Keshub Mahindra hands over baton to Anand Mahindra at M&M AGM

Mumbai, August 8, 2012: Mahindra & Mahindra chairman Keshub Mahindra, who was a director for 64 years and chairman for 48 years, has handed over the reins of the company to Anand Mahindra at the conclusion of the company’s 66th Annual General Meeting today. He will be the Chairman Emeritus, advising the company, with Anand Mahindra as CMD. He also announced the appointment of the New York-based Dr Vishakha Desai, president and CEO of Asia Society, and Vikram Singh Mehta, chairman of the Shell Group of Companies in India since 1994, on the board of directors.

Commenting on the company’s results, Keshub Mahindra said: “I do want to stress that it has been a very difficult year and a most challenging one. There have been problems stemming from many circumstances abroad like the state of the sovereign debts of many advanced economies, turmoil in the Middle East, weakening global economic environment and our rising fiscal and current account deficits. Our currency continues to weaken with a high inflation rate and prolonged uncertainties in respect of our policies and regulations. In spite of this turbulent and uncertain period, our business continued to grow. In the automotive sector, we had a growth of nearly 29 percent, while in the case of tractors, despite the sluggish conditions in the last few months, in the year gone by, the growth was 10 percent. We acquired majority holding in South Korean SsangYong Motor Company and inaugurated our world-class engineering and R&D centre, the Mahindra Research Valley (MRV) in Chennai.”

He added, “The risks of a full-fledged crisis in Europe remains high, Greece is in a dire state, Spain is showing signs of recession and Italy is showing unacceptable figures of stability. China is showing signs of slowing down, oil markets are in a flux. At the same time, weak domestic macros – high inflation, large fiscal and current account deficits – and coalition politics continue to constrain policy actions critical to supporting growth. Any growth below 7 percent cannot even begin to meet our social needs. Uncertainties of our policies and our vacillation on major reforms together with the south west monsoon remaining weak, adds to our woes. The future indeed looks challenging, but there is hope that in the latter part of the current year. One might see a change leading to growth and the containment of our revenue and fiscal deficits. I also expect that the government will move to clarify the uncertainties in many sections of our economy and to bring back focus on providing a platform for the growth of our economy which is critical for bettering the quality of the lives of our people.”

The new chairman Anand Mahindra, was appointed managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra in 1991 and in 2003, was given the additional responsibility of vice-chairman. Under his stewardship, the US$15.4 billion (Rs 85,162 crore) Group has evolved into a socially and environmentally responsible global federation of companies with a leading presence in each sector in which it is present. Mahindra is present across the automotive spectrum, from two-wheelers, three-wheelers, CVs, SUVs and MPVs to saloons, tractors, and even powerboats and aircraft. In addition, the Group’s diversified businesses span automotive components, finance, insurance, IT, retail, real estate, hospitality, logistics and the aftermarket.

A thought leader in Indian business, Anand Mahindra serves on many industry confederations, national and international.