AM Naik on Saturday stepped down as the chairperson of Larsen & Toubro Group. The 81-year-old construction major boss handed over the reins of the $23 billion conglomerate to SN Subrahmanyan at an event in Mumbai, PTI reported. He will be now the chairperson of the employees trust and will focus on expediting several philanthropic initiatives that he has undertaken in the past few years. Naik’s attention going forward will be on his philanthropic initiatives, including the Naik Charitable Trust which focuses on education and skill-building of the underprivileged, and the Nirali Memorial Medical Trust dedicated to facilitating super speciality healthcare at subsidised cost.
Here are five things you need to know about AM Naik. 1. According to L&T website, AM Naik had joined the company as its junior engineer in 1965. He rapidly rose within the ranks from general manager to managing director and chief executive officer (CEO). 2. On December 29, 2003, Naik was appointed as the chairman and managing director. He served as the Group Executive Chairman of L&T from 2012 to 2017. In October 2017, he stepped aside from executive responsibilities, and was appointed Group Chairman.3. Naik is credited with kickstarting the indigenising the manufacture of critical equipment for the defence sector and process industries. As per the company’s website, Naik’s efforts led to L&T assuming leadership position in the design, development and manufacture of missiles and weapon systems and forging a “vibrant relationship with national bodies for defence research & development and space research”.4. The Centre appointed AM Naik as the chairman of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) from November 2018 to April 2022. He also helmed the Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A) as Chairman of the Board of Governors from 2012 to 2016. He also served as the member of the Governing Body of the Charutar Vidyamandal University, Gujarat and was appointed Co-leader by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India of the India-Malaysia CEOs Forum.5. Naik was conferred with Padma Vibhushan in 2019. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. AM Naik has also been conferred with Gujarat Garima (Pride of Gujarat) Award in 2009. He was conferred rank of Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (2008). In 2015, he was honoured with a higher rank – the Order of the Dannebrog Knight First Class.
