"We don't think of success or failure, they are
just phases.”
This is one of the sayings of the renowned
personality, Kumar Mangalam Birla, an industrialist and one of
the richest men in India.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, born on
14th June, 1967, is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
This group the 3rd largest business house in India. Kumar Mangalam belongs to
the 4th generation of the Birla family. The illustrious family belongs to
Rajasthan, one of the cultural states of India. Kumar’s childhood was spent in
Kolkata and Mumbai. After his B.Com from University of Bombay and CA from ICAI,
he went to London for an MBA degree from London Business School.
Mr K M Birla, 46 took over as the Chairman
of the Aditya Birla Group in the year 1995.
He held this position at a very young age of 28 after the death of his father.
He was a Marwari but he shaped himself as the most renowned businessman over
years.
Mr K M Birla has a cultural value, efficiency and
excellence in the financial management. All these traits helped him in his
career as a chairman and a visionary. Accountancy is one of the most important
traits of the Birla family and Kumar has that trait in his blood, clearly.
Aditya Birla Group has been a
meritocratic organization and shaped as a multi-ethnic and multi-dimensional
empire with strength of committed employees spanned around 42 countries across
the globe.
The group expanded globally and according to
Kumar, it has to move with the changing times. It was this motivation which
took Birla forward to such a renowned place. His father took the group to
overseas and when there was no concept called globalization; his father did
business with some of the major brands in Europe and US.
There is no substitute for hard work and this can
be seen in the work of Kumar. His main philosophy is to give back what is
earned and he has given this back to society in the form of education. An
international institute founded by him now runs in Mumbai that focuses on the
inner growth of the future entrepreneurs.
It is true that Mr K M Birla got this name and
achievement from his family, one of the most renowned families in India; but he
as an individual achieved success and excellence with his own hard work and
dedication. He always applied simple solutions to complex problems or
difficulties. This made him a true businessman all through the years. But yes,
his father’s contribution to the business can never be underestimated. He
has a passion for his work and the outcome is the rise of Aditya Birla Group
globally.
"CAs today face top challenge from MBAs who are good at
communication skills, know finance and economy better," he said while
addressing All India Conference of Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) at Bhubaneswar
"MBAs have an edge over CAs in many fields
as the Indian economy is much closer to the world economy now. As merger and
acquisition are order of the day, CAs have big roles to play," he said. Delivering the inaugural address at the Mind
Rocks India Today Youth Summit 2011, Birla said, "I had two gurus-Pratap
Sharma, who taught me the effects of communication, and Ram Charan Yadav, who
is a world-renowned management consultant. It's very important that you communicate
appropriately and at the right time."
To inherit his father's legacy at the age of 28
was like to be in the deep end, said Mr K M Birla "In such situations, you
either learn to swim quickly or you sink. I had to learn to deal with people
really fast. Of course I had the qualification-a CA (degree) and an MBA
degree-and five years of experience of working with my father," he said.
Success stays with those who stand firm to the
ground despite the odds