Chairing It

Besides being a gadget freak, Martin Schwenk, MD & CEO of largest luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz India, has a thing for a lounge chair that costs upwards of Rs 3.5 lakh. So much so that he has carried it with him wherever work has taken him from Germany, South Africa, Austria to the US, China and now India. The LC4 chaise long chair is a product of a collaboration between three French designers - Le Corbusier (who also designed and planned Chandigarh), Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret and produced by Italian firm Cassina.

First designed in 1928, this chaise longue is built in a shape crafted for relaxation that takes the idea that form and function should be at the service of relaxation, creating a perfect balance between its geometric purity and its ergonomic intent. Part of an avant-garde collection for the Paris Salon dAutomne, it caused furore on its premiere and is considered a milestone in modern furniture history. No testimony can be bigger than a senior executive of the three-pointed star, the world's most prominent luxury symbol, rooting for it. A CEO's is no ordinary chair after all.