Vijay
Mallya
The
United Breweries Group
is
the largest liquor manufacturer in India. The Chairman of the UB Group,
Vijay
Mallya is a versatile and multi-faceted person, who is as popular as he
is
successful. Certain tabloids have described his charm as
“intoxicating and
heady as some of the liquor that his company produces”. Like
many
successful men, Vijay's formative years were not spectacular. He was
born in a
wealthy family to the great and illustrious Vittal Mallya.
Vittal
Mallya was one of
the
doyen's of the liquor industry in India. He started United Breweries at
a time
when the only good liquors available were imported, which were
expensive. Vijay
was elected as Chairman of United Breweries, following the demise of
his father
in 1983. He was just 28 years old. UB had made tremendous headway in
the Indian
markets, and Vijay had been given the reins. He had no choice but to
carry on
his father's legacy. He was an only child, and therefore his options
were
definitely limited.
But
Vijay had his sights
on
many more business interests, and the group forayed into many
successful
diversified companies in the years to come. As Vijay took over the
company and
guided it to great heights, he was also becoming extremely popular in
society.
His flamboyance and colourful attitude was beginning to make headway in
the top
social circles in India and abroad. Vijay Mallya’s involvement in
the Horse
Racing Circuit also added to his popularity. He received interest in
this royal
sport, which was beginning to die in India.
He
brought glamour, glitz,
style and fashion into the sport. At a time when sponsorship of the
sport was a
cause for frustration to the authorities, he came to their rescue by
his
generous sponsorship through the UB Group. He kept expanding the scale
of
support every year. Vijay had the best racing horses, which won him
many races,
and popularized the sport tremendously. His horses always ran to win,
which was
reflective of Vijay's attitude towards life too.
Vijay
Mallya said, "The
race going public has immense faith in my horses and me. My horses
always run
true to potential and I have had a clean image which is what makes me
proud." He also initiated the annual event, the UB Fashion Show, in
Bangalore,
which turned out to be one of the biggest social events. Vijay's
focus on
business never faltered in spite of his involvement in social events.
Under his
leadership, the UB Group grew to great heights. Apart from the flagship
liquor
business, Vijay has tailored the group’s diversification into
Pharmaceuticals,
Agrochemicals, Paints, Monomers and Polymers, the manufacture of
Electromechanical Batteries, the manufacture of food products and
carbonated
beverages, a fast food pizza chain and several medium and small
scale
industrial units.
Vijay
remains a true
professional and has defined a corporate structure within the group
with
performance accountability, inducting professional management and
consolidating
the empire into individual operating divisions. Each of the companies
within
the group is headed by a competent CEO handpicked by Vijay himself. He
allows
the CEO's to run the companies with a focus on profits, while providing
guidance and direction to them. This strategy has paid off exceedingly
well,
and the UB Group has become one of- the largest and most profitable
business
houses in India today.
Vijay
has ensured that the
UB
Group recognizes its social obligations and has never flinched from
acting on
those obligations. He has opened a hospital and school to provide
quality
health care and education at affordable costs. He has also started the
Mallya
Research Foundation, which is an R&D initiative working on science
and
technology. Versatility is Vijay's keyword, and he surprised everyone
by
getting elected into the Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament with the
support
of the ‘Janata Parivar’.
Apart
from being a
successful
entrepreneur, Vijay Mallya has made it clear that he is also extremely
civic
minded. He often says that he wants to be part of the decision and
law
making process of the country. Vijay has received numerous awards in
India and
abroad. He was conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy in Business
Administration,
by the Southern California University. He has also been nominated as a
“Global
Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum. He is a keen
sportsman and is
an ardent aviator and yachtsman. He supports various sporting
activities
worldwide, particularly for the under privileged.
In
2005, Vijay Mallya
established Kingfisher Airlines, which connects 32 cities at present.
Mallya’s
Kingfisher Airlines recently obtained 26% stake in Air Deccan, a low
cost
Indian airline which he later acquired fully and integrated it into his
kingfisher fleet, rebranding it as Kingfisher RED. He and his Jet
Airways
counterpart, Naresh Goyal , announced an alliance after a marathon
meeting on
13 October 2008 at Mumbai, India. The alliance will include code
sharing on
both domestic and international flights, joint fuel management to
reduce
expenses, common ground handling, joint utilization of crew and sharing
of
similar frequent flier programmes.
In
March 2009, Mallya
bought
the belongings of Mahatma Gandhi in an auction from U.S for $1.8
million. After
the purchase, Mallya stated that he would return the articles to India,
which
may calm some of the uproar over the sale which has been seen recently
in
India. Vijay's overwhelming obsession for his business is only rivaled
by his
passion for race cars. When asked about the same, he replied in jest
"All
fast things hold an interest for me".
The
phenomenon called Vijay Mallya rolls on at
top speed in every activity that he involves himself in. And providing
a 'never
before after' picture of a businessman with an awe-inspiring zest of
life.