INDIAN BUSINESS LEADERS

KALANIDHI MARAN Journey from television broadcasting to aviation

FAMILY….

He was born in 1964 at kumbakonam in tanjore district.

He is the son of former union minister of commerce Murasoli Maran.

He is the grandnephew of present Tamilnadu Chief Minister Dr.M.Karunanidhi and elder brother of Textile Minister Dhayanidhi Maran.

He married Kaveri in 1991. She is from Karnataka and they have a daughter named Kavya Born in 1992.

Education… He had done his schooling at Don Bosco,

Egmore, Chennai. He completed his B.Com from Loyola College,

Chennai. He received his M.B.A degree from University

of Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA.

Experience… Worked as Amateur radio operator call

sign VU2PUG. He worked for Kunkumam, a weekly

Tamil Magazine in the late 1980s, which he acquired at later stage.

In 1990, at the age of 26, He Started a monthly video (VHS) newsmagazine called Poomaalai.

On April 14, 1993 he founded Sun TV with an investment of Rs 20 lakhs.

Current Responsibilities…

Chairman and Managing director of Sun Networks.

Managing Director and CEO of Sun Direct DTH.

Chairman and Managing director of share transfer & transmission committee.

He is one of the board of directors of Spice Jet airline after acquiring a majority stake of it on June 2010.

Process of Becoming a Leader

•He was back to India after M.B.A

•He worked for magazine Kungumam

1987•He

Started a monthly video (VHS) newsmagazine called Poomaalai.

1990

•He Launched Sun Networks in April 14.

•The big break came, when India liberalised the satellite broadcast industry in1998.

1993

Process of Becoming a Leader…

•Suryan FM - Tamil Radio started in May 20032003

•Sun TV was listed in Bombay stock exchange on April 24.2006

•Sun Direct DTH registered in 2005. But it delayed failed launch of INSAT4C.•Sun Direct DTH service was finally launched on 18th Jan.

2008

Process of Becoming a Leader…

•Suryan FM, was rebranded as RED FM across 38 cities in India on august 14, 2009.

2009

•Kalanithi has controlling stake in Spice Jet airline after acquiring a major stake of 37.75% on June 2010.

2010

•Kalanidhi Maran is the highest paid (Highest Salary) CEO in the country.

Now

Business context… Sun Networks. Sun Direct DTH. Printing Media. Sun pictures Spice Jet Air Lines.

Sun Networks…

It was launched in April 14, 1993. Sun Network includes Television channels and FM

stations. Sun network started its operation with 3 hours of

Tamil programs in ATN channel under the banner of Sun TV.

Gradually it expanded its operations to 24 hours television channels in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Bengali languages.

Printing Media…

In only Tamil language Newspapers Dinakaran – (morning daily). Tamil Murasu-(evening daily). Magazines Kunngumam. Mutharam. Vannathirai. Kunguma chimizh.

Sun Networks…

Sun Network started FM station in Tamil as Suryan FM in May 2003.

Now it operates in four languages namely Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi as RED FM 93.5.

India’s second largest television networking group.

Sun TV was listed in Bombay stock exchange on April 24, 2006 by releasing shares up to 10%.

Sun Direct DTH…

Sun Direct DTH was registered in February 16, 2005, failed launch of INSAT 4C resulted in a lack of transponders, delaying the launch.

The service was finally launched on 18th Jan 2008 after availability of transponders from INSAT 4B.

Sun Direct is a joint venture between the Maran family (80%) and the Astro Group (20%) of Malaysia.

Sun Direct is a DTH service in India, with its headquarters in Chennai.

Aviation…Spice jet Airlines… Spice Jet is a low-cost airline based in

Chennai, India. It began service in May 2005 and by 2008,

it was India's second-largest low-cost airline in terms of market share.

Spice Jet was voted as the best low-cost airline in South Asia and Central Asia region by Skytrax in 2007.

Kalanithi owns controlling stake in the airline after acquiring a major stake on June 2010.

Purpose, Principle and Values…

Maran Said that…

"Yes, I am proud to be born in this illustrious family. But believe it or not, never did I try to use my family name to further my interests".

"I always wanted to stand on my feet. I used to work in a restaurant to meet my expenses, while studying MBA in US!”

Purpose, Principle and Values…“When I started satellite television, people

laughed at me saying Tamil cannot be in satellite television, it’s too costly.

When I started radio, they said television has come, radio is a dead business.

When I started direct-to-home (DTH), they said there are too many big players.

We are now 5.5 million subscribers strong. If I’m going to follow the herd, I’ll be one among the crowd... All my steps are calculated, I am not going blindly with intuition.”

Purpose, Principle and Values…His friend k.Shanmugam about Maran...

"Since his childhood days he is a quiet person and never flaunted his family connections. As a matter of fact, not many in Loyola College knew that he was Karunanidhi's grandson for a long time. He used to come to college by bus and later travelled by a 50cc moped,“

Remarked Kalanithi's childhood friend, now Chief Manager, Sun TV's.

Leaders Views about business…Maran views about business…

“I never go with the general perception. My opinion differs with the general perception of the market”

Maran’s Secret of success towards managing southern states channels...

“The regional offices run our channels, wherever we have gone. If I don't do that, I can't be in tune with the local pulse of the people. This is one of the main reasons for our success everywhere”.

Leader ship Stories… In 1992, he asked for business proposal regarding to use

transponders of Zee TV. To generate his Tamil Channels for 3 hours. He offered full days transponders rent. Instead of discussing the proposal, the Zee TV official

started nit-picking and questioned as to why his organisation should offer its platform for a Tamil channel and not for a Marathi or a Guajarati channel?

Zee TV's refused the maran’s proposal and he tie up with ATN channel.

With in six years he is opposite to Subhash Chandra.

Qualities of the Leader…

 Kalanidhi described himself as... "I am not an introvert or extrovert. I am just an ordinary

person" "Though I travel a lot, I make it a point to spend the

weekends with my family which apart from Kaveri includes my daughter.

Kaveri views on kalanidhi... “He is a level headed person and fame doesn't get into his

head". “He is a quiet and caring person".

Qualities of the Leader…

Nefesa, personal secretary of kalanidhi views...

"He is a hands-on-person, who leads from the front". “Kalanithi is a stickler to time and hardly would have

cancelled ten appointments in the past six years due to unforeseen emergencies”.

However, the one fault which others find in Kalanithi is his short temper. "But that is harmless and the anger vanishes very fast," said an official.

Qualities of the Leader…

Qualities we observed from Kalanidhi... Dedication towards work. Punctuality. Care taking person in family. Risk taking person in business. Zeal to create new innovations. Simplicity.

Out of all positives he has one negative... Short temper.

Service Lessons… As we mentioned above qualities are necessary for

each and every individuals who wants to become future leaders.

No, doubt he is one of the inspirable person to the young minds.

Achievements…

He has won Young Businessman awards from CNBC, ERNST & Young.

Prestigious USA based Forbes magazine named him as "Television king of southern India".

Kalanithi Maran was also among the few representatives at a roundtable with visiting U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Sun TV was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange on April 24, 2006.

He is among India's 20 richest ranked by Forbes. He is the highest paid employee in India.

Kalanidhi Maran’s video…

THANK YOU...