Anantharamakrishnan Sivasailam (24 August 1934 – 11 January 2011) was an Indian industrialist, educationist, philanthropist and a former chairman and managing director of Amalgamations Group of Industries, a 70 billion conglomerate hosting a workforce of over 12,000 (as of 2011). He headed the business family which was listed by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

as the 37th richest in India in 2015, with a net worth of 2.5 billion. He was the president of the

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers The automotive industry in India is the fourth-largest in the world as per 2021 statistics. In 2022, India became fourth largest country in the world by valuation of automotive industry. As of 2020, India is the 5th largest automobile market in ...

(1970, 1971) and

ASSOCHAM The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India () is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in New Delhi, India. The organisation represents the interests of trade and commerce in ...

and held the office of the Sheriff of Madras during 1969–1970. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, in 2007, for his contributions to Indian industry.

Biography

Sivasailam was born on 24 August 1934, at

Alwarkurichi Alwarkurichi is a panchayat town in Tenkasi district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Location Alwarkurichi is a small town 35 km or 45 Min travel from west of Tirunelveli town and 25 km from Tenkasi town. Located near western ...

in Tirunelveli district, which is now the south Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, to

S. Anantharamakrishnan Sivasailam Anantharamakrishnan (1905 – 18 April 1964), affectionately called "J" was an Indian industrialist and business tycoon who founded and led the Amalgamations Group of industries from 1945 to 1964. Anantharamakrishnan was born in ...

, the founder of Amalgamations Group, as the elder of his two sons. He graduated in commerce from

Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College is a private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the French Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other European Jesuits. It is an auto ...

, of the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

and started his career as an accountant at a chartered accountancy firm in London where he worked for four years. In 1957, he joined his father in their family business as a comptroller and treasurer and took over

Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE) is an Indian agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Chennai, India. TAFE is the third-largest tractor manufacturer in the world and the second largest in India by volume. Description TAFE – ...

(TAFE), an industrial venture started by the group in 1960, as its general manager, in 1961. He continued heading TAFE for 7 years and subsequent to his father's death in 1964, he took over the leadership of the group's business and became the chairman of the group officially in 1968, with his brother, A. Krishnamurthy, as its vice chairman. He held the position till his death in 2011 and the group grew during this period from a 350 million business to 70 billion conglomerate, composed of 48 subsidiaries and 12,000 strong workforce. The

, the flagship company of the group, has since become the largest exporter and the second largest manufacturer of agricultural tractors in India, with an annual output of 100,000 tractors and a turnover of 1.6 billion. Sivasailam, a former president of the

, was the president of the

for two consecutive terms (1970, 1971) and served as the Sheriff of Madras for two years, from 1969 to 1970. He was associated with the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

and was the founder of the Paramakalyani Group of educational institutions,

and the ''Institute of Environment Sciences'' at the

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is a university in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was hived off the Madurai Kamaraj University on 7 September 1990. The motto of the university is "In Pursuit of Excellence". It is named after the Tamil sc ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

. The

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) is the state agricultural university of Tamil Nadu located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. History The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University had its genesis from establishment of an agricultural sch ...

honored him with the degree of Doctor of Science (

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

) and the National Institute of Quality Assurance awarded him the Outstanding Industrialist Award. He received Lifetime Achievement Awards from

SAE India SAE or Sae may refer to: Science and technology : * Selective area epitaxy, local growth of epitaxial layer through a patterned dielectric mask deposited on a semiconductor substrate * Serious adverse event, in a clinical trial * Simultaneous Auth ...

and the

(SIAM) and Distinguished Service Award from the

All India Management Association All India Management Association (AIMA) is the national apex body of the management profession in India. A not for profit, non-lobbying organisation, working closely with Industry, Government, Academia and students to further the cause of the m ...

(AIMA). A recipient of the Golden Jubilee Lifetime Contribution Award by the

Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) is an organization representing manufacturers in the Indian auto component industry, founded in 1959. It is associated with trade promotion, technology enhancement, quality improvement and gath ...

and an elected Fellow of the

Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...

, London, he was included in the Republic Day honours list in 2007 by the Government of India for the civilian award of the

. Sivasailam, died on 11 January 2011 at

Kasturba Hospital The Kasturba Hospital was started in 1945 by Dr Sushila Nayyar. It is a 1000-bed hospital, located in Sevagram, about 8 km from Wardha, and offers tertiary care healthcare facilities to rural patients. In 1969, the Mahatma Gandhi Institu ...

Manipal Manipal is a suburb and university town within Udupi, in coastal Karnataka, India. Manipal is located five kilometres away from the centre of Udupi City, in Udupi District, Karnataka (state) in south western India. It is administered by the Udup ...

, following a cardiac arrest. His wife, Indira Sivasailam, had preceded him in death; the couple were survived by both their daughters. The elder daughter,

Mallika Srinivasan Mallika Srinivasan (born 1959) is an Indian industrialist and is the Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, a tractor major incorporated in 1960 at Chennai, India. She is also the Chairperson of the Public Enterp ...

, a

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

alumnus, is the chairman and chief executive officer of

. She is the wife of

Venu Srinivasan Venu Srinivasan is an Indian industrialist. He is Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor Company, one of the leading manufacturers of two-wheelers in the world and Sundaram-Clayton Limited, a leading manufacturer of auto components in India. He also serv ...

, chairman of the

TVS Group TVS Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate with its principal headquarters in Madurai and international headquarters in Chennai. It has more than 50 subsidiaries including the two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company and TVS Supply ...

. The younger daughter is Jayashree Venkatraman, a director of TAFE and the wife of Murali Venkatraman, the managing director of WS Industries, a

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

-based industrial group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sivasailam, A. 1934 births 2011 deaths People from Tirunelveli district University of Madras alumni Indian industrialists 20th-century Indian educational theorists Loyola College, Chennai alumni 20th-century Indian businesspeople Businesspeople from Tamil Nadu Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry Sheriffs of Madras 20th-century Indian philanthropists

Biography

See also

References