Nuts-and-bolts of turnaround

IN FEBRUARY, MAHINDRA BECAME INDIA'S SECOND-LARGEST CARMAKER

- SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN

HE IS NOT THE loudest man in the room. Nor is he given to grandstanding. But when the dust settles, the job is done—and done well. That, in many ways, captures Anish Shah, managing director and Group CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra: a leader who was handed a rare carte blanche to transform a storied conglomerate, and who has done so without diluting its core character.

When Shah took over in April 2021, M&M was something of a “bruised blue chip”. A few missteps had left the automotive business struggling amid intense competition. In less than five years, Shah has turned the business into one of corporate India's standout turnaround stories—a case study in what ruthless focus and disciplined execution can deliver. Since taking charge in April 2021, he has repeatedly stressed one simple idea: management bandwidth is finite. Spread it too thin, and both profits and priorities suffer. Capital, time and attention, Shah believes, must flow to where returns justify them.

Working in his understated style, Shah has steadily energised the organisation, pruning where needed and backing winners decisively. Nowhere is this more visible than in the automotive business. And 2025 has been a defining year.

In February, Mahindra overtook Hyundai to become India's second-largest carmaker—no small feat in one of the world's most competitive passenger vehicle markets.