Aditya Birla Group Under Kumar

Mangalam Birla
Can He Manage the Mandate?
Case study
Reference no 306-043-1

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This case was written by Shalini and Ankit Agarwal, under the direction of
Souvik Dhar, ICFAl Business School Case Development Centre. It is intended to be
used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or
ineffective handling of a management situation.The case was compiled from
published sources.

Q 2006, ICFAI Business School Case Development Centre.

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 Aditya Birla Group under
Kumar Mangalam Birla:
Can
. he Manage the Mandate?

'At 38, Kumar Mangalam Bida has already done more than what most others get to do in a lifetime. He's
transformed a hidebound conglomerate into a modern commodities giant that's globally competitive. How
did he do it? By not acting his age."
'It may appear as if the wheel has come full circle. But Kumar Birla would perhaps feel that in a rapidly
globalising environment, his journey has only just begun. "

Kumar Mangalam Birla (KM Birla), Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, India's third largest conglomerate, became the
youngest leader of the Group in 1995, after the deathof his father and former chairmanAditya Vikram Birla.At that time, the
Aditya Birla Grcup recorded revenues worth INR 15,000 c r ~ r e s .Since
~ then, KM Birla has carried out major managerial
and financial restructuring in the Group, which has resulted in the Group recording revenues of INR 33,000 crores in
2005.4 KM Birla revolutionized the Group by discontinuingthe ageold traditions such as i3abucuIture5,Womb-to-tomb
policyb , Parfha system7 and policy of in-house recruitment He implemented various new programs like ' We-Will-Win'and
'Happiness af Work index. But the basic challenge for KM Birla lies in maintaining theleadership posihons in the Group's
core business and to regain its posihon as one of the top two conglomerates in the counby. KM Birla's next big focus is to enter
into the list of Fortune 500 companies. KM Birla said, "My calling is to build an organisahonthat can createvalue; anything
else is a subset of that. Thereis an element of legacy here, but Idon't see myself as a catalystof change as such, only change
as a subset of organisation b~ilding."~

The Birla Legacy

The lineage of the Aditya Birla Group dates back to 1857, when Seth Shiv Narayan Birla started cotton-trading
operations in the small town of Pilani in Rajasthan, India. In the early 20mcentury, the founding father of the Group,
Ghyanshyamdas Birla (GD Birla), entered into the manufacturing sector by setting up the first jute mill in Calcutta, India
(1919) followed by various other factories for manufacturingcotton, sugar and chemicals. In 1922, he set up Kesoram
Cotton at Calcutta. GD Birla acquired Hindustan Times in 1927 and established the Upper Ganges Sugar factory in 1931.
In 1945, he built Saurashtra Chemicals at Saurashtra, Gujarat. In 1947, Grasim Industries (Grasim) was set up and
incorporated as Gwalior Rayon Silk ManufacturingCo., which commenced with rayon weaving operztions in Gwalior,

' Sinivasm Priya 7he O r g a n i z h MB1: mm.tusinen4cdq.can hly 17.1 2005

Smndar, 'Kuma's Big BeW, mmbupincffworldrdiamm. September 2F 2004
' Data. Kaushik 'Is he &la numbs one?'. w.burin?ss-rtandard.com. September 17 ZWS

'' IM.
B a b Cdhm mead wdha for CChaman's mder. Thas was I l e w t w W e d m of ahorib.
f i s pdicy m m l ha alb
-tYe@s rarely r d i i d and the children o( the emplojas were paa"leed a job.
' P h Svslem was a maw4 n s l n for determinina i h i coda m d h e hiailv cash wofh as c o m d to budgclcd wo6tr.
 306-043-1
Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam Birla: Can he Managethe Mandate?

Madhya Pradesh. Hindalco, Group's aluminum division, was incorporatedin 1958, which started production in 1962 at its
aluminum complex at Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
The Grandson of GD Birla, Aditya Vikram Birla (AV Birla) entered into the business in i964. He started the Eastem
SpinningMills and Industriesin 1965 in Calcutta. AVBirla acquired a small spinning mill, Indian Rayon Corporation Ltd., in
1966 with an aim to expand the Group's business. However, many of his projects were either rejected or blocked by the
governmentundervarious provisions of the'ticense Raj9.During the period of 'License Raj'in the 1960sand 1970s, there
were price restrictions in major industries includingfertilizers, sugar, steel and coal. Also many government clearances
relatedto foreign technology collaborationand import of capital goods and raw materialswere required tostart any project.
Having realizedthat it would be difficultto expand its business within the country due to red-tapism and bureaucracy,AV Birla
started lookingat other countries for growth opportunities. He turned his attention towards South-EastAsian counhes like
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia,and the Philippines.The first global expansion by the Group was in 1969, when AV Birla set
up Indo-Thai Synthetics Company Limited. The Group further expanded its international presence by establishing P.T.
Elegant Textile in Indonesia (1973) and Pan Century Edibleoils in Malaysia (1977). .
During the 1980s, the Group further diversified by adding cement and carbon black to its potlfolio. In 1980, Birla Copper,
thecopper division of Hindalco, was establishedat Dahej in the Bharuch district of Gujarat, which is the largest copper
smelting plant in India.1 In the same year, the Grwp set up a carbon black plant in Thailand. AV Birla also established P.T.
lndo karat Rayon in 1982 tobecome thefirstviscosestaplefiber (VSF)ll producer in Indonesia. Three years later, India's
first gas-based fertilizer plant in privatesector, IndoGutf Fertilisers Limited (Indo Gulf) was establishedat Jagdishpur, UP. In
1984, Grasim entered thecement business forthefirst time by setting up a plant at Jawad, Madhya Pradesh.After the Indian
governmentliberalizedthe petroleum industry in 1988, the Aditya Birla Group entered into a joint venture with Hindustan
PetroleumCompany Limited l2 (HPCL) to set up Mangalore Refineries and PetrochemicalsLtd. (MRPL) at Mangalore,
Kamataka. In 1988, the Group established a carbon black plant in Uttar Pradesh followed by anothercarbon black plant in
Alexandria (Egypt) in 1990.
The Group continued its overseas expansion and in theearly 1990s, Birla headed a INR 12 billion overseas empire
of 12companies in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Egypt, makingitthe only h e lndian m~ltinational.~~ The
Group also continued its domesfic expansion, and in 1994Vikramlspat wasset up by Grasim to produceSponge Iron. That
same year the Group made its foray into Russia when it bought a pulp plant. Under AV Birla's leadership the Group's
companies became the world's largestrefiner of palm oil, the largest producer ofVSF, the third largest producer of insulators
and the sixth largest producer of carbon black in the world.14
After the death of AV Birla in 1995, his son Kumar Mangalam Birla, a CharteredAccountant and an MBAfrom London
Business School, at the age of 28 took over the reign of the Group thatwas having total revenuesof INR 15,000 crores with
assets of INR 16,000 crores. It had a strength of75,OOO employees and 600,000 shareholder^'^

Kumar Mangalam Birla: The Catalyst of Change

After taking up the charge, Kumar Mangalam Birla (KM Birla) decided to consolidate theentire Group's companies
under oneumbrella of the Aditya Birla Group. With a view to further diversify the Group's business, he decided to enter the
telecommunications sector through a jointventure with American Telephone andTelegraph Corporation (ATBT) in 1995.
However, many critics were of the opinion that KM Birla would be unable to manage the Group successfully.
When KM Birla succeeded his father in 1995, his critics dismissed him as a soft and shy person, who lacked the business
expertise and assertiveness of his father. He was accusedof inconsistent behavior,an unapproachablemanagementstyle
and misplacedpriorities.The result was that the invesiors started selling off their shares. In 1996, the market value of the
' License Raj refers lo I h liceme6 replatims and the assffiiated red trpe Ihst mn revired lo set up busmss m lnda behwm 1947 and 1990. The Licmre Raj war a plumedecmwny.
*re dl asp& of the scornmy a n conbolled by h e M e and l~ccnssm r c gNm to a sdkt (m
mmhindalco.net
" VSFis a m m a d e , biodegraMe hui!h iVIeharadcrirfics akin lo c&cn Extremely v d k ad easily U d e d dlh dherfibar.VSFm ddely used lo maxhdue $brics b r both mmn
and bilied gamenlr
Hmduslan Pcbokun Corporafim L d e d is the s a d hngerl'hlegated oi rdny ad marketing mrnpay in I d a wilh a iwnwu of INR 646.89 tiEm (USS 14.709 Mfions) as of
2005.
* P'wmal. GRa & I h s fhhmias'. Pengin Books ln6a (P)Ltd, 1997. pg 161
w.dtyBbda.cm
Ibid.
 306-043-1
Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam Birla: Can he Manage the Mandate?

Group's four largest companies- Grasim, Indian Rayon, Hindalco and lndo Gulf Fertilizer, plunged by $1 billion or 37%.16
KM Birla took several initiativesto prove his critics wrong.
KM Birla discontinuedvarious ancient practices and power centers within theGroup. He inboduceda retirementpolicy
in 1995, on the basis of which around 325 senioremployees, whowere in their early 60s, had to quit the organization in the
next five years. Subsequently about 400 young executives replaced them. With this, Birla reduced the average of the
employees in the Group from 54 years in 1996 to less than 40 years in 2000. Meanwhile,answering the critics he said,
"People in the Group were about twice my age when I took over as chairman. I had great respect for them personally, but
I also felt the need for changen1'
In 1996, he launchedfor the firsttime a corporate identitythatwould serve as a corporate logo. The Group selectedthe
'Rising Sun' as the logo, which signified optimism and served as a unification symbol for the Group. KM Birla said, "During
that period, when the organisationwas going through turmoil due to the death ofAV Birla, the new corporate logo helped in
bringing the various companies of the Group together. This helped theorganisation to reenergizeand get'startedto the path
of change."lB
KM Birla also changed the Group's policy of in-house recruitment. In 1996, he also made changes in the Group's
Human ResourcejHR) system. He hired professionalsfrom other companies into his managementteam [Exhibit I ] . This
removed the earlier notion that people,who did not find jobs elsewhere, joined the Birla companies. KM Birla said, "One of
the things I got to know early that helped me know myself better was my own strengths and weaknesses. It was very
important for me to get people who are much brighter than me, not just peopie who have more experience. That's what
keeps me ~hallenged."'~ He carried out various other changes as well.
The Partha Systemof daily financial reportingwhich focused mainly on productionwas replaced with an Economic
ValueAddedmodelZO. In September 1998, while implementingthe 'We Will Win' program for employees, KM Birla said, "I
do believe that our sustainable advantage will come from constantly re-inventing the Group and putting more and more
people on the board who can think out~f-the-box."21KM Birla also established Aditya Birla Management Corporation
Limited (ABMCL) modeledafter GE Capita1,thestrategic decision-making body for ensuring the best practicesacross the
Group companies.
In 1998, hecanied out a numberof restucturinglikeconsolidation of its cement manufacturing division of Indian Rayon
and Grasim into a single division of Grasim. This merger was the biggest restructuringcarried out by any corporate entity
in In 1998, the Group also made its entry into Canada by setting up a 50:50 pulp mill joini venture company with
Tembec Inc." of Canada. This was undertaken in order to supply pulp for the Group's VSF operations. It also decided to
tie up with Sunlife Financialof Canada, a financialservices company, with a view to expand its financial services business
in 1999. Another landmark restructuringby KM Birla was the decision to consolidate Indo-Gulfs copper business with
Hindalco. This was undertakenwith an objective of unifying the Group's non-ferrous metals businesses,and transforming
Hindalcointo a globally competitive non-ferrcus metals powerhouse. He decided to focus on the aspects of market leadership
and size. With an aim to remain among the top three players in its business, KM Birla decided to reduce the Group's
dependence on fiber-based business where its market share a:.s low. Insteadhe decided to concentrate on non-ferrous
metals as there was less competition and Hindalcoalready had a big presence in the aluminum sector.
KM Birla also brought in other key changes. In order to do away with the customary 'babuculture', he introduced a
360-degree feedback program in 1999 that permitted managers to raise questions over his leadership style, managerial
ability and also personal traits. According tothis feedback, the verdict of the managerswas that he delegated the work well
and also had a vision. But hecould not clearty define what he expected from his employees. He, soon after the feedback,
issuedeach senior manager a six-page letter mentioning the areas of improvementand his expectation^.?^ In 1999, KM

%an the son 611 papa's hoes at Birla GmupT, wmv.asiabusimekmrn. Dffiemba 23* 1996
' Ibd.
Blrla. Kumsr Mangdan Transfwmatim new akhsnists t o m d m r y people: wmv.thesnarbnanager.urm. Deamber MM.Januay 2005
* 7he Kng'r Gambd'. The Econonic T i m . w m a d ' t y a t i k c m Mdy 2F 2005
l)is mdd Qcuses maiw on the w e d s ofprobbility, asset p d w h i t y and gmth
" 'Afla an hei.raising d s l it's k e n a dash lo the tap'. wvveoslamictimn mdintimes.com. Se@ember16 2003
wmv.zdtyabirla.com
Tembec is a inlegraled fued pmductr canperrl e d & W m Wh h r i c a ard h e . In 2W5. Mh mks of qqroximatety $4 bllion sd some 11,WO a n p l q e a . it operated
w u 50 market pulp, paper ard nucd prpdud mar*leduii vits.
Mansgemen( in Asia The End of Womhto-Tomb?', wasiabu~esdody.crg.Odober 5F 2MH)
 Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam Birla: Can he Manage the Mandate?

Birla launched theAditya Birla Scholarships to promote excellenceamongthe student community to cultivate theleaders of
tomorrow. He said, "Cultivating a new generation of managers andfostering a participativecultureare keys to the increasingiy
energetic, peoplecentered, and performance-focusedculture that we aspiref~r."~~ He also launchedAditya Birla Awards26
in 1999 where team achievements are recognized every year. Birla had also implemented the Organizational Health
Survey by the late 1990s, which measured the 'Happiness at WorK index. This was carried out in order to track the
employees' satisfaction.
In the year 2000, the Group entered into e-business through an alliance of its software division, Birla Software and
Consultancy Services (BCSS), with Lawson Softwarez (USA). The Group's aluminum division Hindalco acquired aluminum
maker lndal in 2000 to strengthen its position as the market leader. The Group's telecom division BirlaAT&T joined hands
with Tata Group in 2000 with an idea of making telecommunicationone of the core businesses of the Group. In the same year,
theGroupls most diversitiedconglomerate, lndian Rayon, acquiredMadura Garments overseas brand rightsfor international
brands like Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen and Allen Solly. All these acquisitions made lndian Rayon the market leader in
branded apparels in
The Group also acquired PSI Data Systems, a software major, from Groupe of France in 2001. In 2002, lndian
Rayon, the insulator division of lndian Rayon, entered into a 50:50 joint venturewith NGK" of Japan to gain access to new
productand manufacturing technology and further strengthenedGroup's leadership position. KM Birla also divestedthe
Group's stake in Mangalore Refineries and PetrochemicalsLtd. (MRPL) to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)3tto
rationalize its business portfolio.According to analysts, this strategy indicated that KM Birlawanted to get out of businesses
where the Group was small players and strengthen the businesses where theGroup had core competenciesand had to
consolidatef~rther.~~ In 2003, the Group incorporated Liaoning Birla Carbon in China, expanding its international business
further. The Group pursued backward integration as part of its consolidation strategy. It acquired both N i b mines and Mount
Gordon copper mines ofAustralia to source raw materialfor its copper smelter at Dahej, Gujarat and become a competitive
copper player in the global arena. In 2004, the Group acquired controlling stake in the cement business of Larsen and
T ~ u b r oto~form
~ a new company Ulta Tech Cement.
In 2005, the Group became India's largestexporter of cement and~linker.~" Cement sector of the Group contributed
around 16.1%of the Group's total turnover in 2005 [Exhibit 21. KM Birla also merged lndo Gulf and Birla Global Finance
Ltd.35with lndian Rayon to create Aditla Birla Nuvo. This was done to reduce the cross-holdings across the different
companies of theGroup. TheGroup also decided to set up a worldclass aluminum project in Orissa in order to consolidate
its position as one of the largest aluminum producers in Asia [Exhibit3]. Gaining market leadership, productivity gains,
economies of scale and operational efficiencies were the majorfactors behindthe consolidationprocess.Aditya Birla Group
also became India's third largest conglomerate behind Reliance and Tata Group, with revenues of over INR 33,000 crores
in 2005. 36
KM Birla also brought in some managerial changes in theGroup. Before KM Birla took the chairmanship, the hierarchy
in the Group was determinedby seniority instead of merit He changed this by abolishingtheGroup's 'womb-to-tomb policy'
and instituted a performance appraisal system. He decided to implement performancemanagementsystems, reviewed
compensations and accentuated on training to bring in meritocracy. He also started a program to develop high-potential
managers that comprisedof developingskills through inter-unit transfer and overseas assignments. He personally led the
recruitment program from business schools. He also broughtabout changes in the reporting system being followed at the
Group.

Manayment in Asia The End of W4o-Tomb?'. o p d l

:' T h s a=& induded awards lhke life llme achbevmm! amrd ,,;mpofos;
y : - A o l l s t ; n c 7 ~leaders m r d s
ammgd d k r s
': Lamon S o h n 1s rn ~rlemrhonalpovida of mlerpise resa.x plannlng ;El') s o h e bared m USA In fiscal year 2004, it reported total revenuer of $363 m!tlron.
>' Managmen! m Asia The End of Wmbto-Tombr, opclt.
Group Bull (also k n o n as Bull Conplu a simpw Bun) is a F:nch mmpu!r ampar?. baad Loweckms. Franc* wlslde Pah.
NGK is a Japan based cwnpany urhr* IS H o the manufadumj d msulators
" ONGC is a plbko s e d a pebdarm ampmy m lnda I1 is a kturr 2000 coxany, h e mod valuable oompanl in India tby mnrtel cap'italisatian) cmtribuling 77% of Inma's crude cil
pmdrcbcn and 81 %of Irdia's nahrd gas pcducbon. It is the h ~ g h s profmaio%
l :c?@on m India
* wzdityabLla.m
" L m n 8 Toubro L d e d is Irdia's larged engimenng ard ccmtwdian ox@hwatc wah addbonal H& in IT md ekdrical b d s
wadityabida.m
" It was sd up as Bkta Gmth Fmd Lld in 1986 by the A m &ria Orap to i-ka the sandd s e ~ i c business.
a The C o m p ~ ywar rrremed as &la Global Rnsna Ud (BGFL)n
i894.
" *huudihabLla.com
 Aditya Birla Group under ~ u m aMangalam
r Birla: Can he Manage the Mandate?

The top 20 executives of the Group, who had greater responsibilities in the Group, could report direciiy to KM Birla,
thereby giving them completefreedom to run their businesses,and at the same time holdingthem more accountablefor their
performance. KM Birla said, "Delegationfor me is given. If the person feels that he can't take responsibility then I am the
wrong person towork for."" Basant Kumar Birla, father of AV Birla, said, "Kumar Mangalam's working model is completely
differentfromhis father's. Kumar Mangalam believes in delegation of power. His style is more Group oriented.qB Sankupt
Misra, one of the most important HR executives of the Group, said; "Mr. Birla starts from a position of tnrst and continues io
doso unless proven otherdise, but it is in no way abdication. He has his own antennae and picks rare moments to assess
people. If you pass muster at those points, then you have his in~stforever.~~Several analysts also praised KM Birla's style
of functioning.
Analysts wereof the viewthat the core of KM Birla's management stylewere the qualities of endurance and persuasion.
The negotiation for the Group's acquisitionof Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) cement division was a suitable example of it. The
negotiations lasted overtwo years and KM Birla kept pursuing it persistently till heclinched the dea1.A.M. Naik, Chairman
and Managing Director, L&T, said, "His style, very simply put, is towin overthe person across the table with a lotof patience.
Hejust won't give up. He is very charming and friendly even in the thick of negotiations.He gets exactly what he wants by
actually winning you over."40
KM Birla, dun;g his tenure, also employed a number ofwomen managers unlike his predecessors.When he had taken
over as chairman, there were very fewwomen managers, but as of early 2005 women constituted more than 6%of Group's
employee^.^' Shailendra Jain, President of Grasim, said, "What changed under the young Birla, however were the
expectationsfrom the employees. Boih G.D. Birla and A.V. Birla were more focused on relatively short term goals, but the
current chairman takes a long-term view and while he is less demanding in the short term he is far more demandingin the
long rur,. Initially, hewas trying to understand; now he is in complete command. Earlier hewould ask, now he gives us the
dire~tion."~~
Analysts believed that KM Birla has began to think big in recent times. In the beginning, he usually used to focus more
on exkacting value rather than betting big on growth. Unlike his early days as the chairman of the Group, heexpanded his
business empire through various acquisitions. In 2000, the Group acquiredthe INR 1,750 crore lndal to become the largest
player in aluminum business inAsiaa and in 2005 the Group acquired L&T making it the largest cement company in Ind~a.
According to an article published in The Economic Times, 'The Group's acquisitions bear testimony to Kumar Mangalam's
aggression in the market" As of 2005, Kumar Mangalam Birla, 38, chairman of one of the oldest family business houses
in india, has succeeded not only in sustaining the growth of Aditya Birla Group, but has also made it one of the most
diversified conglomerates inAsia. But analyst., believed that there were several challenges ahead.

Challenges Ahead
Despite remainingprofitable,the company's growth has been slower as compared to its peers in the recent past. It has
been reflected in the stock market, where its market capitalization of INR 30,000 crores is less than its total turnover.
Although the Group has become the king of commodities in India by becoming the largest producers of cement,
aluminum and insulators and also leading manufacturers of viscose staple fiber, carbon black, viscosefilament yam,"
analysts believedthat the Group's biggest challenge rested in making its commodity business of aluminum, viscose staple
fiber and fertilizer more competitiveandalso valuableon the stock market. According to an article in Business Today,"After
all, theGroupls market cap today is much less than its overall revenues. It's noordinary challenge. But, then he has proved
that he is no ordinary young man."&

l h e Orgslization M,
opdl
" 1s he M a numba one?: op.it.
Ibid.
a 7 h e Organizatii Man'. opcit
" 7rmafo1mation new alchmiih from wdrracy peaple', op.cl
1The k1q.s Gambit'. q.d
" 'After sni hdr-raisingsbrl i f 6 been a dash to h e top', q.d
Ibid.
* Jzyab, RRorhni 7he Big B oflrdm &nimra'. wwrbudress4odaym. Decanber 21' 2003
A 7he Orgarnration Man', op.cit
 Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam Birla: Can he Manage the Mandate?

Though the Group has forayed into Telecom and InfoTechconsulting in 1995 and 2000 respectively, it is still a small
player in the market.Aditya Birla Group has excelled in the cornmodities business and is one of the lowest cost producers
of mostof the commodities it manufactures. But its future test lies in attaining leadership position in customer-orientedbusiness.
The challenge also lies in consolidatingits old businesses and at the same time expanding the new economy businesses.
In the days of AV Birla, the Group had to deal with the exiernal environment like obtaining licenses, permits and
clearancesfrom the government But in present day scenario KM Birla's main challenge lies in combating thevery complex
natureof tfie market like tariff barriers which has gone down considerably.The standards for quality and cost, competence
have also become a crucial factor for survival. Commenting on KM Birla, R. Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons,
said, "He (KM Birla) has assembledan impressive bunch of professionals and he listens to them, while he himsetf scans the
environment to anticipate change^.'^^ KM Birla believes thatthe four most importantfactors that would determine the altitude
of the Group's success in the future are scale, efficiency, managementof cash flows and developmentof skills of his people.
Analysts feel that setting biggerchallenges and offering incentives to achieve tinem would be the key in preparing the
organizationfor growth. KM Birla said, "The task is in differentiating between a good perforher and a perf~rrner."~~ The
biggest challenge that lies ahead for KM Birla, named 'Young Global Leader'by World Economic Forum (Davos) in 2004
[Annexure I], is toenter the list of Fortune 500 companies by the end of 2010, which is one of his bigger dreams.
TheGroup has been consistently planning to expand its global presence. But the challenge lies in sustaining its
leadership positions in its core businesses.Also KM Birla has to play a major role in maintaininga harmony among the t o p
level management in culturally diversified working Group. It is also important to create a strong human resource base.
Another big test for KM Birla is changing this patriarchal Group into a meritocracy based Group. According to an article
published in Business Sfandard,'At the top sits Kumar Mangalam Birla, and despite the delegation of authority, people still
prefer to wait for "Babu's" order directly. Changing this mindset is clearly Birla's biggest challenge now."49

7 h e Organization Mm; op.cR.

Kumais Big BdS. op.d.
* 1s he Birla nunber o n 7 , w.cl
 306-043-1
Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam Birla: Can he Manage the Mandate?

Exhibit 1
Kumar Mangalam's Management Team

Santrupt Misra: Joined in 1996.Credited with helping professionalizethe Group.

Sanjiv Aga: Joined the Group in 1998and presently is the managing director of Indian Rayon
S.K. Mitra: Director of Group's Financial Services
Shailendra Jain: Working with the Group since 1965 and is the head of pulp and staple fibre business.
Debu Bhattacharya: Joined the Group in 1998 and is the Managing Directorof Hindalco Industries.
Bharat Singh: Heads Group widecorporate sbtegy and development.
Saurabh Misra: Group Director of thecement business. Hejoined the Group in 2000
Deepak Mittal: Group Director-Acrylic Fibre and Textiles, Bangkok

Source: Srinivasan, Pr'ja "The Organization Man", www.business-today.com, July 1P2005

Exhibit 2

Contribution of sectors in India to Group turnover

O.6 of tatal turnover

others
insubtors
VFY
mining
carbon black
garment5
inwnnce
fertilisers
chemkalr
sponge lm,
textiles
VSF
cement
copper
aluminium
---- 7-

0.0 5 .O 10.0 15.0 20 0 25.0 30.0

Source: www.adityabirla.com
 306-043-1
Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam ~ i r l aCan
: he Manage the Mandate?

Exhibit 3
Aditya Birla Group Factfile
* The Group is the world leader in Viscose Staple Fiber.
* One of theAsia's largest producers'ofAluminum.
TheGroup is also thefastest-growing coppercompany in Asia
* It's the largest producer of cement in the world.
World's fourth largest producer of carbon black
The Group also has the world's largest single-location palm oil refinery.
* Third largest producer of insulators globally.
India's second-largestproducer of viscose filamentyam.
The number two private sector insurancecompany in India.
Fourth-largest asset managementcompany in India.

Compiled by ICFAl Business School Case DevelopmentCenke from -www.adityabirla.comand www.blogspot.com

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Aditya Birla Group under Kumar Mangalam Birla: Can he Manage the Mandate?

Annexure 1
Various Awards Won by Kumar Mangalam Birla
Chosen as theYoung Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum @avos) in 2004.
The Economic TimesAwards named him as 'The Business Leader of the Year"forCorporate Excellence2002-
2003.
* Business India selected him as theUBusinessMan of theyear- 2003".
* In 2003, he also won The National Institute of Industrial Engineering's (NITIE)'s "The Lakshya - Business
Visionary Award".
He was also ranked among the top five Asian business leaders for the "Asian Business LeaderAward 2002"
sponsored by CNBCllnsead.
Hewon the prestigious Instituteof Directors"Golden Peacock NationalAward for Business Leadership" in 2001.
Won The Giants InternationalAward for "Business Excellence and his Contribution to the Industry" in 2001.
Won Th_eHindustan Times"Businessman of the Year'award in 2001
Was honouredas T h e ManagementMan of theyear 1999-2000" by the Bombay ManagementAssociation.
* In 1998, he became the first and only industrialist to have been appointed as a public nomineeon the governing
board of the Securities and Exchange Board of lndia (SEBI) by the Finance Ministry.

Compiled by ICFAl Business School Case DevelopmentCenkefrom -w,adityabirIa.com