iN the crowN of l&t!”After I took over in 2006, I once visited two hydro power plants in Kulu Manali. One, a Rs. 210 crore project and the other a Rs. 115 crore project on which we had already been working for 5 years. On the way up the hill to the project site, I found that there were no railings on the road that was muddy for half the year. This was very dangerous so I made a rule that we would not accept any hydropower project less than Rs. 750 crores so that we could provide safety to our people. Today, we do not bid for projects below Rs. 1,000 crores which is a remarkable sea change.

The other area was profitability. When Rangaswami and I started working, ECC’s margin was 3.5%, while today it is running at 10.5% which means it is 3 times more. ECC then was about Rs. 4000 odd crores, today it is Rs. 50,000 crore, so we have been able to increase profitability by 30 times.

Somewhere around 2006, I came in touch with Subrahmanyan and over the last 8 years, I have had an opportunity to constantly mentor him, almost on a daily basis. He has radically changed. He has now become a businessman and I am making him a global businessman.

A lot has changed and I think ECC has blossomed. It is therefore from 2007 that I started talking about ECC being the jewel in the crown when I found people responding to our collective vision and agreeing on a strategy to implement it which for me has been very very satisfying and fulfilling. And ECC, to my mind, continues to be not only a jewel but a Kohinoor in the crown of L&T. I hope they continue this progress and become one of the best companies in the world.

An

Inte

rvie

w

uP close & PersoNAl


His strong belief that industry should

fulfill its obligations as an engine of social

development is ingrained into L&T’s value

system and reflected in his numerous

personal initiatives. He selected and

employed people from the lower economic

strata and trained them into fine technicians

capable of manufacturing world-class

products at Powai. This approach was later

honed into an initiative to select and train

rural ITI students for eventual absorption

into L&T’s Hazira plant. Even before the

construction of the factory started in mid-

1985, a training centre was established to

provide skilled workmen for the plant for

which, personnel from L&T visited nearly

1200 schools in Gujarat to attract trainees.

The Construction Skills Training Institutes,

fashioned on similar lines, today trains

thousands of uneducated and unemployed

rural youth who find employment with the

company’s construction contractors.

Mr. Naik infused life into PRAYAS, a trust

run by the spouses of L&T's employees

and enabled its sustenance through

timely financial support. He patronized

the branching of its units across various

divisions and countries to carry out yeomen

service to the needy and deserving.

Several initiatives to reduce energy

consumption and promote renewable

energy are a result of Mr. Naik embedding

sustainability within L&T’s strategic

growth plans. He led L&T to become

the first company in the engineering

and construction sector to report its

sustainability performance across the triple

bottom line and has demonstrated that

business growth can go hand-in-hand

with an underlying commitment to the

environment and society. According to

him, this is not just a probable solution; it is

indeed the only solution.

A big man with

AN eveN bigger heArt it is not enough

that we care for the less privileged - care needs to be translated into action, and action into results.

Both my grandfather and father were patriotic. In fact, my grandfather received a gold medal from Gaekwad in Baroda 140 years ago and became the headmaster of the Gurukul, the highest level, and spent all his life teaching poor people without charging a single rupee. He used to go to his Gurukul School on foot starting at 4 in the morning as it was located 12 miles away, reach there by 7 am and then start back on Saturdays at 2 in the afternoon and after reaching home at 5, go straight to the field for farming. Sunday he would spend on the field and then start out again on Monday. He used to go to the Adivasi colony and although he had no money, both his coat pockets would be filled with peppermints and the Adivasi children would run after him chanting Baapa Baapa Baapa as he was fondly called and he would distribute the peppermints. All these are in front of my eyes as if it all happened yesterday.

And the same path was taken by my father who worked for the poor people. Now possibly some of that has stuck onto me. I could not go back to teaching, but I run a big educational institution which I have built myself from out of our stock options and have contributed Rs. 105 crores to build it. I have built a general and a cancer hospital because I lost my granddaughter to cancer and this year I am going to spend Rs. 75 crores for a Vedic school, a second cancer machine and I plan to break down the old school where I sat on gobar floors and build a new one in its place.

“both My grANdfAther ANd fAther worked for the Poor ANd Now Possibly soMe of thAt hAs stuck oNto Me!”

An

Inte

rvie

w

uP close & PersoNAl


“L&T is my temple … jeena yahan, marna yahan; iske siva jana kahan?”

A stirriNg legAcy His considerable talent, foresight, passion and commitment has propelled L&T

to this orbit of achievement, and through his intense mentoring, Mr. Naik has

been grooming future leaders to take on the huge responsibility of taking the

organization forward. He wishes to leave behind the impression of being

remembered as the person who found and developed a team of transformational

leaders capable of taking L&T to the next level.

My early days at Powai were very tough. I was advised not to enter the workshop after 7 pm because it was dangerous and only 4 months before, one foreman had been knifed but I went to the shop floor at all odd hours of the night and seeing my hard work, my devotion and that I was sacrificing my whole life for Larsen & Toubro they started to feel isko kya karega! I removed 52 notorious people, whom nobody could even touch but I went about it very systematically. I gave them a lot of chances, took the union into confidence and finally we were able to remove the trouble-makers peacefully.

On a lighter vein, I was in Dubai some 20 years later at a get-together to honour me and among many supervisors and engineers, I met two workers who asked if I remembered them. They were actually two workers whom I had sacked and they thanked me for sacking them. They said that it was because of my grounding and teaching them discipline that had got them to where they were.

It has been an eventful 50 years. I don’t think I can re-live these 50 years because this happens once in million. It was my sheer determination to see that L&T comes up and therefore I treated L&T more than my home. You worship in a temple and my temple is L&T. Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan, Iske Siva Jaana Kahan…

Once, people in L&T were managers who were extremely happy when the company was described as a professionally managed one. For me, a professional manager can only maintain value and by value I mean market capitalization. An outstanding leader with professional management who is a top-class leader can add value. But it is only an entrepreneur who creates value at every step. It is only a person who is entrepreneurial, with outstanding leadership qualities and a professional background who can multiply value.

Since I took over in 1999, L&T’s market cap has multiplied 60 times because of the transformation I brought about to convert L&T from a ‘professionally managed company’ to an entrepreneurial one. This is the essence of what I wanted to achieve and more and more of our colleagues even at ECC are beginning to understand and accept this reality though there are still some who have not. Sooner or later, such people will retire and I am sure the younger generation who will take over will be far more proactive and will run the company completely entrepreneurially taking measured risks. Of course, we don’t want madness of risk otherwise you will lose a lot of money.

“it is oNly AN eNtrePreNeur who cAN coNstANtly Add vAlue! l&t Needs More eNtrePreNeurs.”

An

Inte

rvie

w

uP close & PersoNAl


Padma Bhushan

entrepreneur of the year

Business Leader of the year

Businessman of the year

transformational Leader of the year

among india’s 50 Most Powerful People

asia’s Business Leader

in the top 10 high & Mighty Power List

Order of Dannebrog - first Class

Best Corporate Man of the Decade

Outstanding Chief executive

gujarat garima

good Corporate Citizen

KeyHonours

leading a coMpany that is helping build the nation is a Matter of pride in itself. to receive

high national recognition for this service is a rare privilege.

On receiving the Padma Bhushan

Mr. Naik's array of accolades affirm the quality and strength of his leadership.

Recent prestigious awards include:

for Mr. A M Naik


I feel extremely honoured and privileged to

have been asked to write this piece on a

‘Many Splendoured Personality’ like Shri A

M Naik, on the occasion of his completing

an incredible milestone of 50 years of service

in the company. I am not a statistician to

keep such corporate feats at my fingertips

but suffice to say that in a public limited

professionally managed company, this

is a very very rare milestone. In promoter

owned companies this happens once in a

way; but in a National company like L&T

(as described by a prominent personality),

it is virtually impossible and for this to

happen one should join the company at

the tender age of 20 and sustain till 70

and that happens only to very meritorious

personalities like Mr. Naik.

AMN identified himself totally with the

company and was like a 24x7 GET. Taking

responsibility and proving his worth by

hard work, dedication and passion that

came naturally to him.

It is just not 50 years stay but meritorious

service and half of it in senior positions like

Whole-time Director, CEO and Chairman.

When I address the GETs every year, who

are ever anxious about their career plans,

I say that the first ten years of their service

should be devoted to unlearn college

learnings and become very proficient

in practice and pragmatic knowledge.

The second ten years should be spent

in embracing management principles.

After becoming good managers, they

should spend the third 10 years to get

into leadership roles. After 30 years, they

should start emulating senior leaders like

AMN and become a leader of leaders.

This is the roadmap I have advocated to

budding youngsters when they join.

Though I have myself had a long career,

it was almost after 30 years in the

company that I started knowing AMN

and interacting with him. My erstwhile

bosses in ECC had their own excellence

and streaks of brilliance. If Mr. Mortensen

excelled in establishing a culture for quality

and timely execution, CRR instilled a sense

of discipline and marketing. He was also an

able administrator. AR (Mr. A. Ramakrishna)

was a technocrat par excellence and was

a great innovator. When I succeeded him

and started reporting to AMN, I found all

these qualities in him in abundance plus a

business sense which was ever pervading.

the histOriCaL anD faCtuaL DetaiLs Of hOw L&t thwarteD twO COrPOrate invasiOns are very weLL knOwn, But LittLe knOwn are the DetaiLs Of hOw aMn singLe-hanDeDLy fOught anD wOn a COrPOrate war with the BirLas, at the enD Of whiCh he ParteD with the CeMent Business But ensureD that nO further invasiOn OCCurs in the future.

He hand-held me for quite some time and

under his able guidance and pragmatic

suggestions, we made very profitable

growth strides.

AMN was both a long-term macro planner

and very great micro-management leader.

In 1999, he wasted no time to put his

ideas into action for strategic and long

term plans and the various ‘Lakshya’ 5 Year

Plans are the ones which have propelled

the company into a grandeur status. I

remember during our second 5 Year Plan,

we set ourselves a target of 2010 - that is

20% CAGR, 10% PBIT & 20% ROCE by the

year 2010. AMN took an active role in the

evolution of that plan and that’s keeping

us (ECC) in good stead today. His attention

to details on such occasions was amazing

with a razor-sharp memory for statistics

and numbers.

The historical and factual details of how

L&T thwarted two corporate invasions

are very well known, but little known are

the details of how AMN single-handedly

fought and won a corporate war with the

Birlas, at the end of which he parted with

the cement business but ensured that no

further invasion occurs in the future. In

the process, he innovated an ownership

structure which ensured that a significant

part of the shareholding stayed with us.

During the work-outs, he always used to

say that the best insurance against such

‘take-over’ attempts was to make the

company very valuable and his various

strategies and actions have all accounted

for the company having a market cap of

Rs.1,70,000 crores today. His commitment

to shareholder value is stupendous.

On the personal side, he is a very humane

person. I always liken him to a jack fruit

where the exterior appears thornish but the

contents are so sweet. He rightly believes

that there is no place for mediocracy in

our staff quality. His commitment to staff

welfare is great. He has created many

millionaires and crorepathis with stock

options and I am sure he will innovate and

ensure many more such acts of kindness to

all staff in the few years ahead.

I wish him great health and happiness on

this happy occasion.

K. V. Rangaswami

Whole-time Director (Retd.)

Larsen & Toubro Limited


To complete 50 years in a career is quite

incredible but to complete 50 years in a

single organization and that too with such

success and panache is simply fantastic and

I am very proud of having been associated

with AMN for some of those 50 years!

Initially, I used to hear of his exploits and be

simply awed by the clarity of his thinking,

the astuteness of his strategies and the

boldness of his actions. I was told that

he was a tough guy who expected and

asked a lot from his colleagues so it was

understandably with a lot of trepidation that

I first started to deal with him. But honestly

I was very surprised by his demeanor, his

attitude and the way he treated me. At

closer quarters, I was even more awed

by him. I am fortunate that he took me

under his huge wings and from day one he

has been a great mentor. His dedication,

devotion, commitment and passion are

sterling qualities for all to espouse. He has

that uncanny ability that is there in all great

leaders to cut to the chase and home in

on the crux of a problem. Decision-making

suddenly becomes so much easier.

He has always led from the front and to

borrow a cricket parlance, has always

played on the front foot and his straight

batting has held L&T in very good stead

especially during his early days as CEO in

the late ‘90s when he had to almost single-

handedly ward off very strong take-over

bids. He stood his ground, fought and won

all his battles and thus has been primarily

responsible to secure the fortunes and the

future of this great organization.

For me, he has been an extraordinary role

model. Spending time with him is better

than doing any management course in a

fOr Me, he has Been an extraOrDinary rOLe MODeL. sPenDing tiMe with hiM is Better than DOing any ManageMent COurse in a B-sChOOL BeCause with hiM, yOu are in the theatre Of Life graPPLing with reaL issues.

B-school because with him, you are in the

theatre of life grappling with real issues.

The way he approaches an issue, the

manner in which he studies and analyses

it from all possible angles, the process by

which he arrives at probable solutions and

takes the final decision are all worthy of

emulation.

His influence on the fortunes of L&T

Construction has been enormous ever since

he became closely involved in its running

from about 2006 onwards. He quickly

assessed the situation, presented a new

vision, redefined the strategy and gave an

entirely new orientation to the way we did

business. He urged us all to think big and

think smart. The results are all there to see

in our exponential growth. I am proud that

he refers to L&T Construction as a jewel in

the crown of L&T and it just gives us all the

drive to keep our flag flying high.

We all have a great leader to look up

to; I have in him a great mentor, leading

and guiding me and as he completes this

magnificent half century of life in L&T, it is

our privilege to stand up and salute a true

champion.

He has taught us to be a L&Tite and to

be that with self-confidence and self-

respect; he has taught us principles in

our life and the meaning of extraordinary

value creation. More than anything he has

taught us to be a proud, a very proud and

an extremely proud ‘Indian’.

All the best, Sir! You have truly made us

what we are!

S. N. Subrahmanyan

Member of the Board &

Senior Executive Vice President

(Infrastructure & Construction)


Most of us Indians believe in Karma. I must

have done something wonderful in my

previous life to be granted the privilege

of being born to such wonderful parents.

My parents were very young adults when

I came along. My Dad always says I have

been lucky for him. Maybe I am. But I can

assure you that it takes much more than

just luck to get to where my Dad is. He

immersed himself in L&T; sometimes days

would pass before I could see him, leaving

for work before I would wake up and

coming home after I had gone to bed. As

he made his way up through the corporate

ranks, his dedication, loyalty and desire to

take L&T to the pinnacle of the corporate

world burned stronger. Family life took a

back seat; weekday, weekend, holiday

were all the same – without him because

he would be at work. Despite that, he

always made sure all our needs were met.

Even after he became Chairman and CEO

of L&T, he remained level-headed, caring

and respecting each and every L&T-ite

as his own family. This quality of his has

endeared to me a lot. He is very charitable

as is apparent from the numerous projects

that he has successfully implemented

benefitting the poor and needy. Starting

a school, a hospital, a cancer radiation

center, helping uplift women and children

has been so heart-warming to see. Another

virtue I admire in my Dad is his respect

for elders. He took exemplary care of my

grandparents as they neared the end of

their life journey. To this day, he never

leaves home without praying to God and

his parents’ photos. He always maintains

that one should never forget one’s roots no

matter where they are in life.

He has made careers, touched and changed

lives of so many people in a positive way!

All of this has been possible in part due to

the unwavering support he has at home

in the form of a resilient, self-sacrificing,

loving, caring pillar of strength – my Mom!

I hope my Dad now finds more time for her,

for us and for his grandchildren!

Pratiksha

I love you,Pappa


As an organization we owe a huge debt to

AMN. He saved the company from takeover

by handling the threats in a very challenging

and innovative way. The ICs are his brainchild

which have substantially enhanced the

growth of the company.

I have been fortunate enough to have been

mentored by him and have learnt invaluable

lessons in vision building, networking,

fighting spirit and perseverance. These are

some of the things which you will not get

Mr. Naik is like Amitabh Bachchan or

Dilip Kumar in the field of business and

corporate. He is such a complete person

that we often feel like pigmies in front

of him. Hailing from a modest family

background and a vernacular education,

AMN still made it big by virtue of his sheer

grit and determination. Almost 80% of

Larsen & Toubro’s businesses today are

due to AMN’s initiatives. He has stuck

tirelessly to a single-minded mission of

building Larsen & Toubro and in the process

forsaken the pleasures of life.

He can claim to have developed quite a

lot of leaders in their own realm who at

some point of time had their fair share

of opportunities to be mentored by him.

Personally, I’m blessed that for a brief

period of about 8 to 9 months I got

mentored by him and under his guidance,

the business we started in transportation

infrastructure has grown manifold. The

courage, determination, passion and

dedication which Mr. Naik amply shows

inspires the ordinary man to come up and

make it big in life.

It is difficult for Mr. Naik to come out of

Larsen & Toubro mentally and physically

but I’m sure that Larsen & Toubro doesn’t

want to leave him at any point of time. We

only look forward that Mr. Naik keeps very

good health, remains his jovial self, keeps

leading the company for a long time to

come. Today, he has converted Larsen &

Toubro into a huge conglomerate but as

he rightly says, a lot of milestones are yet

to be achieved and he now has a mission

of restructuring the company into a more

easily manageable one.

D. K. Sen

Sr. Vice President & Head

Transportation Infrastructure IC

to learn in any of the management schools.

The mentoring sessions with him are not

easy but he handholds you. It reminds me

of a doha by Sant Kabir: Guru kumhar

shish kumbh hai, gadhi gadhi kadhe khot.

Antar hath sahar de, bahar bahe chot.

Under his tough exterior, AMN has a

heart of gold. I remember once when he

came to Muscat, he brought gifts for all

his personal employees. His progression

from a junior engineer on the shop floor

and how he overcame his shortcomings

in English speaking and built his financial

acumen are lessons for all us. I’m sure his

accolades when penned will warrant more

than a book. To sum up, he did not found

this company but saved and redefined it.

He is a true living legend.

M. V. Satish

Sr. Vice President & Head

Buildings & Factories IC

I recall the time when AMN took the reins

of leadership in Larsen & Toubro. He was

known as a tough task master and in

the first few meetings that we had with

him, he tore into us on the quality of our

presentation and the business sense that

we displayed. However upon improving our

quality, he was the first to acknowledge.

It was amazing when he publicly

acknowledged that ECC was the jewel in

the crown of L&T. It only showed the sense

It is a matter of great pride and happiness

that our distinguished Chairman

Mr. A M Naik is completing 50 years of

outstanding service in our organization.

Few have achieved what he has achieved.

He has put in a lion’s share of his personal

life into this great company for the growth

of this organization and for the welfare of

its people. Hailing from a modest family

background, Mr. Naik has achieved the

pinnacle of success through sheer hard

work and grit.

What is noteworthy of him is his visionary

leadership that has forayed into multiple

businesses for L&T. He has been the force

behind the creation of a bouquet of

Independent Companies. By doing so, he

has decentralized power, responsibility and

accountability. This has created enough

focus in the organization which has ushered

in domestic and international growth. Over

the years, under his leadership, L&T has

been able to create its own brand image

which every L&T-ite is proud to carry on.

I would like to personally thank our

Chairman Mr. Naik for having chosen me

as one of the early mentees to be mentored

by him which has enabled me to transform

into a leader of his expectation.

S. Rajavel

EVP & Head

Water & Renewable Energy

of business fair play he had and reinforced

the fact that nothing was personal and

it is all about business. We were all

flabbergasted when he increased our

threshold value from ten to twenty corers

to hundred crores for bidding jobs. We

were wondering as to how we are going

to fill up our basket of order prospects

but then it elevated our sight to look into

mega orders. In fact, this really gave us the

courage to go after large orders like Riyadh

Metro. And I will always remain thankful to

AMN for giving me that courage.

The sense of dynamism and business

acumen that he exhibits has infused into

us values that he holds dear to his heart.

Today, the growth of ECC, the growth

of L&T, is only because of his dynamic

leadership. He has not only looked after

the businesses but also has looked after us

through the ESOP schemes.

A. L. Sekar

EVP & Head

Heavy Civil Infrastructure IC

32 | ECC CONCORD, Jan - Mar 2015

Mr. Naik knows the art of transforming

people and energizing them into action. I still

remember the day when I spent an hour with

him at L&T House discussing our strategic

plans and the road map for ramping up the

business during my induction into PT&D Gulf.

It was a turning point in my life and within

that one hour the entire perspective went

Today, an organization like Larsen & Toubro

can be associated only with one name

which is Mr. Naik. He is one of the greatest

leaders and an inspiring force for all us to

continue in this organization. L&T is in this

position because of his long term vision and

strategic thoughts. He had the foresight

that we will be going through an economic

downturn and ensured that we diversify

at the right time into different countries

so that even when the Indian market

remained sluggish we could make up from

the Middle East and other countries.

Mr. A M Naik’s proactive thinking and

analytical ability is far superior. The way

Mr. Naik gets into details and grasps even

the latest and the smallest change that

can effect this organization are things

which each one of us should try to learn

and imbibe. It is really a pleasure to work

under Mr. Naik because each time we learn

something that can never be acquired

even in our work experience. We would

have just learnt 10% of what he is trying

to tell us. We continue to look forward

that we will still get opportunities to

keep working under him and

learn the great characteristic of

how one can transform from a

professionally managed engineer to an

entrepreneur leader.

Mr. Naik’s career is a classic example that

growth in this organization is purely based

on merit. He who started as a junior engineer

rose up the ranks to lead this organization

to its pinnacle of success.

T. Madhava Das

EVP & Head

Power Transmission & Distribution IC

into a major transformation. He gave me

a dream and empowerment to go with it

and I knew I will rise to the occasion and do

my best to meet his expectations. Indeed,

he is the inspiration behind the successful

growth of PT&D in the Gulf. But for his

strategic direction and inputs, we would not

have achieved the kind of growth that we

targeted.

I don’t know where he gets all the energy

to work tirelessly for the growth of the

organization. It is a miracle. He is a great

example of a self-grown leader. We wish

that he continues to guide the destiny of

Larsen & Toubro.

J. S. Sudarsan

EVP – Special Initiatives

My first interaction with AMN was when

we made a presentation to him on EDRC’s

capabilities in our Convention Centre at

HQ in 2006. For that meeting, we had

arranged PA systems with microphones on

the table. To our surprise, AMN was not

impressed with the mikes on the table citing

inconvenience in using the conventional

system and the meeting was immediately

shifted to TC II conference room which had

just been inaugurated and was equipped

with a high end system. This feedback

triggered me to think big while providing

facilities and bring in technologies to fulfill

the growing needs of business. It did not

I recollect the days when I was at L&T

House during which two important events

happened. One was the hoarding case and

the other was the cement demerger. On

both occasions, L&T was on the defensive

and but for Mr. A M Naik’s leadership,

courage and the strategic thoughts which

he implemented, the events would have

definitely resulted in a different way than

what really happened.

During the cement demerger, Mr. A M

Naik took the lead and all the Whole-time

Directors stood shoulder to shoulder along

with him and raised serious objections to

stop here. It also motivated me to think

of establishing a world-class engineering

team to leverage technology in building

design and build business models. This

in my view has pushed L&T Construction

to the forefront by bidding for projects

greater than a billion USD and also position

us as a one point solutions provider to the

customer.

Through my interactions with AMN over

the period, I have learnt many things

by way of getting candid and straight

forward feedbacks which has helped me in

my journey. Our AMN is not only a great

visionary and business leader but also an

exceptional HR Guru. His inherent strategic

vision and in-built mastery of human

relationship has brought out growth in L&T

through various Independent Companies.

This has created tremendous value to the

shareholders and various stake holders. It

is important to mention at this point that

L&T GeoStructure is his brainchild and it

will create value to the parent organization

in the near future.

S. Kanappan

EVP & Chief Executive

L&T GeoStructure

the Aditya Birla Group increasing their

stake and finally they had to accept only

the Cement Division and left L&T on its

own. Mr. A M Naik pulled off a wonderful

deal which benefited not only L&T but also

made several of our employees very happy

with the allotment of ESOPs. We are all very

thankful to him for having achieved this.

Words fail me to express Mr. A M Naik’s

leadership quality which bailed L&T out of

troubled times and led it to greater heights.

I also recall a presentation made to him

when we had a small company called

LELCOL to be floated. We made two

attempts and could not succeed. We went

with the third attempt incorporating his

points and during the presentation we

could see that Mr. Naik’s proactive thinking

was far ahead as he was able to predict the

outcome and guided us through.

I heartily congratulate him for relentlessly

working for L&T during the last 50 years.

If you take the number of hours he has

worked, probably he would be touching

close to 100 years of experience in L&T.

B. Ramakrishnan

EVP - Finance & Accounts (Construction)


First of all, I want to congratulate AMN on behalf of our

PT&D Middle East team for completing 50 years of service

in our organization but this commendable feat is actually

more than 100 years of professional effort. He has shown

the same focus and childlike passion for the development

of the company and its people. Many of us are unware

of his philanthropic deeds which he goes about doing

without any public fanfare.

During his first review of the Middle East business, he

said that we should be present across the market and

not be glued to a couple of countries. With his push and

direction, we looked at Qatar, Saudi and Kuwait and got

the opportunity to expand this business. Within 5 to 6

years, we could grow to a one billion dollar business by the

end of 2013-14 and also become a market leader across

the Gulf.

On the personal side, I had the opportunity to interact

with AMN since 2008. He will always give you a direct

feedback which is parental in nature with the intention of

developing and transforming you into a better leader and

individual. His knowledge bank is so vast and rich and if HR

Department puts efforts to tape all his speeches it could be

used to mould young managers of the future into business

leaders and help the company scale greater heights.

A. Ravindran

EVP & Head – Power Transmission & Distribution

(Middle East)

I still vividly remember my first direct interaction with the

Chairman during his visit to the GCC. The striking impression

I got to know after meeting him in person was that besides

his business acumen, how caring a person he is. L&T has seen

a total transformation and has reached new heights under

his leadership. His complete dedication to the organization

and his passion to keep the company’s flag flying high is an

inspiration to all of us.

His move to ring fence the organization from any hostile

takeover will be remembered in Corporate India’s history for a

long time to come. He is a living example of how one can reach

great heights with sheer passion. His knowledge on different

subjects with all the data at his fingertips makes him a walking

encyclopedia. He made us to think big and helped us shift our

mindsets from being sheer technocrats to entrepreneurs.

We are truly blessed to have him at the helm of affairs and

are proud to be in the organization which is being led by him.

I wish him many more years of good health, happiness and

continued guidance to the organization.

Shrinath Rao

VP & Head – Transportation BU (Middle East)

It is truly heartening. 50 years of purposeful, dedicated

and fulfilling involvement in our organization is something

great. Such things don’t happen that often and it doesn’t

happen for many also. I’m truly proud to have been part of

your team during this journey. I have my own description

of what AMN stands for: ‘A’ is the ability to foresee and

act. ‘M’ is motivated and motivating. You are truly a

highly motivated person and the excellence achieved is a

testimony to that. Regarding motivating others, we cannot

forget those days when we were taking a steep take-

off and you made us to think big through the LAKSHYA

initiatives. Your leadership is always an inspiring force for

us. And ‘N’ is the never give up attitude that is what AMN

is according to me. It is your great effort that has made

L&T to be looked upon as a national company. And this

feat has made you become an Industry leader. Naturally

the awards, titles and recognition were given to you. We

in our organization owe a lot to you and on this occasion

I think we wish more from you for the nation and for our

organization.

K. Venkataraman

Sr. Vice President (Retd.) - HC & P Sector

I was the Company Secretary at the time when Mr. Naik took over

as Managing Director in the year 1999. We met on a daily basis to

discuss matters of importance and as an MD he really took over

the reins of the company. What a remarkable turnaround he has

made… is something for you people to see.

Soon after he took charge, he decided to introduce the employee

stock option scheme. He felt that most of the employees at L&T

worked just for the love of it and not by looking at emoluments

because if they had, they would have left the organization long

back for better prospects. I had the privilege of working with

him on developing the scheme and introducing various rules and

regulations. While doing so, I could understand his concern for

the employees and his love for them. He always says, “We are the

emotional owners of this company”. Whenever a question arose as

to how to frame a rule, it was always in favor of the employee, but

at the same time, he was also ensuring that any employee who was

walking away from the company did not get undue benefits of the

scheme.

There were some contracts which the company had which were

unfair despite being legally very good. Many of Mr. Naik’s colleagues

including myself advised him not to fight the contracts as they

were stacked against the company and the directors. But he said

a firm ‘no’ and was prepared to fight it out, sometimes even fight

criminal cases at personal levels. We ultimately won them all and

the company was freed from huge liabilities for several years. That

showed the guts of the man, his vision, his thinking. As for the

shareholders are concerned, from 1999 onwards till today, I think

we have given three bonus issues and generous dividends year after

year. All sections of the society have been taken care of during these

50 years, particularly during the last ten years when he has taken

over as the Managing Director and now he is the Chairman.

Finally, I have to admire that a person at this age has got so much

of energy to devote for the company. He practically lives for the

company. It is impossible for us to get another person like him to

head L&T.

S. V. Subramanian

Vice President (Retd.) - Legal & Secretarial


I first met Mr. Naik in Hyderabad at the Hi-

tech City while at the TCS booth waiting

to welcome President Bill Clinton in

March 2000. AMN, being the charming,

aggressive and consummate salesman that

he is, spoke about his dreams for both L&T

and L&T Infotech very passionately. This

passion sealed my conviction to join the

L&T group of companies.

My first day at L&T was made memorable

wherein AMN personally welcomed me

into the organization at L&T House and

introduced me to senior executives. He

intently listened to the strategy presented,

asked searching questions and more

importantly appreciated the quality of the

same – a rare honour bestowed.

Over the last 10 years, I have been

fortunate to see various facets of AMN

– simple and decisive, close and distant,

passionate and sensitive, personal touch

with a professional relationship, down to

earth to towering, inspirational to be in

awe, passionately selling the organization

to be upfront on the nature of business

deal, managing an old economy behemoth

to nurturing it into a new economy young

organization, human to humane.

I have always wondered if only other

business leaders would have been as

passionate as him 24x7, the landscape of

this country would have been different. In

my mind, he was always selling and trying

to get the best deal for the organization.

L&T Infotech is really fortunate to have

him as its Chairman. I have never seen a

Group Chairman selling the services of

its IT wing as passionately and with so

much conviction, while being a strong

believer in the values of an old economy.

His understanding of the IT scenario has

always been sharp.

I have had the opportunity to see him at

close quarters as well as from distance.

Interacting with employees, colleagues,

customers, media, families, old L&T-ites, his

family and business acquaintances. I have

heard stories about his interviews with

Mr. Baker in the very house that he lives

in Pali Hill many times over. He straddles

from being a simple, earthy person to an

enigma. His traits are legendary. He looks

tough, acts tough, is tough but is a very

kind person at heart. He carries the details

of the past with a phenomenal memory be

it milestones, actions, incidences, but at the

same time is ready to forgive and forget.

V. Chandrashekar

EVP - L&T Infotech

I have had several occasions, or would rather define as great opportunities,

of interacting with our Group Executive Chairman. Each interaction has

been a learning opportunity of something new for me. He has always

inspired me as a great leader and encouraged me to keep innovating,

improving and challenging manufacturing processes, driving change to

improve the overall performance by keeping the ultimate customer in

mind.

One memorable moment I keep recalling is his visit to Bangalore

Works during the days when we had undertaken modernization of

the plant with a vision to build 4000 excavators annually. Mr. Naik

supported our approach by asking us to focus on “Scale and speed”

and also reinforced the conviction saying, “Our ability to move ahead

by understanding the market will keep us alive and benefit us at the

right time”. These words still keep ringing in my ears and drive me

with more energy.

S. R. Subramanian

EVP & Head – Machinery SBG

L&T Valves has always been very close to Mr. A M Naik’s heart and over

the decades he played a key role in every strategic step that we took.

His leadership enabled us to be the first business in the L&T group to

obtain ISO 9001 certification and also the first to implement SAP ERP.

Mr. Naik guided our international market development, expansion into

new location at Coimbatore as well as entry into the higher spectrum

of flow-control technology comprising valves for offshore services and

control valves.

At every key juncture in our journey, Mr. Naik inspired us with his presence

and blessings – be it at our golden jubilee celebration in 2012 or the

inauguration of the state-of-the-art facility at Coimbatore on March 5,

2015.

Very few leaders have the acumen to plan at both micro and macro

levels at the same time, and our Group Executive Chairman is a rare

leader who accomplishes this flawlessly. His visionary thinking and his

ability to foresee the emerging trends helped us think big and chalk out a

strategic plan to achieve it. Even though Valves is a small business in the

vast universe of L&T, Mr. Naik always gave us the time and the strategic

impetus to take us to the next level.

I personally had the good fortune to be mentored by him before I

took over as the head of the Valves Business. He exudes an infectious

enthusiasm and energy and after every meeting with him, I have returned

recharged, richer with new ideas and fresh perspectives. He is an eternal

source of inspiration to me and a role model in every sphere of activity.

N. V. Venkatasubramanian

CE & Director, L&T Valves


It was in April 2010 during my stint at the Mumbai International Airport project that I was offered a chance for the position

of Executive Assistant at the Chairman’s office. Though I was not nervous, there certainly was some anxiety as I entered the

interview room. Seated amidst a panel of four was AMN who asked me to take my seat in a very casual manner. From then on

I was at ease and was totally myself which got me the coveted portfolio. A few days before I moved to the Chairman’s office,

SNS happened to visit our project. He wished me luck and advised me to take this assignment as a part of my learning curve

and assume that I was doing an MBA without going to a B-School. How true indeed!

In my short tenure at the Chairman’s office, I don’t remember a single instance when somebody was not convinced by

his response, opinions or decisions. What is more amazing is the respect he commands not just from people within the

organisation, but from the business circle as well, which includes media, analysts, competitors and senior management of

other large corporates.

Our Chairman believes in utilising every minute that is available. His calendar is ever so dynamic and in any given day his EAs

would receive at least four revisions from his secretary. If a meeting gets concluded half an hour before schedule, he would

find ways to accommodate short meetings before the next scheduled meeting. His energy is boundless and even at this age,

he is ever willing to travel long distances on business trips and at times comes in straight to office even if he had flown across

continents, such is his commitment and passion.

The list of things one can learn from him is endless and I consider myself fortunate for having got a chance to work under an

icon for at least 14 months out of the 600 months that he has completed in this great organisation.

Arun Iyer Former Executive Assistant at Chairman’s Office

Inspirational quotes are all over the

place. It certainly helps bring about a

sense of confidence for a fleeting few

seconds before triggering the process of

introspection. But being in the presence

of someone, who is an embodiment of

inspiration for so many, brings a sense

of confidence for a lifetime. For me, this

person was Mr. A M Naik. Since the day

I stepped into this organization, Mr. A M

Naik has always been the face of L&T and an

inspirational, charismatic leader who I dreamt

of meeting one day, until the call from Mr.

S.N. Subrahmanyan made it a reality.

My first major learning was the importance

of time, the value of each minute. He

demonstrated the remarkable ability of

being able to perceive a situation from

different angles and take business decisions

within a short frame of time with complete

conviction. I observed his ability to switch

from one thinking hat to another, such as

an Architect through L&T Realty, an EPC

Contractor through L&T Construction, a

Developer through IDPL, an IT Businessman

through L&T Infotech and L&T Technology

Ever since I started my career with L&T

as a GET, I was in awe of the towering

personality of Mr. A M Naik who was not

just a guiding beacon for the company

but also an inspiration for all of us. For

the world he was and is the “Face of L&T”

and one of the most respected business

personalities.

Even day-to-day interactions with Mr.

Naik had lessons ranging from strategy,

business performance, leadership,

marketing, management work ethics,

personality, confidence, inspiration and

Services and a Technocrat when it came to

manufacturing and production business.

He went on to prove that an accomplished

businessman cannot be restricted by any

one domain, which marks the difference

between a remarkable engineer and

a successful businessman. He had not

marked any boundaries as his comfort

zone, making his adaptability the reason

behind the vast empire of L&T.

Mr. A M Naik enthused similar qualities in

us by giving us the opportunity and the

freedom to interact with other directors,

top management of various ICs, and other

business houses, which by itself was a rich

learning experience and an opportunity

to develop various management skillsets.

The whole journey for me has been

transformational, from that of an Engineer

to an Entrepreneur. As an individual I can

only describe Mr. A M Naik as the Leader

of Leaders, and a people’s man!

B. R. Karthikeyan Former Executive Assistant at Chairman’s Office

grooming. Above all, he inspired everyone

to be patriotic and made us ensure that

L&T remains a company in the “National

Sector”, always working for the progress of

the nation.

The most important lesson that I learnt,

however, was a life changing one. He

inspired me to move out of my comfort

zone and personally encouraged me to

take up challenges which I was unsure of,

both in my professional and personal life.

Priyank Kulshreshtha Former Executive Assistant at Chairman’s Office

40 | ECC CONCORD, Jan - Mar 2015

Edited by Mr. Vinod Jacob Chacko for L&T Construction from L&T Construction Headquarters, Manapakkam, Chennai - 600 089. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Management. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced without the written permission of the Editor. Not for sale. Only for free circulation among employees of L&T Construction and their customers.

Editor: Vinod Jacob ChackoAssociate Editor: Gopi Kannan. SEditorial team: V. Ramesh Kumar | Ashwin Chand | Mayura. KPhotography: V. S. Natanavelu | R. Vijay KumarDesign & layout: VentureMediaWork.com

mr. a m naik’s story - lntecc€¦ · students! if you go to vallah vidhya nagar, there are three...

Documents