For putting farmers first

Attired in her trademark salwar-kameez-dupatta and a string of pearls, Mallika Srinivasan sits with ease behind the wheel of a giant tractor, justifying the epithet ‘Tractor Queen of India’.

And why not? Farming in India has long been a male dominated activity. But Srinivasan—a Wharton graduate—has defied all odds to make her company the world’s third-largest tractor manufacturer.

As Chairman and CEO of the Chennai-based tractor major, she has developed relevant technology to suit evolving needs of the farmers, optimised costs, and tapped global markets to establish TAFE as a quality mass manufacturer of tractors and a lean, resilient organisation that can weather the cyclicality of the business.

. Under her aegis, the company has become a `93 billion company that sees annual sales of over 150,000 tractors and has a presence in over 100 countries. Srinivasan is also a well-known philanthropist with an abiding interest in education and healthcare.

She supports Sankara Nethralaya and the Cancer Hospital in Chennai, as well as a number of educational and healthcare facilities in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. She is also involved in the promotion of of Indian culture, classical music and traditional art forms through the Indira Sivasailam Foundation. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Padma Shri for her contribution to trade and industry in 2014.