Title: Interview with Anu Aga, interviewed by Geoffrey Jones, Mumbai, India
Description: Anu Aga, current chairperson of Thermax Social Initiative Foundation, recounts how she inherited leadership of Thermax Global after the sudden death of her late husband in 1996, and describes the strategies she used to strengthen and grow the business during her eight-year tenure as chairperson. The company that eventually became Thermax Global was founded in 1966 by Aga's father, A S Bhathena, as a hospital equipment company in partnership with the Belgian company, Wanson. Over time, the group, known as Wanson India, expanded into boiler manufacturing in accordance with the demands of the closed Indian economy.

However, the key to her success, she explains, was her willingness to ask for help--most notably, from the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. In the first few years of her leadership, Aga took the decision to remove family members from executive positions and instead place them on the Thermax board.

In 1980, Wanson India broke away from its Belgian partner, and re-established itself as Thermax Private Limited. The following year, Rohinton Aga (Anu Aga's husband) assumed the title of Chairperson and Managing Director after working in partnership with Aga's father for many years. Aga herself became involved with the family business only in 1985, when she was appointed head of Human Resources. In the interview, she describes some of the team-building strategies she used develop successful working relationships and promote collaboration. She also explains some of the anxieties she faced taking on this new role, and the challenges of balancing work with raising her two young children.

In 2004, Aga took the decision to step down as chairperson. In the interview, she describes the unusual way in which she approached this transition and the reasons that she selected her daughter, Meher Pudumjee, as her successor. Since that time, Aga continues to serve as Chairperson of Thermax Global Initiatives. She has also become personally involved in philanthropic activities, specifically NGOs like Akanksha and Teach for India.

In addition to her leadership within Thermax, Aga also became an outspoken advocate of corporate responsibility, both independently and as a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Her commitment to responsibility was one major factor that led Aga to take a hardline stance against corruption within Thermax. In her interview, Aga explains some of the factors that helped her convinced Thermax board members to institutionalize a no-corruption policy.

Rohinton Aga suddenly passed away in 1996, and Aga succeeded him the new chairperson of Thermax Global. In the interview, Aga relates the factors that went into her selection for the role, as well as some of the biggest challenges she faced assuming leadership of a large-scale, highly-diversified engineering firm. At that time, the Indian economy was in the midst of a severe downturn. Despite the fact that she had little background in either business or engineering, she immediately recognized that the company was out of depth and needed major re-structuring.
Subjects: Interviews, Business consultants, Business, History, Businesswomen, Corruption, Education, Family-owned business enterprises, Multiproduct firms, Personnel management, Social responsibility of business, Ethnic relations, Politics and government, Commerce, Confederation of Indian Industry, Thermax Limited
Places: India, Gujarat (India), South Asia
People: Anu Aga
Time periods: 1977-