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The Heavy Duty CEO
Reema Sisodia finds out what drives A M Naik, managing
director and chief executive officer, Larsen & Toubro Limited
He is your archetypal workaholic. A M Naik works so
much that his wife Geeta often complains that she is the second wife and he
is married to the job. In fact, he took his first holiday 22 years after joining
the company and that too because it was a special occasion - the birth of his
granddaughter.
But it’s a drive has brought in the rewards. For
somebody who came from a small region called Endhal in Gujarat and having joined
the ranks as a junior engineer, Naik, after 35 years of toil, is now managing
director and chief executive officer of Larsen & Toubro, one of India's
top five companies in the private sector.
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| A M Naik (right) with L&T founder Henning-Holck
Larsen (left) |
Naik has seen and played his part in turning the company
into a multinational giant. He remembers the time when he had to wade through
knee-deep water while surveying land for L&T’s Hazira (in Gujarat)
plant. “It was almost unthinkable to set up a plant in Hazira at the time
because it was a flood-prone area and the water level would rise. We were the
first to set a plant there. That and the Powai plant were the foundations on
which L&T became such a giant. I used to eat, drink and sleep Powai,”
says Naik.
Naik attributes his commitment to the inspiration of
L&T founder Henning-Holck Larsen, the Dutchman who passed away this July.
“When I was working at the shop floor level, we used to wait for an acknowledging
smile from him,” says Naik. Later, Naik became Larsen’s right hand
man. “He had only one complaint against me. He would always tell my wife
that I should look after my health as I am as important to L&T as to her,”
he remembers.
Naik is always working. Ask him how many hours in a
day he puts on the job and he replies, “There’s nothing like working
hours or fixed timings.” Even when he is on the move, he’s connected
to his office.
His work takes him places, across continents on a regular
basis, covering areas as diverse as the United States, Europe and the Middle
East where L&T has its offices. Naik is a Delta Airlines loyalist, usually
flying business class. He is a vegetarian and a traveller without any frills
and fancies. But he demands quick service, quick response and quick thinking
from travel and stay services. Visiting international destinations is purely
on work and he never combines business with pleasure.
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With wife Geeta
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“I go on holidays in India and that too only with
my immediate family. Once they are with me, then honestly the destination just
does not matter. What makes these holidays rare is the difficulty in getting
each member of the family together at one place at one time as they are presently
located in different parts of the world. Organising these holidays is tougher
than organising the company,” he says. Incidentally, October now is the
month of a family reunion and he is looking forward to it.
In fact, for a man who’s heading such a conglomerate,
the only regret is not spending enough time with family. “If I had to relive
my life, I would have enjoyed more time with the family. But, I am a happy man.
I am a man of few needs and lucky to be blessed with a wife who is equally simple,”
he says.
He has very few indulgences, one of which is playing
badminton at Khar Gymkhana. “Despite my hectic schedule, I make it a point
to play the game on Sundays,” he says.
Naik is also extensively involved in social work and
is currently developing the educational institution set up by his father in
a region called Kharel, Gujarat. “My father, the headmaster of a school,
was also a freedom fighter. He considered women’s education as a priority
even in those days. After 1997, when my father expired, I started getting involved
in developing the school. We are building hostels for women there now.”
And finally, what about retirement?
The reply is immediate, “What retirement, there’s
so much to do.”
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