Keshub Mahindra Leaves Behind A Legacy Of Empowerment

Keshub Mahindra, the former chairman of the Mahindra Group and the man largely acknowledged to be the one who set up and accelerated the groups' tractors and SUV business, passed away at his residence. He is survived by his wife Sudha, daughters Uma, Leena and Yutchika, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

The genial-looking Mahindra, who was known for his eloquent speech and sophisticated sense of humour, joined his father's company—a maker of utility vehicles—in 1947, and remained chairman of the Mumbai-listed business house from 1963 to 2012, after which he retired and nephew Anand Mahindra was anointed his successor.

A graduate of Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, Mahindra helped jump-start the group into a diversified conglomerate and today, it is a $18-billion group with interests in technology, hospitality and real estate.

Arun Nanda, who worked with the group for over four decades in different senior roles and is seen as an 'insider' at the group, said Mahindra was always ahead of his time. "Amongst his key achievements were primarily  architecting an ethics and governance framework," says Nanda. “He helped put in governance practices well before required and that includes the Mahindra Foundation, which works in the area of education.”

Mahindra's vision of making four-wheel drive vehicles when the country didn't have roads and higher-end agricultural machinery shows how far he thought, Nanda said. "He picked up on tractors and four-wheel drive SUVs as key businesses which still drive considerable commerce for the group." M&M remains the largest tractor maker in the nation. 

Other practices at the group that Nanda attributed to Mahindra includes that of the culture. "I only worked for the group because of the respect for the individual and the ethical values that it not just professes but also lives by," Nanda said. 

Those who knew Mahindra say that what set him apart was his ability to be a good listener as well as mentor. "Not only was he committed but in the boardroom, he was also very open to inputs, which has allowed Mahindra to build award-winning boards over the years," said Shailesh Haribhakti, chairman of Haribhakti & Co. "Small wonder that under his guidance, Anand has become a great leader in India." 

He was the founder chairman of HUDCO, and also served on many corporate boards, including SAIL, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels, IFC, ICICI and HDFC.

Many in the corporate world see the loss as a personal one. HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said, "His presence in my life was larger than life itself; Keshub was the fulcrum of my universe. He guided my thoughts and actions through these many decades; he was a captain of my destiny. A stalwart of industry, an astute pillar of strength, a force of nature."

He also was, some say, a rare mix of right and left-brained aptitude. "He was excellent with numbers. In the old days, if he had a calculator in his room, you could rest assured he would get to the bottom of most issues in seconds,” Nanda said. "Equally, he was also a very secure leader and geared to trusting his team and managers and empowering them." 

As an example, in the 80s, he appointed a professional to run the firm well before it was the trend to do so.  BR Sule was appointed as MD and CEO of the group in those days, Nanda remembers. 

Haigreve Khaitan, managing partner at Khaitan & Co. corporate law firm, said that in many ways, the values that are demonstrated in the Mahindra Group today are a reflection of the foundations laid by Mahindra. "Which is why, he is a great institution and will be missed even more greatly," Khaitan said. 

Nanda goes on to say that in many ways the only two statesmen who were cut from a similar cloth and really very similar in many ways were Keshub Mahindra and JRD Tata. 

Roger C Pereira, a former advertising and PR executive, got to know Mahindra when they were working together on Mumbai First, a city improvement programme. "He was a lot like JRD Tata in the sense that he was an elder statesman to all business executives in the city," he said. "He was erudite and also humble to a fault. If I died, he would have come for my funeral."

At a personal level, Mahindra was generous-hearted in the way he would look after his people, forgiving and also humble. "He would visit his colleagues and employees. Fond of Italian food, which he would even cook, he was always immaculately dressed in well-tailored suits, was a gourmet and his Friday lunches for senior management were renowned," Nanda said.

According to Nanda, in his youth, he was also fond of Alpine skiing, a keen golfer and played tennis at Wharton. 

Fellow industrialists recall that Mahindra was not only a good businessman but straightforward and honest when it came to dealing with. 

Vijaypath Singhania, former chairman of Raymond Ltd., said that he hadn't met Mahindra for the last 10 or 15 years, but prior to that he would bump into him in the business circuit in Mumbai. On one occasion, when Singhania was purchasing a floor at Mahindra's Mahindra Towers Office in Worli, he remarked that the prices being asked for were sky high.

Singhania said that Mahindra told him, “Pick up two more floors now at this price and you will not regret it later.” As prices skyrocketed, Singhania said he, in fact, did regret having not bought more floors. “At every level, he was highly regarded within the business community,” Singhania said. 

Pavan Lall is a Mumbai-based author and journalist with over two decades of experience in the media industry.