After a nearly six-decade-long career, Anil Manibhai Naik will end his innings as the non-executive chairman of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on Saturday. He will, however, continue to be associated with the conglomerate in various capacities for the next two years. Naik, who hands over the reins to SN Subrahmanyan (popularly known as SNS), speaks to Rajesh Kurup and Joydeep Ghosh about his successes and some regrets as well. Excerpts:
L&T and you have been almost synonymous, so much that it’s been said that you just can’t take L&T out of AM Naik. Now that you are formally retiring, how would you remain associated with the company?
I will remain closely connected – emotionally and formally. My term as chairman of our IT companies continues for another two years. After that, I will be Founder-Chairman. I will continue mentoring senior L&T-ites to help build a robust leadership pipeline for the company. This is something I have been doing for many years now. In fact, most of the current directors, including the current CEO & MD have been mentored actively by me. I have already mapped out the top leadership that should see the company through till 2040.
Further, I will be the chairman of the L&T Employee Trust – the largest single shareholder of the company. I have already said that L&T is my temple, and you can never retire from a temple. L&T is my life.
You wanted your successor “to be better than you.” SNS is obviously outstanding as a leader, but have you chosen someone better than you?
I will not get into individual comparisons because it is misleading. I could be better than him in some aspects and he could be better than me in some others. What really matters is at the end of the day is how the company performs, and I am 100% sure that L&T will do well under him. SNS is doing an excellent job and I will give him full marks.
Or maybe I will reduce one mark because that is what my father used to do. He was a teacher in my school, and he taught me mathematics. Even if I got all the answers right, he would cut one mark.
What’s the status of the hospital – AM Naik Hospital – on L&T campus? Will you remain associated with running the hospital?
I have built five hospitals – two in Navsari, one in Surat, one in Kharel and one here in Powai, Mumbai. All of them are measuring up to the goal that we have set for them – to bring advanced medical care to those who need it most. My son has decided to come back to India, and he and my daughter-in-law have involved themselves with the trusts’ work. My son goes every weekend to Kharel to get a first-hand view.
He reports to me about day-to-day functioning of the hospital and takes my advice on any issue that may crop up. I have pledged 75% of my income to philanthropy, which is independent of my role at L&T. These days I spend most of my time in philanthropy activities and this shall continue.
What do you think is your most important legacy? Is it the L&T Employees Foundation, which has about 20% stake in the company?
My most important legacy is the new L&T that I have helped build; 92% of the L&T that you see around you today has been built by me. My legacy is also the ethos of L&T. It is the ethos of an entrepreneurial organisation and it is best expressed in the words that are now part of the language that L&T-ites are accustomed to: speed, scale and complexity.
We need to add value to everything we do. We also brought in a sharper degree of focus. Earlier, the company’s talent resources were spread thin across multiple jobs. I brought in filters. We will not touch jobs below a threshold figure. You can see the results of all this in the performance chart of the Company. This is my real legacy.
You, and now SNS, have pointed at the lack of qualified people to employ. What do you think the education system needs to ensure employability?
In one word, training. L&T lays a lot of emphasis on training at all levels of the company. India – or more specifically, Indians –- need a change of mindset. We tend to look down on blue-collar jobs. Everyone looks for white collar jobs. This creates an imbalance in the job market.
The change of mindset that is needed also extends to the kind of jobs that even engineers opt for. Everyone’s first choice is either a management consultancy or IT-related job. There are few young graduates who are prepared to sweat it out in the field. There is a demand-supply mismatch between what industry needs and what our education institutions offer.
You will continue as the chairman of the trust that owns L&T. So, mentoring new leaders will be your forte going forward?
I will continue as the chairman of L&T Employee Trust which I had founded after the demerger of cement. The trust will help keep L&T secure from hostile takeovers. Mentorship, on the other hand, is my passion. I need to build the L&T of tomorrow. L&T has a unique seven-step leadership programme. It ends with personal mentorship by me.
Most of the current directors, including the CEO & MD, have been mentored by me. I will continue to mentor, and build a robust leadership pipeline for L&T that will extend to 2040. I come from a family of teachers – master kutumb. So teaching is part of my DNA. But I do not wish to take up formal teaching.
Do you have any regrets, unfinished agenda?
I avoid thinking about the past and musing on what might have been; it is pointless. But since you asked, I wish we had got into power development a good decade earlier. We also got late into IT, and nearly missed the bus. I wish the economy had also opened up earlier.