Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of the TVS Group, on Thursday received the Lifetime Achievement honour at the 18th edition of CNBC-TV18's India Business Leadership Awards (IBLA) in Mumbai.

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Receiving the award, Venu recalled the circumstances under which he took charge of the company, when his father, TVS founder TS Srinivasan, passed away. "...initially, it was tough, but success came quite easily and sometimes success comes too easily and you trip and fall."

He said the company's plan is to make a splash abroad. "Next, we have to go to Latin America where we have a very small footprint; to Southeast Asia; and ultimately, North America and Europe as well ... but (it is ) not for me to do; I'll handed over the baton to the next generation," he said.

Venu also had words of advice for young entrepreneurs just starting their business journey. "Self belief — I think without self belief, nothing can be achieved; never say die — you cannot, even on the worst, darkest night; you have to keep faith and persevere; and you have to believe in your people, nurture your people, carry your people with you," he said.

As part of the social outreach of TVS Motor and Sundaram-Clayton, he started and oversees Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), which works in more than 2,500 villages in India. SST follows a holistic development approach in villages with active participation of the community.

The focus areas of the trust are societal development through development of women and children, water conservation, improving livelihoods through agriculture & livestock and preservation & conservation of environment.

Also read | IBLA 2023: TVS Motor Company's Venu Srinivasan predicts over 6% growth for India in 2023

Venu was born on December 11, 1952, in Chennai in a family that was already deeply involved in the automobile industry. His father, TS Srinivasan, was the founder of TVS Group which started as a small transport company and eventually grew into a diversified conglomerate with interests in various sectors, including automotive, aviation, and finance.

Education and Early Career

Venu completed his schooling in Chennai and later went on to study engineering at the College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University. He then pursued his MBA from Purdue University. He took over as the CEO of Sundaram-Clayton, the holding Company of TVS Motor, in 1979. He became the Managing Director of the company in 1986. Under his leadership, The company became one of the leading two-wheeler manufacturers in India.

Contributions to the Industry

Venu is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Indian automobile industry. He has been instrumental in introducing several innovative products and technologies in the market, which have helped TVS Motor Company gain a competitive edge over its rivals. He was the driving force behind the company's foray into the racing segment, which helped it gain valuable insights into developing high-performance bikes. He also played a key role in developing the TVS Apache — one of the most popular bikes in India.

Apart from his contributions to TVS Motor Company, Venu has also been actively involved in various industry bodies and organisations. He was the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) from 2009-10 and has served as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Madras. He is also a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry and has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council by the Government of India.

Awards and Recognition

Venu's contributions to the Indian industry have been widely recognised, and he has received several awards and honours — in 2020, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian honour, for his contributions to the fields of trade and industry. He was also awarded the Padma Shri in 2010. He has also been conferred several other awards, including the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award, the CNBC Asia Business Leader Award, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

In 2014, Venu was felicitated by the then-President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, with the 'Order of Diplomatic Service Merit' in recognition of his contribution in promoting Korea-India bilateral relations. He is also the first industrialist from India to be conferred with the Deming ‘Distinguished Service Award for Dissemination and Promotion Overseas’, in 2019, for his contributions in the field of Total Quality Management (TQM).

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First Published:May 11, 2023 7:42 PM IST