Meet man who started his career as trainee in US, now leads Rs 24,464 crore company in India

Neeraj Kanwar is a third-generation businessman, who leads Apollo Tyres as the vice chairman and managing director. He began his career with the company as Manager, Product & Strategic Planning. 

He is an engineering graduate from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, US. Before this, Kanwar was educated at St. Columba's School in Delhi. The 52-year-old was appointed Joint Managing Director in 2006 of the company. He was elevated to Vice Chairman in 2008, and soon after to Managing Director in 2009. The company has a market capitalisation of Rs 24,464 crore as of November 7.

It was launched by his grandfather Raunaq Singh and later taken over by his father Onkar Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Tyres. Kanwar started his career with a training stint at American Express Bank in New York City. Later, he returned to India and started Global Finance Ltd, a non-bank financial institution.

Neeraj played a crucial role in creating a bridge between the two key functions of manufacturing and marketing. He is responsible for crafting Apollo’s growth story -- taking the company from US$450 million to US$2 billion within a 5-year time span.

Apart from being a businessman, Neeraj is an avid sportsperson. He prefers to spend his leisure time with his family. He also likes to play tennis, swimming and travelling in his free time. Meanwhile, Apollo Tyres on Tuesday reported over two-and-a-half-fold rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 474.26 crore in the September quarter, riding on higher revenue and lower raw material costs.

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