Firdose Vandrevala Chairman & Partner
Firdose Vandrevala is a doyen of Corporate India. His professional journey started in 1972 when he joined the magnanimous Tata Steel. From that point, he climbed the corporate ladder at a breakneck speed till he reached the highest echelons of leadership within the Tata Group of Companies. He has chaired leadership roles as the Deputy Managing Director of Tata Steel and Managing Director of Tata Power. Post his 33-year stint at Tata, Firdose has led large organisations as the Chairman of Motorola (India), Chairman and Managing Director of Hirco Developments and the Executive Vice Chairman of Essar Steel.
The width and depth of his experience covers all functions across the value chain. Having led companies in diverse sectors like Steel, Power, Real Estate and Telecommunication, he is an unquestionable authority on matters concerning People Management, Business Strategy, Leadership, Marketing, Project Management and Operations.
His academic background is as stellar as his professional achievements. He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur and a postgraduate diploma in Business Management from XLRI Jamshedpur. He is also a proud alumnus of Harvard Business School (Strategic Marketing Management) and CEDEP INSEAD (General Management Program).
It’s the high premium he places on the power of education that drives him to contribute back to society by investing his time, efforts, experience and heart with educational institutions in India. He currently serves on the board of IIM Raipur and IIM Lucknow that are among the Top 10 management institutes in the country. He is also the Managing Trustee of the Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School in Mumbai. His goal is to drive institutions towards nurturing the leaders of the future who can truly transform the world with their imagination, creativity, risk-taking appetite and learning capabilities.
He has been actively involved with industry bodies. He has been Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) East, CII West, member of the National Governing Council of CII and President of All India Management Association (AIMA).
When Firdose is not busy empowering people and organizations he is most likely to be found in a golf club hitting a few shots. That would, after all, be the most suited hobby for this gentleman.