Mr.

Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, Raymond Limited

Mr. Gautam Hari Singhania took over the reins at Raymond Limited, as Chairman & Managing Director in September 2000. Since then he has steered the destiny of Raymond Limited with a single-minded focus of making it a globally recognised player in its areas of core competence. He has been responsible for the strategic decisions and overall performance of the Group Companies and has been instrumental in restructuring the Group. With an aim of making Raymond a more focused company in its areas of core competence textiles and readymade garments, Gautam Singhania initiated the divestment of the non-core businesses - Synthetics, Steel and Cement. Post divestment, Mr. Singhania has spearheaded various investment initiatives towards up-gradation of Raymonds various manufacturing facilities, thus making Raymonds technological and innovation capabilities of world-class status. It is under Mr. Singhanias leadership that Raymond acquired the high-end casual wear brand ColorPlus and the Portuguese Textile Company Regency Texteis Portuguesa Limitada. While the ColorPlus acquisition has helped Raymond further consolidate its position in the apparel segment, the Regency acquisition has given Raymond a manufacturing and distribution base in the important European market. With a drive for creating new brands, Mr. Singhania has taken active interest in the launch of new brands, which are either leaders or pioneers in their categories. It was under Mr. Singhanias leadership that the Raymond Group conceptualised the radical launch of KamaSutra, a premium condom brand. It was also under his leadership that the brands Parx, the premium casual wear brand, Manzoni, the luxury lifestyle brand and recently the Raymond Finely Crafted Garments (FCG) were launched. Steering Raymond ahead on the growth path, Mr. Singhania has recently initiated major expansion programmes with investments worth over Rs. 225 crores for the group. Capacity expansion of its existing manufacturing facilities and setting up of new garment units is targeted at optimising the opportunities that would emerge at the end of the quota regime another step towards his vision of becoming a Global player. Under his leadership, J K Files & Tools, also grew considerably. It is today the worlds largest producer of steel files with close to 90% market share in India and about 35% in the world, giving it the No 1 position in the world market. Mr. Singhania has been honoured with the 'Indo American Young Achievers Award'. Besides this, he is also a member of the YPO (Young President Organisation) Forum. Under his leadership, the Raymond Group has received many awards, such as 'The Most Respected Company in the Ready-mades & Textiles Sector' by Business World in 2003 and at the Images Fashion Awards 2004 (IFA) Park Avenue received the award for the Best Suit Brand. With his keen foresight and innate business acumen, Gautam Singhania is ensuring that the Raymond Group achieves soaring heights in the Indian and international markets.