S. Anantharamakrishnan
| Sivasailam Anantharamakrishnan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1905 Alwarkurichi, Tirunelveli district, Madras Presidency, British India |
| Died | April 18, 1964 (age 59) Madras, India |
| Occupation | Business |
| Children |
A. Sivasailam A. Krishnamoorthy |
Sivasailam Anantharamakrishnan (1905 – 18 April 1964), affectionately called "J" was an Indian industrialist and business tycoon who founded and led the Amalgamations Group of industries from 1945 to 1964.
Anantharamakrishnan was born in Tirunelveli in 1905 and had his education in Tirunelveli and Madras. In 1935, he joined the Simpsons group of companies as a secretary and in 1938, became the first Indian director in the management of Simpsons group. He served as the Chairman of the group from 1953 till his death in 1964.
Anantharamakrishnan is remembered for his successful business practices, efficient management of the labour unions and for triggering the growth of the automobile industry of Chennai which has earned the city the epithet "Detroit of India". As a result, he himself came to be remembered as the "Henry Ford of South India."
Anantharamakrishnan was born in Alwarkurichi Village of Ambasamudram Taluk in Tirunelveli District in 1905. He had his schooling at Government High School, Tirunelveli and graduated from Government College of Commerce in Madras. In 1930, he joined Fraser and Ross Limited as an accountant.
Anantharamakrishnan joined Simpsons Group, a British-owned South Indian business conglomerate as Secretary in 1935. He became one of the three directors and the only Indian director (the other two being European) in the board of Simpsons group when Sir Alexander MacDougall, Chairman of Simpson's, and W. W. Ladden, Managing Director of the Company founded a holding company in 1938. Anantharamakrishnan's induction marked the partial Indianization of Simpsons group which was, till then, completely owned by Europeans. The very next year, it was converted into a public limited company. This eventually became the Amalgamations Group in 1941. Anantharamakrishnan, also called "J", was responsible for the rapid expansion of the Amalgamations group in the 1940s. Anantharamakrishnan took over Amalgamations Group in 1945, though he officially became its Chairman only in 1953.
In 1922, John Oakshott Robinson of Spencer's had purchased the Madras newspaper The Madras Mail and the Higginbotham's and merged the companies with his printing company Associated Printers and the Spencer's to form the Associated Publishers. In 1945, Anantharamakrishnan purchased Associated Publishers on behalf of Amalgamations and added the new companies to the group. According to popular Chennai historian S. Muthiah, the successful takeover was the result of an overheard conversation at a Hotel Connemara. This takeover is regarded as over of the biggest business deals of post-colonial Madras.
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