India’s top corporate M.M.Murugappan of Murugappa Group to address Tea Exporters Association AGM 201

Wednesday, 1 October 2014 02:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

India’s top corporate M.M. Murugappan of Murugappa Group will address the Annual General Meeting of the Tea Exporters Association on Friday 3rd October at 6.30 p.m. at Oak Room, Cinnamon Grand. Chief Guest will be Mahinda Samarsinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries Murugappan is the Vice Chairman of the Murugappa Corporate Board.

Founded in 1900 and headquartered in Chennai, the INR 243 Billion Murugappa Group is one of India’s leading business conglomerates. The Group has 28 businesses which are market leaders in their respective industries with eleven listed Companies traded in NSE & BSE. The organization fosters an environment of professionalism and has a workforce of over 32,000 employees. He is the Chairman of Tube Investments of India Ltd, Carborundum Universal Ltd, Wendt India Ltd, and Murugappa Morgan Thermal Ceramics Ltd. He serves as a Trustee of the AMM Foundation and the Correspondent of the Murugappa Polytechnic College. He is also on the board of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Mumbai and Infotech Enterprises Ltd., Hyderabad. He is a Member on the Board of Governors, IIT, Madras. He holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, USA. Tea Exporters Association Chairman Rohan Fernando said Sri Lanka, the Tea Nation of the World has made great strides this year, especially in the arena of value addition, brand building and the creation of innovative products in novel sectors such as Beauty, Health, Fitness, Fashion and Leisure. Once a traditional commodity, one of the key exports from the country, today Tea has evolved into a much sought after raw material, the world over. As a leading producer of quality high and low grown tea, Sri Lanka is poised to benefit from this impending boom. Identifying the industry’s positive attributes and harnessing the product’s offering to reach optimum levels, will undoubtedly bring about a surge in our country’s export earnings, making the Tea industry one of the most valued economic contributors to the Nation. “It is against this background that the Tea Exporters Association has invited a personality who represents one of the most respected and successful conglomerates in India to share his most valuable thoughts and ideas on the topic “Tea – The spirit of entrepreneurship.” Fernando said leading tea export companies in Sri Lanka are mostly family run and have been dominating the industry as proud family-owned businesses which have been passed down the generations. While these companies have thrived and contributed greatly to the advancement of the National Tea Industry, this may be an opportune time to look within the corporate structure and understand that professional management involvement from outside of the family, is the need of the hour. The Murugappa Group is a world renowned company and a case study at the Harvard Business School, as a very successful example of how a thriving family-owned business has transformed into a vibrant professionally run corporate edifice, with the synergies of family ownership and professional management working hand in hand. “We at TEA are so proud of Murugappa’s acceptance of our invitation, which augurs well for the future of our industry and the country,” Fernando added.