Interview with A M Naik

Executive ChairmanLarsen & Toubro Limited

"The current situation is very, very tough and we cannot simply depend on the growth in India. As a result we have launched a number of initiatives such as, building our team, recruiting new people and building the international organisation."

"Growth in India is now at its slowest rate for the last seven or eight years. Even at the global level, things are probably worse than they have been in the last seven or eight years."

"The biggest threat is finding the leadership talent which can make things happen internationally."

"We hope that L&T will come out smarter, leaner and more nimble and will be ready to take on better-equipped competitors and be more competitive in quality, delivery and cost."

"Our innovation comes from globally collaborative efforts and a lot of encouragement from within. It is also about empowerment, decentralisation, and encouragement to come up with new ideas for R&D programmes and product development."

"The most important stakeholder is the customer. If there is no customer we have no business."

"We ensure that safety, security and quality are not compromised, and obviously that includes timely delivery. This cannot happen unless you have a robust supply chain, which in turn depends on an outstanding relationship with each supplier."

"Any corporation is only sustainable as long as all the stakeholders are happy. The community around you is a major stakeholder which can disrupt your operations if it is not happy."

As part of PwC's 16th Annual Global CEO Survey, we spoke with A M Naik, Executive Chairman of Larsen & Toubro. In this short video, he shares his views on key stakeholder relationships, including the importance of the customer, assembling an effective management team and the importance of having a robust supply chain.

A M Naik joined Larsen & Toubro in 1965, securing positions of increasing responsibility as he moved from General Manager to Managing Director and CEO, culminating in the appointment as Chairman in 2003. Under his able leadership, the company has contributed to education in different ways. It builds and runs construction skills training institutes, schools, etc. In addition, he also provides both financial assistance and management expertise for educational institutions and a hospital in Gujarat.

He has secured several global, national and professional honours, including the Padma Bhushan, Gujarat Garima Award—Gujarat’s highest civilian honour—Asia Business Leader Award by CNBC Asia, Outstanding Business Leader Award and The Infrastructure Leader of the Year Award by CNBC TV18 India, Business Leader of the Year – Building India Award by NDTV Profit and Business Leader of the Year Award by The Economic Times.

Mr Naik is also the Honorary Consul General for Denmark in Mumbai. He was also recently conferred an honorary doctorate by the Sardar Patel University of Gujarat. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors & Society of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

These interviews contain the opinions and views of the CEOs interviewed, and do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of PwC.