Chairman, The UB Group

Vijay Mallya, 44, was elected as Chairman of United Breweries by shareholders, following the demise of his late father in 1983 at the young age of 28.

Prior to being entrusted with the responsibilities of a classical Indian Corporate conglomerate, Vijay Mallya worked for the American Hoechst Corporation (now Aventis) in the USA and in the U.K. Since 1980, he assisted his father, then Chairman of the UB Group in managing the important Brewing and Spirits Divisions. In 1983, the sales volume of the UB Spirits division was approximately 3.85 million cases and UB's beer business trailed behind that of Golden Eagle from Mohan Meakins. Also included in the Group were activities such as Pharmaceuticals, Agrochemicals, Paints, Monomers and Polymers, the manufacture of Electro-mechanical Batteries, the manufacture of food products and carbonated beverages, a fast food Pizza chain and several medium and small scale industrial units.

Upon assuming the position of Chairman in October 1983, Vijay Mallya initiated the process of defining a corporate structure with performance accountability, inducting professional management and consolidating the unwieldy empire into individual operating divisions.

In 1988, Vijay Mallya became a non-resident Indian to pursue global opportunities and to transform the UB Group into India's first multinational. While, in the initial stages, overseas representative offices had been commissioned, the real break was in 1988 when Vijay Mallya, in a leveraged buyout acquired the global Berger Paints Group with operating companies across four continents. The exit strategy for this investment was profitably executed when Vijay Mallya successfully directed five Initial Public Offerings on the London, Singapore (Main Boards), Nairobi, Jamaica and Abidjan Stock Exchanges. The paints business was divested for significant value in 1996.

Vijay Mallya also founded a software company in the USA in 1993 which was subsequently listed on the NASDAQ in 1996 and which provides a considerable window of opportunity to the vast US market. He also initiated several ventures for the promotion and globalization of UB brands and, in particular, Kingfisher and McDowell.

In 1990, following the Government of India's liberalised economic policies, Vijay Mallya decided that the UB Group would only retain interests in businesses that were globally competitive and which did not depend upon fiscal tariff protection. He also decided to focus on areas of core competence and transformed the vastly diversified UB conglomerate into a handful of key operating businesses.

On entering the new millennium, the UB Group is considerably more focussed and has dramatically increased value for its shareholders through its various operating businesses. Sales of the UB Spirits Division exceeded 25 million cases for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2000 making the Group the seventh largest manufacturer of Spirits products in the world. In addition, this Division is one of only four in the world to have seven millionaire brands and at least five brands rated by Drinks International, UK to be amongst the ten fastest growing brands in the world in their respective categories. The market share of the Spirits Division in India is currently 37% and exports to the Middle East, Africa and Asian countries are growing rapidly.

The UB Group's Brewing Division has also assumed undisputed market leadership with a national market share of 34%. The flagship brand, Kingfisher is now sold in 32 countries worldwide having received many accolades for its quality.

UB also acquired an equity stake and management control of National Sorghum Breweries in South Africa to further promote its globalization initiatives. This company is growing from strength to strength and UB is confident of enhancing shareholder value significantly in the next two years.

Vijay Mallya is the Chairman of public companies both in India as well as in the USA. He has been the Chairman of Hoechst Marion Roussel India (Aventis) as well as the Chairman of Aventis CropScience in India for over 16 years, in addition to his Chairmanship of several other corporations.

Vijay Mallya has received several awards both in India and overseas. He was also conferred a Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration, (honoris causa) by the Southern California University, Irvine. He has also been nominated as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum.

He is a keen sportsman and is an ardent aviator and yachtsman of distinction. He not only participates in various sporting events but also supports various sporting activities worldwide, particularly for the under privileged.

Vijay Mallya has always believed that Corporations have a responsibility to society and mankind. To this end, he has contributed generously to various Charities and Foundations in several countries.