This, despite being born into the AVM family, which manages one of the oldest surviving studios in the country. Though his Twitter profile states that he is also the managing director AVM productions and entertainment, those close to Meiyappan said his real love is sports, especially racing and golf.
"He was never interested in developing his family film business," said a film historian. "His passion is golf, go-karting and motor racing." Meiyappan, who has been asked by the Mumbai police to appear before it for questioning about his alleged links to betting in the IPL, is considered by many to be an introvert who talked to only those he was comfortable with.
Meiyappan could not be reached for this story. While his father AVM Balasubramanian is an honorary consul for Paraguay and ex-president of Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, his mother Lalitha is an avid golfer and has represented the country in the sport.
A speed junkie, Meiyappan — he was named after his grandfather AV Meiyappan, the founder of AVM Productions — has taken part in many races and finished on the podium in a few. But it was his other passion, golf, that brought him close to Rupa, the daughter of Srinivasan, V-C of India Cements.
Rupa, also a golfer, and Meiyappan fell in love and married in 2001. They now have three children — two daughters and a son. While Rupa was made a wholetime director of India Cements in 2010, Meiyappan, who has done his bachelors in commerce from Chennai's Loyola College, has never held an official post at the cement maker.
Insiders said it was after AC Muthiah filed a case in 2009, alleging conflict of interest, against Srinivasan — who was then treasurer of BCCI as well as head of India Cements which bid for the Chennai franchisee of IPL — that he decided to make his son-in-law the head of Chennai Super Kings.
Meiyappan though bonded quickly with the CSK team members, especially captain MS Dhoni as both shared a passion for racing and flying aero models. It is said both Dhoni and Meiyappan would go to Sholavaram on the outskirts of Chennai on off days and fly the various aero models that were part of the AVM scion's collection
April 6th Article on His wife in Ceylon-ananda.blogspot.com
It signifies a healthy balance between her work life as the inheritor of south India's largest cement company, and a loving mother to her two daughters Tara and Sharada.
No matter who you are in the office, Gurunath, 38, daughter of India Cements' vice chairman and managing director, N Srinivasan, greets you with the same disarming smile and a warm hello. One picture that does stand out in her office in RA Puram, Chennai, is of her with her husband, Gurunath Meiyappan of AVM, one of the oldest and leading film and TV production houses in the south. Both are dressed in bright yellow Chennai Super Kings (CSK) jerseys, holding the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2011 trophy.
This season, there is a lot to look forward to for Gurunath, who is pregnant with her third child at the moment. To add to that, CSK, owned by India Cements and worth Rs.943.95 crore, is the IPL's most successful team, shaving won the title twice (2010 and 2011). CSK is captained by Team India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In a recent statement to the media, Meiyappan, team principal of CSK, said they were going in for a hat-trick and was excited about the team's recent acquisition of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
Family ties: Gurunath at a CSK game with her family in 2010
An avid cricket fan herself, Gurunath says that she goes to the matches as a spectator and nothing more. "Although I have no favourites as such, I must confess that my older daughter is a diehard fan of captain Dhoni and the younger one is an ardent Suresh Raina follower," she says. Visibly pumped up about the team's continuing success she says,"I am excited by the way Super Kings are performing from both a sporting and a business perspective."
Apart from the sporting talent in the team, she believes that every sporting activity needs the support of professional managers. "Given India Cements' long association with the game, we have an able internal team of professional managers to handle the sports division and I strongly believe that they are one of the key reasons for our success," she says.
Gurunath's association with sports does not end there. One of the top women golfers in the state, she applies the rules of the game to running the company.
"In golf, you begin each game by visualising the playing of a hole completely, but once you've done that, you detach yourself from the big picture and focus your entire being only on getting your next stroke right," she says, adding, "the same thing I think applies to handling a business as well. Once you break your goals down to bite-sized pieces, it helps you focus better and is much less daunting."
The fountainhead: Gurunath with father N Srinivasan
"From 1990, I was always running in and out of our office just to visit my father or to be a part of office pujas. I have spent short periods of time in different departments including the shipping division. My first day was just an extension of that," says Gurunath Her first task was to learn about the various departments in the company and understand its workings. For the first few months, she did not even have a desk of her own.
Gurunath, who has a computer science degree from Anna University, went on to do an MBA from the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai. The entrepreneurship course gave her a lot of grounding, she says, but her biggest lessons have been learnt on the job, from the people in the company.
"Their understanding of the sector, company and function have enriched my perspective tremendously. The perspective they gave me is not an economic one alone, since it includes the culture of the organisation and its value systems," she says. Gurunath admits that she's still learning everything there is to know of the business. She is supporting the senior management team for the company's expansion in the western and northern markets.
"We are looking at setting up of production facilities but also want to strengthen our distribution and marketing," she says. At the same time, Gurunath adds, one of the key challenges is to ensure that the core culture and value system of the company will not be diluted in this expansion process. Her goal is to make India Cements a leader in cement across the country in the years to come.
Rupa Gurunath
Gurunath's grandfather, T.S. Narayanaswami, founded India Cements in 1946. Being part of the third generation to take over the company, she understands the weight of her responsibilities. "There is a sense of need which inspires me to look after the company, to nurture it and not just focus on the growth aspect. The reason behind the success of the company is sheer vision and a lot of hard work," she says.
Her father is her biggest inspiration and she has learnt much from his leadership style. "He has the ability," she says, "to share his vision and carry the team forward with him. And he never acts against his beliefs." Gurunath also cites T.S. Raghupathy, the executive president of India Cements, as a mentor in helping her learn the business and act as a sounding board for her ideas and thoughts.
"Of course, my husband has always been a strong pillar of support in enabling me to pursue my dreams," she adds. In her five years at India Cements, she says there hasn't ever been a dull moment, thanks to the advice her father gave her on never being afraid of asking questions and looking ignorant.
"You cannot be expected to know everything. There are experts in each field to guide you and the important thing is to take a decision based on the assessment of information given to you." This is the very advice that helps Gurunath in running her empire.
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