Apollo Tyres Ltd. is one of the world’s largest family businesses. Founded in 1972, Apollo now has over 19,000 employees, serving 100 countries. Neeraj Kanwar is the grandson of founder, Ranuaq Singh. He became MD in 2009 (in his mid-thirties) and has led the growth of Apollo from revenues of US$450 million to over US$3 billion; Apollo is on track to reach US$5bn in revenues by 2026. Neeraj continues to work closely with his father, Onkar Kanwar, who is the company chairman. In this interview, I speak to Neeraj Kanwar, Vice-Chairman & MD of Apollo Tyres and his Father, Onkar Kanwar, Chairman of Apollo Tyres. We discuss the complexities, challenges and opportunities of running one of the world’s largest family businesses including effective succession planning, leadership, culture and change.

Thought Economics

In May 2019, Hakan Bulgurlu – CEO of Arçelik, one of the largest white goods manufacturers in the world – became one of a few thousand individuals to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. His expedition came with a purpose – to raise awareness of the catastrophic effect the climate crisis is having on our planet, to lead by example and to seek out practical solutions. Deciding to commit to the climb just 8 months before, A Mountain to Climb is Hakan Bulgurlu’s gripping account of this gruelling expedition, accompanied by factual realities of the climate crisis.  In this interview, I speak to Hakan Bulgurlu – CEO of Arçelik about the leadership we need to make a difference in climate and sustainability. We talk about his astonishing expedition to Everest and what that taught him about life, leadership, and what it takes to really make the impossible, possible.

Thought Economics

Dr. Maya Shankar is Senior Director of Behavioural Economics at Google and is the Creator, Host and Executive Producer of her brilliant new podcast A Slight Change of Plans which explores the question: What exactly happens when we find ourselves on the brink of change? Using her skills as a cognitive scientist, she delves into the incredible stories of a number of guests. She speaks to Tiffany Haddish on her transformation from foster care kid to Emmy-winning comedian; a former member of the extremist Westboro Baptist Church on her experience walking away from a cult; Kacey Musgraves on how psychedelics changed her perspective on art; a young cancer researcher who gets a diagnosis that changes everything; a Black jazz musician who convinced hundreds of KKK members to leave the Klan; and Hillary Rodham Clinton who was never willing to change in the way people wanted her to. In this interview, I speak to Maya Shankar about her transformation from being a musician to leading the White House Behavioural Science Team, and what she’s learned about change and transformation through her podcast, “A Slight Change of Plans.”

Thought Economics

To understand more about the exponential changes affecting our culture, economy and society; I spoke to entrepreneur, author and thought leader, Peter H. Diamandis – Founder & Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, Executive Founder of Singularity University  and Co-Founder of BOLD Capital Partners.  Peter was recently named by Fortune as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” and is one of the world’s foremost experts on technology and change – a topic he covers in his recent book, The Future is Faster Than You Think.

Thought Economics

In this article, we are privileged to speak to Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and president of Wikia Inc. We speak to Mr. Wales about his latest project, “Wikia” and about how our world is now, and will forever be, remarkably changed by Participatory Culture, Mass-Collaboration and the pace of technological advance.

Thought Economics

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