Vijay Mallya is the chairman of the UB Group. It deals with beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate and fertilizer. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha which is the upper house of the Parliament of India. He is best known as a businessman and a politician. He is the Chairman of public companies in India and US. For over 20 years, he has been the chairman for Sanofi India and Bayer CropScience. He holds the chairman position in several other companies. He co-owns the Formula One team Sahara Force India. His companies hold the Indian Premier League team which is the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is a member of the World Motor Sport Council representing India in the FIA. He also launched the Kingfisher airlines but unfortunately it lost its waves.
Personal life
Vijay was born on 18th December 1955. He is the son of VittalMallya and LalithaRamaiah. He completed his schooling from La Martinierein Calcutta. He studied Bachelor of Commerce degree at St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta in 1970. Completing his graduation he interned at the American part of Hoechst AG in the US. He then married Samira Tyabjee who was an air hostess for Air India. The couple has a son SidharthMallya who was born in 1987. Later they parted their ways. In the year 1993, he married Rekha who was his childhood friend. She was a double divorcee. Vijay accepted her children from previous marriages and they too together have two daughters Leanna and Tanya.
In 1983, he became the Chairman of United Breweries Group after his father’s death. He has made the company grow into a multi-national conglomerate of over 60 companies. In the year 1988, he has diversified and acquired Berger Paints, Best and Crompton. The United’s Kingfisher beeris available in more than 50 countries outside India and leads among Indian beers in the international market. The UB group has a flagship company United Spirits Ltd., which is the second-largest spirits company in the world by volume.
Other than business, Vijay has interests in car racing, horse racing etc. As a professional, he won trophies in horse racing and car racing circuits. He is also keen in yachtsman and aviator. In the year 2000, he entered politics and superseded SubramanianSwamy as the president of Janata Party. Now he is a MP in the Rajya Sabha. Vijay started the Kingfisher Airlines which was a major venture in 2005. In 2013, it was eventually closed down owing more than $1 billion in bank loans.. Earlier the airlines carved a niche for itself. It was the first airline in India to operate with all new aircrafts.It was the first Indian airline to order the Airbus A380.
Vijay is also known for his noted auction biddings. The items were considered with great historical value to India. In 2004, he bid £175,000 for the sword of Tipu Sultan at an auction in London and brought it back to India. He bought a cannon, other weapons, and personal items from the auction. He also bid for belongings of Mahatma GandhiNew York auction which caused uproar in the country.
Awards
Vijay has received several awards both in India and overseas.
In 1997, he received the honorary degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration by the Southern California University for Professional Studies
In 2010, he won the Entrepreneur of the Year award at The Asian Awards.
He was presented the Officier de la Légiond’Honneur in France. He was awarded the Global leader for tomorrow by World Economic Forum.
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