Ajay Piramal – the Trendsetter

This refers to your cover story on Piramal Enterprises ( The Contrarian, August 14). It was an interesting study of the history of the Piramal Group under the leadership of Ajay Piramal. In the present complex business environment – making it difficult for entrepreneurs to flourish – Ajay Piramal has become a trendsetter. His reading of the ground situation is perfect and he doesn’t have a herd mentality. Piramal’s contrarian strategies have yielded rich dividends and he has hit pay dirt in his various business ventures. His focus on financial services once again shows his business acumen. The creation of a resurgent fund is timely and the stressed asset market has potential. The formation of an information management board is a unique initiative to manage their business activities judiciously. Indeed, Piramal has demonstrated to others how to manage risks and manoeuvre unforeseeable forces comfortably. His management decisions and commercial responses show intuitive intelligence in action. His professional teams consist of domain experts who have contributed immensely in transforming this group and taking it to greater heights. Piramal Group is a stark example of professionalism. Swati Piramal is on the Board of Overseers of Harvard University. She has been elected in recognition of her business acumen. And the family members have also proved their mettle in the diverse operations of the group. No doubt, Piramal is contrarian but he has demonstrated that he knows when to enter and exit businesses. He has an uncanny sense of timing. No wonder then that many have compared him to Warren Buffett. B. Rajasekaran, Bangalore