A FORCE FOR GOOD, FOR GROWTH

FROM ULTRATECH'S CEMENT SUPREMACY TO HINDALCO'S MASSIVE CAPEX PLAN, KUMAR MANGALAM BIRLA IS FUTURE-PROOFING THE ADITYA BIRLA GROUP WITH BOLD BETS ACROSS SECTORS.

- BY NEVIN JOHN

STEPPING OUT of his BMW 740Li, Kumar Mangalam Birla brought a refreshing energy to BITS Pilani in Rajasthan in mid-July. It was his grandfather, the legendary G.D. Birla, who had built the campus over 60 years ago to harness talent and power India's industrial ambitions. In an era of generative AI, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group and chancellor of BITS Pilani, in his address, touched upon the transient nature of setbacks and urged students to lead a “generative life”—one fuelled by deliberate creative energy—for lasting value.

Setbacks are temporary, said the 58-year-old industrialist who has emerged unscathed from many personal and professional hardships. Hailed the commodity king, Birla's old customer-centric businesses have, in recent years, been losing steam against aggressive giants in the sector. But Birla was not one to buckle under pressure.

He was only 28 years old when he had to take over as the group's chairman following the early demise of his father, Aditya Vikram Birla. In the three decades since, the business acumen of the sixth-generation scion of the Birla family was on display. He held firm to expand the business empire. Always cautious and calculated, Birla spearheaded the group's expansion into cement, aluminium, chemicals, fashion, and financial services, brick by brick.

The group not only kept pace but surged ahead in the legacy sectors with future-ready investments. Between September 2024 and June 30, 2025, the market capitalisation of the five major group companies increased by 7.46% to ₹7.86 lakh crore. As a result, Birla's wealth surged by 26.71% to ₹2.09 lakh crore ($24.39 billion), placing him on the ninth spot, according to the 2025 Fortune India-Waterfield Advisors study of India's Top 100 Billionaires.