A Sivasailam (77), Chairman and Managing Director of Amalgamations Group, one of Chennai’s most admired business houses, died at Kasturba Hospital in Manipal in the State of Karnataka on Wednesday, following a cardiac arrest.
Sivasailam was camping at Sringeri where he came along with his daughter and other family members on a pilgrimage when the death occurred. His body is being brought to Chennai for the last rites.
Born on August 24, 1934, Sivasailam was the eldest son of the late S Anantharamakrishnan (also known as ‘J’), a pioneering industrialist of his times, who ran successfully the business of Simpsons Group.
A Padma Shri Awardee, Sivasailam was the one who always relied upon integrity as the guiding principle to run his business establishments numbering around 48, coming under the banner of Amalgamations Group.
After graduating in Commerce from the Loyola College in Chennai, he had the benefit of getting Management Accounting and Advanced Accountancy education for four years at a leading firm of Chartered Accountants in London. On his return from the UK, he joined the group in 1957 as Comptroller and Treasurer of Addison & Co, a unit of the Simpsons Group. In 1961, he was made the General Manager of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE). He then took over as the Chairman of the Amalgamations Group in August 1968.
Today, the Amalgamations Group has diverse business interests in manufacturing a wide variety of products - diesel engines, automobile components, batteries, cutting tools, tractors - as also in plantation companies producing fine quality teas in the Nilgiris, apart from interests in automobile and auto parts distribution, book selling and publishing.
Accolades and recognitions rest lightly on his shoulders. The recipient of the first MMA Distinguished Fellowship award in 2005, he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2007. He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Literature by the Madurai Kamaraj University and a Lifetime Contribution Award by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) 2008. More recently, he had been recognized by ACMA with a Lifetime Achievement Award.