Vijay Eswaran is the executive chairman of the QI Group and co-founder, along with Uday Kotak, of Kotak Mahindra Bank, now India’s third-largest private bank. He was also a member of the International Advisory Board in 1871 and shared his insights on success in global markets. In 2010 Mr. Eswaran was named by the World Economic Forum in Davos as a Young Global Leader and an economic visionary. The President of India awarded him the Padma Sri Medal in 2014.
- Business Strategy
Vijay Eswaran strongly believes in the importance of a well-defined business strategy to achieve sustainable growth and business success. He considers the quality of strategy formulation and the ability to understand customer needs crucial to long-term success. His QI Group has adopted an innovative approach that has helped it sustain its growth as a small life insurance company in 1993, becoming one of India’s leading financial services companies with over 30,000 employees, serving more than 3 million customers globally.
- Social Responsibility
Mr. Eswaran strongly believes businesses must provide value for society and their shareholders to survive and thrive in the long term. He believes that companies must aim to go beyond the merely financial bottom line and invest in people and communities. This is reflected in his group’s approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR), which includes supporting clean water initiatives, sponsoring education and providing vocational training to India’s underprivileged youth, funding a hospital in Malaysia, and working with the United Nations towards eradicating world hunger.
- Innovation
Vijay Eswaran believes that innovation is about discovering what people need and providing it for them better. He believes that the right product or service must be delivered at the right time, at the right price, and in place to succeed. This means that businesses must continuously innovate to stay ahead of their competitors and innovate by designing new products and services alone and creating new business models through strategic partnerships.
Vijay Eswaran’s commitment to innovation, vision, and leadership has helped him build a dedicated workforce, enabling QI Group to grow rapidly over the last two decades.
Find out more business insights from Vijay Eswaran on Medium