Rahul Bajaj

Rahul Bajaj is a well-known entrepreneur and the chairman of the Bajaj Group, which ranks among the top 10 business houses in India. Rahul Bajaj is one of India’s most distinguished business leaders who is respected globally for his business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.

An alumnus of Harvard, Rahul Bajaj has taken his family business leaps and bounds since he took over the helm in 1965. Under his able leadership, Bajaj Group has seen massive success. In fact, the flagship company Bajaj Auto saw a meteorical rise from a turnover of Rs. 72 million to Rs. 46.16 billion. He created one of the top companies of India in the face of very different times in the business industry and steered it towards success inspite of the license raj. He created factories at the Akurdi and Waluj. It is a tremendous high point in Bajaj Group’s business history that Bajaj Group was the number one scooter producer in the country in 1980’s. What’s even more significant is that its one single auto brand ‘Chetak’ had a 10-year waiting period.

Even though liberalization was a turning factor in Indian industry, it posed a big threat to Bajaj Auto. This was mainly because it brought home the threat of cheap imports and FDI from global top companies like Honda. In fact, Bajaj Auto incurred quite a loss because of this very factor. Hero was able to cash in on the demand for motorcycles and rival Hero Honda was an instant success with the masses. As a result of this, the sales of scooters plummeted and Bajaj Auto had to incur heavy losses.

The recession and stock market collapse was seen as the final nail in the coffin for the country. However, the company, with the dynamic Rahul Bajaj at the helm did not give up and re-invented the brand, specially as a world-class factory in Chakan, invested large amounts in R&D and came up with the path-breaking Bajaj Pulsar motorcycles. It’s heartening when one realizes that Bajaj Pulsar is currently the leader in its segment. People like Rahul Bajaj never give up inspite of odds and can be trusted to change the tide in their favor!