Programmed to lead

They get away three times a year for a retreat outside Chennai with no structured agenda. That is how the fourth generation of the Rs 16,000-crore Murugappa Group consisting of seven cousins/siblings gets to understand each other and their business better. Three of the cousins have already taken up leadership positions and run the core businesses, while Arun Alagappan, Arun Murugappan, A. Venkatachalam and Vellayan Subbiah are being groomed to take up larger roles even as they scout for new opportunities for the group.

Arun Murugappan, 42, MBA (University of Chicago) Work experience: 19 years In family business : Since 1991. Now: MD, Parry Enterprises India Ltd. Lesson from parents: The need to maintain long-term relationship. Fast forward 2020: To head one of the large companies in the group. Best friend/guide in India Inc: Ahsan Hydari, former head of Tube Investments.

Vellayan Subbiah started writing computer programmes when he was just 10 years old. Not surprising that he has taken the group into the IT-enabled services by starting a publishing BPO firm. "We are late into the game. Many large companies have established themselves firmly in IT," Subbiah admits. But he is quick to add: "We do not want to be an 'also ran'. We want to use technology to provide niche solutions like what we do for the publishing industry."

A. Venkatachalam runs a company that makes fibre reinforced plastic products. He wants to make the group a leading player in that segment. Arun Murugappan has just gotten the group to invest Rs 45 crore in flexible packaging business. "With retail sales getting organised, everything is getting packaged. Flexible packaging has a huge opportunity. We want to grow it into a Rs 300 crore business in three years," he says.

A. Venkatachalam, 48, BSc (Business Administration) Work experience: 23 years. In family business: Since 1987. Now: Director, Placon (India) Pvt Ltd. and Polutech Ltd. Lesson from parents: Simplicity, humility and to never compromise on anything. Fast forward 2020: Make Murugappa Group a leading player in fibre reinforced plastics business. Best friend/guide in India Inc: Lanka Lingam of Lanson Toyota.

Arun Alagappan, unlike the other three with their entrepreneurial responsibilities, has an operational role at TI Cycles India, one of the core businesses. As head of retail sales, he has transformed the way cycles are sold in India. He introduced modern retail formats to sell cycles. In fact, he began to sell the concept of cycling instead of cycles. This has caught the imagination of the industry and other manufacturers are also following suit.

He has also taken the group into electric bikes through BSA Motors. "E-scooter is an idea that is waiting to happen. We are already there. It is the technology of the future," he says.

They all swear by the group's core businesses—engineering, abrasives, finance, cycles, general insurance, sugar and fertiliser—and are raring to take on bigger roles in the group.

Vellayan Subbiah, 40 Civil Engineering (IIT-Madras), MBA (University of Michigan) Work experience: 13 years. In family business : Since 2005. Now: MD, Laserwords (a publishing BPO). Lesson from parents: A strong sense of family and leveraging professional talent. Fast forward 2020: Take up an appropriate role in any of the group core businesses. Best friend/guide in India Inc: Many.

Ask them about their shortcomings, the response is swift. "I am a little impatient. I tend to get things done quickly without going into the bottom of the issue," says Murugappan. Adds Alagappan, "My parents tell me to slow down my decision making a bit so that I can think more rationally."

They may come from different branches of the family but have surprisingly common views on crucial issues. "If you are in some business you have to be in it at a scale," is the collective view. Similar exposure — boarding school in India and graduation abroad — could be the reason for their common thinking.

Arun Alagappan, 33 MBA (Cardiff Business School, Wales, UK) Work experience: 12 years. In family business : Since 1999. Now: Senior Vice president—Retail and BSA Motors, TI Cycles of India. Lesson from parents: Be independent but responsibly. Fast forward 2020: Take on a policy making role at group level. Best friend/guide in India Inc: Vijay Sankar, deputy chairman, Sanmar Group.

At the same time they have very different personal interests. Alagappan is passionate about horses in general and show-jumping as a sport in particular. He is a qualified international show-jumping course designer. Murugappan, on the other hand, likes to play squash, golf, tennis and takes keen interest in motor sports while Subbiah is into cycling.