Kumar Mangalam Birla is an Indian billionaire industrialist
philanthropist, and the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest conglomerates in India
He is the chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani
ex-chairman of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
According to Forbes, he has an estimated net worth of US$17.6 billion, as of October 2023 making him the 7th richest person in India
Birla took over as chairman of the Aditya Birla Group in 1995, at the age of 28, following the death of his father Aditya Vikram Birla
During his tenure as chairman, the group's annual turnover has increased from US$2 Billion in 1995 to US$45 billion in 2021
Today, the group is present in 36 countries across six continents with over 50% of its revenues coming from overseas operations
In 1995, Kumar Mangalam Birla took over the family business and consolidated all the group companies under the brand – Aditya Birla Group (ABG)
Birla acquired Indian Aluminum Company (INDAL) in 2000
Then in 2003, Hindalco, acquired Nifty Copper Mines in Australia, while the Aditya Birla Group acquired the Mount Gordon Copper mines in Australia
Next year in 2004, Birla acquired a majority stake in L&T cement, which was later renamed UltraTech Cement
In the same year, the Birla-led group's flagship Hindalco Industries announced a merger with all the businesses of Indian Aluminium Company (Indal)
After that in 2018, the Aditya Birla Group owned Idea Cellular was merged with Vodafone India to create India's largest telecom service provider – Vodafone Idea Ltd
Also in 2018 under Birla's guidance, UltraTech Cement acquired the cement business of Century Textiles while Binani Cement became a wholly owned subsidiary of UltraTech Cement
In 2018, Birla led Novelis entered into an agreement to acquire Aleris Corporation. The deal was closed for 2.8 bn dollars in 2020