Mittal urges students to take the unbeaten path

Life in my industry hasn’t been easy in recent years, says Lakshmi N Mittal, chairman and chief executive of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker. He was speaking here at St Xavier’s University, earlier St Xavier’s College, of which he was once a graduate. Mittal had flown from London to flag off the commencement of the first academic session of the university.

The steel industry, world over, has gone through turmoil, often attributed to a flood of export from China that nearly wrecked every steel market.

“As you can imagine, given the size and scale of the company today, my leadership team is very important to me," Mittal went on. ArcelorMittal has 200,000 employees and operations in 60 countries.

The empire wasn’t built in a day. “When I started the company in Indonesia in 1976, it was just me and a few others," he recalls. “Every decision we took from that point shaped our future and contributed to our reputation. Back then, we never dreamt we would become the world’s leading steel company."

In those days, said Mittal, leaving the country and relocating to Indonesia was a big decision. “To leave my home, my family, to live in a foreign country with my wife and baby son, Aditya, was a huge decision."

He said his father M L Mittal, 91, present at the function, was very supportive of his decision. “He completely supported and guided me to set up a small steel plant in Indonesia and provided all the resources to enable me to do that. I am grateful to him for his unwavering support."

The son also gave St. Xavier’s credit for its education, to help him make the decision to go to Indonesia. “It gave me the grounding to take the decision and the quest for adventure."

Getting into the college hadn’t been easy. “I had to work hard to persuade Father Joris to admit me. He had his reasons to say, No. Mainly, that I didn’t speak English and all classes were in English." Nevertheless, Mittal graduated with flying colours. Vice Chancellor, Felix Raj, while introducing him, said he’d got the highest rank.

To the students, Mittal asked them to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship. “Real transformational change comes from entrepreneurship. The world needs people who have the desire and motivation to buck the trend, think differently and potentially carve out a path that has not been followed before. If that is you, then keep it as part of you. I certainly don’t regret my own decision."

“Real transformational change comes from entrepreneurship. The world needs people who have the desire and motivation to buck the trend, think differently and potentially carve out a path that has not been followed before. If that is you, then keep it as part of you. I certainly don’t regret my own decision” LAKSHMI N MITTAL Chairman and chief executive of ArcelorMittal