Grand Jury

Anand G. Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
graduated with Honours (Magna cum laude) from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1977. In 1981 he secured an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts. He returned to India that year and joined Mahindra Ugine Steel Company Ltd (MUSCO), the country’s foremost producer of specialty steels, as Executive Assistant to the Finance Director. In 1989 he was appointed President and Deputy Managing Director of the company.

In April 1997, he was appointed Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the country’s dominant producer of off-road vehicles and agricultural tractors. He initiated a comprehensive change programme in Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to make the company an efficient and aggressive competitor in the new liberalized economic environment in India. In January 2003,he was given the additional responsibility of Vice Chairman.

Anand Mahindra is the co-founder of the Harvard Business School Association of India, an association dedicated to the promotion of professional management in India.

As a leading industry figure, he has served as President of the Confederation of Indian Industry in 2003-04 and has also been President of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).  He also served on the Boards of the National Stock Exchange of India and the National Council of Applied Economic Research.

Anand continues to receive several honours, a few of which are:

• ‘Knight of the Order of Merit’ by the President of the French Republic.
• Rajiv Gandhi Award 2004 for outstanding contribution in the business field
• CNBC Asia Business Leader Award for the year 2006.
• The Most Inspiring Corporate Leader of the Year 2007 from NDTV Profit.

  Beyond Business, he is a firm believer in the power of education, Anand initiated the Nanhi Kali programme about two decades ago to provide free education to economically underprivileged girls in the country. There are over 70,000 Nanhi Kalis across the country today.
Anand is co-founder of Naandi Danone, which is the largest safe drinking water provider to rural areas of the country catering to nearly 3 million customers. Anand is also a Life Trustee on the Board of Naandi Foundation, a leader in providing meals to 1.3 million children daily and academic support in over 1800 government schools