Suresh Krishna (businessman)

Suresh Krishna ^[1] is the Chairman and Managing Director of Sundram Fasteners Limited (SFL), and the Chairman of the holding company, T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons Pvt Ltd". 

Suresh Krishna is the grandson of the founder of TVS Group, late Sri T V Sundram Iyengar, and the eldest son of late Sri T S Krishna.  

Education

Mr. Krishna received his Bachelor of Science degree from Madras Christian College in the year 1955. He received his M.A. in Literature from the University of Wisconsin in 1959 and did his post-graduate work in Literature in the University of Munich, Germany.

Career

Suresh Krishna started his career with TVS and Sons, Madurai.  In 1962, he was given the responsibility of starting Sundram Fasteners.  Under his leadership, the company, which started its operations from a small industrial unit in Ambattur Industrial Estate, soon moved to its present location in Padi and has since expanded to multiple locations in India and abroad.  Currently it has 25 factories in India and one each in China and the United Kingdom

Suresh Krishna’s passion for excellence and quality saw him steer Sundram Fasteners to be recognized as a leading manufacturer in the auto component industry. Under his stewardship,^[2] SFL received international recognition by achieving several ‘firsts’ as mentioned below:

• First Indian company to receive ISO 9000 certification
• First and only Indian company to receive “Best Supplier Award” from General Motors, USA. SFL received this award for five consecutive years.^[3]
• First Engineering company in India to receive the TPM Excellence Award from Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance.
• First Engineering company from India to set up a manufacturing facility in China

Suresh Krishna’s people centric style of management has ensured that SFL has not lost even a minute of work time due to any industrial unrest ever since it started more than 50 years ago, an achievement in the annals of Indian industry.

Recognition

Suresh Krishna took active interest in representing the voice of the industry.  He served as the President of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India during 1982-84 and as President of the Confederation of Indian Industry for the year 1987-88.

Suresh Krishna’s counsel was sought after by many organizations by way of appointing him as a Director on their Governing Boards.  Besides being a Director on the Board of several Group companies, he has also been a Director on the Boards of the Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India, Tata Steel, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Institute for Financial Management & Research, etc.

Both the Central and State Governments have recognized him by having him as a member of several public bodies and committees from time to time.  He was appointed as a Director on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.  He was one of the members of the Advisory Council to the Prime Minister formed to advise the Prime Minister on matters relating to trade and industry.

Awards and Honours

Business and Industry organizations have also recognized Suresh Krishna’s contribution.  

• He was awarded the "Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial Peace" by XLRI in 1991.
• The Business India magazine selected him as the Businessman of the Year 1995.
• He was awarded the “Qimpro Platinum Standard 1997” for being a role model for Quality Leadership for Corporate India, and the "Juran Quality Medal" by the Indian Merchants Chamber, Mumbai.
• The Asian Productivity Organisation, Japan, conferred the National Award for 2000 (for India) on Mr. Krishna, for his outstanding contribution towards productivity improvement in the country during the last five years.
• The All India Management Association gave the prestigious “JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award”^[4] for the year 2000 to Mr Suresh Krishna.
• Mr. Krishna was the recipient of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award for 2001, from Ernst & Young.

The Government of India conferred the “Padma Shri” award on Suresh Krishna in 2006 for his contribution to industry.

• He was appointed Sheriff of Madras for 1992-93. ^[5]

References