Vikram Kirloskar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vikram Kirloskar

• Vikram Kirloskar was an Indian industrialist and the Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor. He is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Kirloskar Systems Ltd, a holding and investment company owned by Vikram which is involved in real estate and healthcare and has various joint ventures with Toyota. He is the scion of the Indian conglomerate Kirloskar Group founded in 1888 by Laxmanrao Kirloskar. A pioneer of India’s automotive industry, he was instrumental in bringing the Japanese firm Toyota Motor Corp to India in 1997.

• In 1888, the Kirloskar Group became the manufacturer of India’s first iron plough. Since then, the family has nurtured a lineage of industrialists and businessmen who contributed to India’s growth and industrialisation.

  

• After completing his formal education, he trained in various companies in India and abroad in different capacities.

• Vikram and Geetanjali first met at a party when Geetanjali (18) was a student at Pune University and Vikram (24) had just returned to India after graduating from MIT. In an interview, Geetanjali talked about the same and said,
  

  A mutual friend had thrown a party. He had invited both of us and our families asked his parents to introduce us to each other. Vikram was from MIT; sober, intelligent and six years older. I was impressed by his charming style.”

  When the party ended, Vikram offered to accompany Geetanjali home, but instead of dropping her off, he took her to his home. In an interview, Geetanjali recalled the same and said,

  Vikram took me to his home instead; his parents were fast asleep. The next morning, they were amazed I was at their home and wondered whether he had already proposed. But we took our time. What finally worked was the fact that I wanted to study and work after marriage, and Vikram had the same expectations of his partner.”

  The couple got married after dating for a while.

• He began his career in 1981. After joining his family business, he worked as a trainee in manufacturing at Kirloskar Cummins in Pune. In the beginning, he designed and developed many processes and machine tools.

• In the late 1980s, he was involved in opening the import licensing for capital equipment while serving on the Government’s Development Council for Machine Tools.

• In 1997, Vikram became the Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, an Indian joint venture between Kirloskar Group and Toyota Motor Corporation for the manufacture and sales of Toyota cars in India. Its headquarters is located in Bidadi, Karnataka, near Bengaluru.
• He was also the Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts.

• Vikram served as a director in various other private limited companies of the conglomerate Kirloskar Group like Kirloskar Pneumatic, Denso Kirloskar Industries, Kirloskar Toyota Textile Machinery, and Kirloskar Oil Engines.

• He also served as a director of Kirloskar Proprietary Limited, Vikramgeet Investments And Holdings Pvt. Ltd, Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, Quadrant Communications Limited, Asara Sales And Investment Pvt. Ltd, Vsk Holdings Pvt. Ltd, and CSEP Research Foundation.

• An avid Indian classical music lover, Vikram Kirloskar was an adherent of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka.

• He served on the National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He was been elected as President of the Confederation of Indian Industry and completed his term in June 2020.

  

• He also served on the Govt. of India Development Council for Automobiles and the National Council for Electric Mobility. He was elected as President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). He has also held the position of President of The Central Manufacturing Institute in Bangalore.

• Apart from that, he served on the Board of Trustees of The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), US.

• Vikram Kirloskar was a passionate wine connoisseur. ^[6]Hello!

• He was a recipient of the Suvarna Karnataka Award.