The Piramal success formula: Consensus for father, data for daughter

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ajay Piramal, head of the eponymous $10-billion pharma-to-financial services conglomerate, said for a succession plan to succeed, the control of businesses should be passed on to the children only if they are passionate about it. Piramal, 69, chairman of the Piramal group, was discussing the group’s business succession plan with his daughter Nandini Piramal, chairman, Piramal Pharma Ltd, in the Mint India Investment Summit in Mumbai on Friday.

“Allocation of businesses (among children) should be done on the basis of their interest areas," Piramal said. “I don’t know if there is a specific time or age. It’s just that when you find that if you are having a succession with your family, they are ready to take up the responsibility.

And I find that over time both Nandini and Anand (his son) were getting more and more responsibility, and they were taking it on." Piramal added that it’s more important for people like him who are used to running the business, to know when to step away. Also, Piramal believes that while passing the baton of the group's business, it is important that scions of the succeeding generation are allowed to make mistakes. "So what? Even if they do make mistakes, it's fine.

We all have made them in our life, so it's better to, I think it's more important yourself to know that you have to step aside and actually do it," said Ajay Piramal. Even though both Ajay and Nandini Piramal believe that it is important to stick to values such as integrity and trusteeship while passing on the control of family business to the next generation, the two have different approaches when it comes to decision-making and succeeding as a leader. Ajay Piramal said his leadership style is to