Chairman, The UB Group
Vijay Mallya, 44, was elected as Chairman of United Breweries by
shareholders, following the demise of his late father in 1983 at
the young age of 28.
Prior to being entrusted with the responsibilities of a classical
Indian Corporate conglomerate, Vijay Mallya worked for the American
Hoechst Corporation (now Aventis) in the USA and in the U.K. Since
1980, he assisted his father, then Chairman of the UB Group in managing
the important Brewing and Spirits Divisions. In 1983, the sales
volume of the UB Spirits division was approximately 3.85 million
cases and UB's beer business trailed behind that of Golden Eagle
from Mohan Meakins. Also included in the Group were activities such
as Pharmaceuticals, Agrochemicals, Paints, Monomers and Polymers,
the manufacture of Electro-mechanical Batteries, the manufacture
of food products and carbonated beverages, a fast food Pizza chain
and several medium and small scale industrial units.
Upon assuming the position of Chairman in October 1983, Vijay Mallya
initiated the process of defining a corporate structure with performance
accountability, inducting professional management and consolidating
the unwieldy empire into individual operating divisions.
In 1988, Vijay Mallya became a non-resident Indian to pursue global
opportunities and to transform the UB Group into India's first multinational.
While, in the initial stages, overseas representative offices had
been commissioned, the real break was in 1988 when Vijay Mallya,
in a leveraged buyout acquired the global Berger Paints Group with
operating companies across four continents. The exit strategy for
this investment was profitably executed when Vijay Mallya successfully
directed five Initial Public Offerings on the London, Singapore
(Main Boards), Nairobi, Jamaica and Abidjan Stock Exchanges. The
paints business was divested for significant value in 1996.
Vijay Mallya also founded a software company in the USA in 1993
which was subsequently listed on the NASDAQ in 1996 and which provides
a considerable window of opportunity to the vast US market. He also
initiated several ventures for the promotion and globalization of
UB brands and, in particular, Kingfisher and McDowell.
In 1990, following the Government of India's liberalised economic
policies, Vijay Mallya decided that the UB Group would only retain
interests in businesses that were globally competitive and which
did not depend upon fiscal tariff protection. He also decided to
focus on areas of core competence and transformed the vastly diversified
UB conglomerate into a handful of key operating businesses.
On entering the new millennium, the UB Group is considerably more
focussed and has dramatically increased value for its shareholders
through its various operating businesses. Sales of the UB Spirits
Division exceeded 25 million cases for the fiscal year ending March
31, 2000 making the Group the seventh largest manufacturer of Spirits
products in the world. In addition, this Division is one of only
four in the world to have seven millionaire brands and at least
five brands rated by Drinks International, UK to be amongst the
ten fastest growing brands in the world in their respective categories.
The market share of the Spirits Division in India is currently 37%
and exports to the Middle East, Africa and Asian countries are growing
rapidly.
The UB Group's Brewing Division has also assumed undisputed market
leadership with a national market share of 34%. The flagship brand,
Kingfisher is now sold in 32 countries worldwide having received
many accolades for its quality.
UB also acquired an equity stake and management control of National
Sorghum Breweries in South Africa to further promote its globalization
initiatives. This company is growing from strength to strength and
UB is confident of enhancing shareholder value significantly in
the next two years.
Vijay Mallya is the Chairman of public companies both in India
as well as in the USA. He has been the Chairman of Hoechst Marion
Roussel India (Aventis) as well as the Chairman of Aventis CropScience
in India for over 16 years, in addition to his Chairmanship of several
other corporations.
Vijay Mallya has received several awards both in India and overseas.
He was also conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration,
(honoris causa) by the Southern California University, Irvine. 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 of
distinction. He not only participates in various sporting events
but also supports various sporting activities worldwide, particularly
for the under privileged.
Vijay Mallya has always believed that Corporations have a responsibility
to society and mankind. To this end, he has contributed generously
to various Charities and Foundations in several countries.
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