& AUTHOR
Entrepreneur, sportsman, salesman, engineer, educationist, jazz aficionado and investor-meet Ajai Chowdhry, the HCL cofounder who dons many hats, all with equal ease. Growing up in the sleepy town of Jabalpur in a family that had migrated from Abbottabad post India’s Independence, Ajai’s life was set for a linear trajectory-engineering, a well-paying job and a comfortable life-but for the year 1975. This was the year when Ajai quit his job at DCM Data Products and jumped into the uncharted waters of entrepreneurship, founding HCL with Shiv Nadar, Arjun Malhotra, Yogesh Vaidya, Subhash Arora and D.S. Puri. In the 1970s, leaving a stable job with one of India’s leading brands was nothing short of crazy. To add to that, not many Indians knew what a computer was. The word ‘start-up’ was decades away from its use in common parlance. Over the next four decades, HCL would go on to become one of the largest IT companies in India and a household brand. In Just Aspire, Ajai not only shares the story of a successful business behemoth but also of dreams, aspirations, hope and achievements from the eyes of a small-town boy. Along this journey, he shares timeless lessons on entrepreneurship, technology and the future. For all dreamers and doers, this book is a treasure trove of inspiration.
5:15 PM Registration & High Tea
6:00 PM
Welcome Address
Mr Mahalingam K
President MMA & Partner/Director, TSM Group of Companies
Introductory Remarks
Mr Sachin Sharma
Associate Publisher, HarperCollins India
Launch of the book - “Just Aspire: Notes on Technology, Entrepreneurship and the Future”
Special Address
By the Dignitaries
Discussion on the theme of the book
Mr M M Murugappan
Chairman, Carborundum Universal Limited
Dr Ajai Chowdhry
Author & Co-Founder, HCL
In conversation
Ms Sushila Ravindranath
Journalist & Author
Q & A Session
7:25 PM Vote of Thanks
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Executive Director, Madras Management Association
DrAjaiChowdhry
One of the six founder members of HCL, Ajai Chowdhry began an exciting journey more than four decades ago with a dream to give India its very own microcomputer. The pioneers of digital electronics in India, they scripted three major milestones of the IT industry: the PC revolution, mobile telephony and systems integration. Ajai, regarded as the ‘father of Indian hardware’, has been a relentless advocate of self-sufficiency in electronics. He has served, and continues to serve, on several Government committees working towards making India the electronics hub of the world. For his contributions, he was conferred India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, in 2011. His inspirational journey has been captured in his memoir, Just Aspire: Notes on Technology, Entrepreneurship, and the Future, published recently by HarperCollins India.
M M Murugappan a fourth-generation member of the Murugappa family was the Executive Chairman of the Murugappa Group Corporate Advisory Board from February 2018 until November 2020.
Murugappan now serves as the Chairman of the Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI), a constituent company of the Murugappa Group. He also Chairs the Boards of Cholamandalam Mitsui Sumitomo General Insurance Company Ltd., and Murugappa Water Technology & Solutions.
Murugappan is the Chairman of the board of Cyient Ltd. (Hyderabad) and an independent director of Carson Cumberbatch (Sri Lanka). He retired from the Board of Mahindra & Mahindra in August 2020 after serving multiple terms. He served on the Board of Governors of IIT Madras, for six years till November 2011 and has enabled many industry – academic partnerships. He now serves on the board of the IIT-Madras Research Park and is a mentor to many companies incubated there. He is the Chairman, Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Indore.
As Trustee of the Group’s AMM Foundation, he is actively involved in the development of various citizenship initiatives, particularly in education, health care, performing arts and sport.
Murugappan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the AC College of Technology, University of Madras, India and a Master of Science Degree also in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a member of the American and Indian Institutes of Chemical Engineers and the Plastics & Rubber Institute. He was elected as a Fellow Member of the Indian Ceramic Society in 2006.
Murugappan’s wife, Meenakshi (Pinky), shares interests with him in music, theatre, reading and crosswords. Their older son Muthu is the CEO of EID Parry, daughter-in-law Solai has an architectural practice in Chennai. Their younger son, Veeru and daughter-in-law Valli are based in Singapore. Veeru is a sports and documentary film producer and Valli is a specialist in culinary skills.
Murugappan’s hobbies include golf, reading, walking, classical music and the theatre.
SushilaRavindranath
Sushila Ravindranath joined Business India as a staff writer in 1983. This was a time when business was still a bad word and 'Business Week' called India an elephant on an oil spill. Business India was the country’s first business magazine. Sushila moved to Chennai a couple of years later. She ended up doing stories on many South Indian groups which were publicity-shy and never had been written about. She had the opportunity to set up Business India bureaus in all the main southern cities. As Bureau Chief, South, she was involved in the company ’ s foray into television and cable distribution and other ventures.
In 2000 she was asked by R K Swamy BBDO, one of the country’s largest advertising agencies to set up an entertainment portal. After setting up the Hansazone website she moved to the New Sunday Express as its editor. After a brief spell as Resident Editor, Deccan Chronicle, she is now a Consulting Editor for Financial Express. She writes business and political columns for Financial Express and Indian Express. She has compiled the CII Entrepreneurs Handbook and the CII e-book on women entrepreneurs of the southern region.
