Former Mahindra chairman Keshub Mahindra passes away at 99

Post his retirement in August 2012, his nephew Anand Mahindra took on the role of Chairman of the board and Managing Director of the Mahindra group. He continued as Chairman Emeritus of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

“Mr Keshub Mahindra was and will always remain a source of inspiration for me and the entire Mahindra Group. He was a man of principles and led from the front to preserve the legacy of our founders which has ensured that the organisation has remained rooted in ethics, values and good corporate governance,” Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said in a statement.

His compassion, and people-centric approach made him a global business icon, who was much loved and respected,” he said.

“With this an epoch in the Indian corporate world comes to an end. He would have been a centurion in October of this year,” a former colleague of Keshub Mahindra said.

“The industrial world has lost one of the tallest personalities today. Shri Keshub Mahindra had no match; the nicest person I had the privilege of knowing,” Indian National Space Promotion Authorization Centre (INSPACe) Chairman and former Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Pawan Goenka wrote on Twitter.

Mahindra was a well-known philanthropist who redefined good corporate governance in India. He was appointed by the Government of India to serve on many committees including the Sachar Commission on Company Law and MRTP and the Central Advisory Council of Industries. From 2004 to 2010, Mahindra was a Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry, New Delhi.

He also served on several boards and councils in both the private and public domain, including SAIL, Tata Steel, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels, IFC and ICICI.

Mahindra had served as the non-executive Chairman of Union Carbide India Ltd when the Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial disaster which left over 15,000 people dead, occurred in 1984. Mahindra and seven others were convicted in the gas leakage case in 2010.

Mahindra was also the Founder Chairman of HUDCO (Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited), Vice-Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd, Chairman Mahindra Ugine Steel Co. Ltd, Director of Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd and Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd.