L&T is my life; will ensure it remains in strong hands: Naik

L&T's long-serving chief says he knows everything about L&T 'on the pulse'; focus on grooming the next line of leadership

Describing L&T as his "life with priority beyond wife and children", the diversified conglomerate's long-serving chief A M Naik says he will pass on the reins to his successor S N Subrahmanyan next year and the focus is now on grooming the next line of leadership.

74-year-old Naik, who has been with Larsen and Toubro for 52 years, including about 18 years as its head after rising through ranks, said he knows everything "on the pulse" at L&T and things might not be as easy for his successor but he will ensure that the company remains in strong hands.

"I don't want the criticism that Naik did a great job when he was present, but as soon as he went the company did not do so well. It is my life."

"So I often sing Raj Kapoor song from the film Mera Naam Joker -- Jeena yahaan, marna yahaan; Iske siva jaana kahaan (I will live here and die here; Where else can I go)," Naik told PTI in an interview here.

He described Subrahmanyan, currently Whole Time Director, Deputy Managing Director and President at L&T, as the "brightest that we have got" and said he was being mentored extensively across all the major businesses.

As per the succession plan, Subrahmanyan will take over on October 1, 2017, said Naik, currently Group Executive Chairman at the $15-billion giant that is present across engineering, construction, infrastructure, financial services and technology businesses, among others.

"I have treated this company as my life and nobody will be interested more in creating an outstanding successor as me. I have considered it as a temple with priority beyond my wife and children and I would want the company to be even more prosperous after me," he said.

Naik said Subramanyan has been the biggest beneficiary of his mentoring since 2006 and has been present during all his high-level negotiations and business meetings.

"In the last 4 years, after he joined the Board, I took him to very active mentoring on a day-to-day basis. In last six months, knowing that the company is very complex, apart from L&T Construction which he runs and accounts for 45 per cent of the business, he has been involved in many other businesses.

"I gave him shipbuilding, then I gave him the Hyderabad Metro, I involved him for IT and technology services and slowly I will involve him for more so that from one year from now, as much one can mentor, that will be done.

"Of course, most of these companies are formed by me, almost 75 per cent, so it will never be the same as somebody who has started from the clean slate, but as much as one can do in the fastest possible way, that is being done to create that successor," he said.

Naik also rued the lack of leadership talent in the country for manufacturing and projects businesses and said it is even more difficult for a group like L&T with as many as 82 businesses.