Venu Srinivasan

Chairman Emeritus, TVS Motor Company
Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri
Former President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) (2009)

Venu Srinivasan is an engineer and an MBA from Purdue University (USA) and took over as the CEO of Sundaram-Clayton, the holding Company of TVS Motor, in 1979. In the same year, TVS Motor Company was born and under Venu Srinivasan's persistent and diligent work grew to be the third largest two-wheeler manufacturing unit in India. He is currently the Chairman Emeritus of the Company.

Hard work, persistence and self-belief maketh the man Venu Srinivasan. He began his career as a mechanic in his own garage during vacations and put in long, gruelling hours of preparation for his task ahead. With the success of TVS, he has demonstrated that an Indian company can grow to be a company of global quality and recognition and manufacture products which would match or even exceed the best in the world by adopting the right work ethos and successful work culture.

A perfectionist and a visionary, Venu Srinivasan pioneered the TQM (Total Quality Management) concept based on the Japanese model, long before most enterprises in India did. His obsession with excellence and quality bore rich dividends with Sundaram Clayton and TVS Motor Company winning the global quality benchmark - the Deming Application Prize in 2002.

Venu Srinivasan, is the first Industrialist from India to be conferred with the Deming ‘Distinguished Service Award for Dissemination and Promotion Overseas’ in the year 2019, for his contributions in the field of Total Quality Management (TQM).

The Deming Prize is the highest award for TQM in the world. Deming ‘Distinguished Service Award for Dissemination and Promotion Overseas’ is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the dissemination and promotion of Total Quality Management (TQM) and is sponsored by Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE).

In 2014, Venu Srinivasan was felicitated by the President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Lee Myung-Bak with a distinguished civilian honour 'Order of Diplomatic Service Merit' in recognition of his valuable contribution in promoting Korea-India bilateral relations. This award is conferred for meritorious service to the extension of national prestige overseas and to the promotion of friendship with other nations.

Venu Srinivasan, was conferred with the prestigious JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award in the year 2004, by the All-India Management Association (AIMA)

The University of Warwick, Coventry, Warwickshire honoured Venu Srinivasan with a Doctorate Degree in Science in 2004, recognition of his excellence in manufacturing and contribution in the field of Technology and Research & Development. The honour comes in recognition of the pivotal role played by Venu Srinivasan in elevating TVS Motor Company to the position of a leading manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world and making it on par with global two-wheeler giants. This he achieved by adopting a work culture that matches the best in the world and by carrying out his vision through persistence, hard work, and self-belief.

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