In Memoriam - Vikram Kirloskar

Vikram Kirloskar, who expired on 29 November at a relatively young age of 64, was the vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar and was seen as the face of organisation that produced vehicles like Innova and Fortuner. After schooling at Lawrence School Ooty, he completed his mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and joined the family business at Kirloskar Cummins.    

Kirloskar was often credited with bringing the iconic Japanese carmaker Toyota to India. The partnership between Kirloskar and Toyota started in 1995 when both companies set up a joint venture named Kirloskar Toyota Textile Machinery to manufacture machinery for textile units. They eventually started Toyota Kirloskar Motor in 1997, a joint venture for manufacturing passenger vehicles. The company became India's sixth-largest automaker, selling around 13,000 vehicles per month. Kirloskar went on to head the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and was also past president of CII, India’s foremost industry body. 

I had the honour of meeting him when he visited IMT Ghaziabad for Convocation despite having personal problems while walking due to a recent knee operation organised on 16 October 2022. His Convocation speech at IMT Ghaziabad was probably one of his last public addressing. Speaking to the large group of graduating students, he started by talking about the impact that Covid made on his thought process. He explained that India managed the process better than many other countries due to the cooperation between the government, civil society and industry. During the most challenging times, the entire community tried its best to help those in trouble. He gave examples of politicians, bureaucrats and small shopkeepers who united with mutual trust and respect for each other. This helped create an ecosystem that ensured India's response was much better than many other countries in managing Covid.                 

After highlighting the role of cooperation in managing the crisis, Kirloskar talked about his exposure to and passion for machines. He spoke about the challenges of operating in a protected environment where the company had to make everything in-house. He said that the transition required to make the company competitive in light of the 1991 liberalisation opened him to look at the management issues more holistically. He admitted that many of his decisions during those times were not right. 

Kirloskar devoted the last part of his speech to the learnings that he could draw from his 41 years of experience since he joined his family business. His first learning was about the decision-making process, wherein he insisted that the process has to be holistic by involving other team members. He said that now he only takes a decision with keeping his finance and human resource managers by his side. He emphasised the continuous learning process as the second central learning. He said that it is important to learn from mistakes so, one does not end up making the same mistake again. The third learning was about mutual trust and respect. He elaborated on the Toyota production system as an example which was built on trust and respect and stated it as the main reason for ensuring the highest quality standards at Toyota. Lastly, he said that environmental issues and climate change would be crucial challenges for the new generation of managers. He concluded his speech by stating that take work as fun and don't live life without fun.  

When Kirloskar passed away, his friends like Anand Mahindra, Venu Srinivasan and Kiram Mazumdar Shaw spoke about his warm smile. Politicians, cutting across party lines, extended condolences to the family members and paid tribute to him by taking note of his remarkable vision. For me, his deep care for regulation will leave an everlasting impression on me. When I went to receive him at the airport on 16 October, he graciously asked me to accompany him in his vehicle. Once I was seated, he first asked me to fasten my seat belt as it was required for rear-seat passengers now. 

The journey from the airport to the IMT Ghaziabad campus was marked by a flow of inquisitive exchange about IMT Ghaziabad and other aspects of India and its economy. He was curious to know the courses taught at IMT Ghaziabad and the coverage of new topics relevant to the new age economy. He also queried and made suggestions on some of the topics which much be covered in the course curriculum in light of recent industrial developments. He also sought my views on India's response to managing the Covid pandemic in rural society.   

Kirloskar’s eye for detail and deep care for his relationships ensured that the association between Kirloskar and Toyota continued till now, spanning more than 25 years. In contrast, many other partnerships in the Indian automobile sector folded up after promising starts. During the Convocation address, he stated that he was looking forward to the next 20 years of his life when India would emerge much stronger as a society and move ahead as a big economic power. However, fate has destined otherwise for him and he won’t be able to see India’s growth story.

About the author

- The author is Prof Abhishek, Associate Professor, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad

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