Arunachalam Vellayan (1953-2025): A tall leader known for his visionary bets

His friends and peers called Arunachalam Vellayan (72), former chairman of Murugappa group who passed away in Chennai on Monday, a man with a high level of business acumen and an ability to see the future.

Several achievements in his stellar career demonstrate this ability. Let us take one example.

In 2008, as chairman of Coromandel International, one of India’s largest fertiliser companies, Vellayan took a bold decision to go retail.

He started company-owned shops under the name ‘My Growmor’ despite many warning him that it was a recipe for disaster, as no one had done it before.

But Vellayan was convinced that a direct connection with farmers is needed to build trust in the long term. He also surmised that it would help the company understand farmers’ needs and design products better for them.

Recently, Coromandel International opened its 1,000th Growmor shop, serving over 3 million farmers, many of whom swear by the company’s products.

This retail network has also helped the company launch services such as drone-spraying of fertilizers and pesticides, soil testing, and advisory services.

Today, retail is at the heart of Coromandel’s business and its clear differentiator in the industry.

Accolades poured in from all over, acknowledging the departure of an exemplary business leader.

“He was an outstanding leader who had a firm grip of both macro and micro aspects of the business. He understood the ground reality well and took bold moves,” said R. Seshasayee, chairman, Asian Paints.

Venu Srinivasan, chairman emeritus, TVS Motor Company and vice-chairman, Tata Trusts, called Vellayan a tall leader of his generation. “I have known Vellayan for over six decades. He was a great institution builder,” he said. “I would personally miss him greatly.”

As chairman, Vellayan expanded the Murugappa group through organic and inorganic routes.

Its revenues increased from ₹15,907 crore in FY09 to ₹30,023 crore in FY17. The effort was noticed by the markets, which saw the group’s market capitalisation rise from ₹11,600 crore to over ₹70,000 crore by end-January 2018.

A distinguished leader and a valued member of the Murugappa family, Vellayan dedicated several decades to the Group, providing strategic direction across its diversified businesses. His vision, integrity and long-term approach to value creation helped strengthen and expand the Group, a Murugappa group press release said.

He was an alumnus of the Doon School, Shriram College of Commerce and University of Warwick Business School. He is survived by his wife, two sons—Arun Vellayan and Narayanan Vellayan and grandchildren.