#8 Lakshmi MittalFollow (544)

Real Time  Net Worth As of 10/4/15

$10 Billion Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal (ADR)

Age65

Source Of Wealthsteel

ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom

CitizenshipIndia

Marital StatusMarried

Children2

EducationBachelor of Arts / Science, St Xavier's College Calcutta

Lakshmi Mittal on Forbes Lists #8 India's Richest (2015) #5 in 2014

#82 Billionaires (2015)o #5 in India

#57 Powerful People (2014)

SynopsisGo confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.

Indian steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, is the chairman and CEO of Arcelor Mittal,

largest steel manufacturing giant in the world. Started by his father, the

establishment raised to new heights under the leadership of Lakshmi Mittal. He is

also an independent director of Goldman Sachs and is on the board of directors

of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. Mittal is popularly

known for his lavish lifestyle and incredible success statement.

ChildhoodMittal was born into a traditional Marwari family and mostly grew up in Calcutta.

He did his post graduation from St.Xavier’s College in Calcutta. After his studies,

he went into his family steel making business. He setup an international division

in Indonesia. 

His brothers handled most of the business in India. He is the richest man in the

United Kingdom and also the second richest man in the Europe. He is also the

sixth individual richest man in the world. He got married in 1976 to a land

owner’s daughter, Usha. He has two children from his marriage, Aditya and

Vanisha Mittal.

Mittal was in the news lately for conducting lavish weddings of his children.

Early Career & CareerThe Sunday Times named Lakshmi Mittal as the Business Person of 2006. He is

also named as the Person of the Year by the Financial Times. He setup Mittal

Champions Trust after seeing the performance by India in Olympics last few

years. The trust was created to support 10 Indian athletes with the potential to

beat the world. Mittal awarded Olympic winner Abhinav Bindra with 1.5 crores for

winning the Gold Medal in Shooting. 

In the year 2003, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Usha Mittal Foundation partnered

with the Rajasthan Government to create a University called LNM University of

Information Technology. The university has been established in Jaipur. Mittal also

founded the Usha Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management.

The Mittal group made many donations till now. In the year 2008, Mittal made a

donation of 15 million pounds to great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Lakshmi Mittal purchased his residence in UK from Formula One boss Bernie

Ecclestone. It was the world’s most expensive house at that time in the world. 

The marble used in the house was taken from the same quarry that was used in

building Taj Mahal. Lakshmi Mittal owns 3 prime properties worth 500 million

pounds at Kensington Place Gardens. He also bought a bungalow for $30 million

in New Delhi. It is the most exclusive street in India.

The story of Lakshmi Mittal inspires many budding entrepreneurs over the world

with a simple message – dream it, do it!

Awards 2008

Forbes Lifetime Achievement

2008

Padma Vibhushan   Government of India

2007

Grand Cross of Civil Merit  Government of Spain

2007

Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Leadership  Business Council for International

Understanding

2004

European businessman of the Year  by Forbes

2004

Entrepreneur of the Year  Wall Street Journal

2004

8th honorary Willy Korf Steel Vision  American Metal Market and World Steel

Dynamics

1996

Steel Maker of the Year  New Steel

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Biography 

Lakshmi Mittal

Birthday : 06/19/1950Place of birth : Rajasthan - IndiaPublic asset : 2,829,000 USDCountry of residence : United KingdomLinked companies :   Goldman Sachs Group Inc -  Airbus Group SE

Summary  

Mr. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal is Chairman at Aperam SA, Independent Director at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Independent Non-Executive Director at Airbus Group SE, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at ArcelorMittal SA, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at ArcelorMittal, a Member-Executive Board at Indian School of Business, a Member at International Investment Council, a Member at Kazakhstan Foreign Investors Council Association, Chairman-Governing Council at LNM Institute of Information Technology, and a Member-International Business Council at World Economic Forum.

He is on the Board of Directors at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Airbus Group SE, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Gita Mittal Foundation, The Mittal Champions Trust, Lakshmi & Usha Mittal Foundation, ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd., ONGC Mittal Energy Services Ltd., Gita-Mohan Mittal Foundation, Mittal Childrens Foundation, Arcelormittal Foundation, World Steel Association, and Cleveland Clinic.

Mr. Mittal was previously employed as Independent Non-Executive Director by ICICI Bank Ltd., Chief Executive Officer by Mittal Steel Co. NV, a Member by The Business Council, Non-Executive Director by ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd., President by Ispat Inland, Inc., and President & Chief Executive Officer by ArcelorMittal NV.

He also served on the board at Commonwealth Business Council and ArcelorMittal USA LLC.

He received his undergraduate degree from St. Xavier's College (West Bengal).

Current positions of Lakshmi Mittal

 

Name Title Since

 Goldman Sachs Group Inc(Investment Banking & Brokerage Services)

Independent Director 2008

 Airbus Group SE(Aerospace & Defense)

Independent Non-Executive Director 2007

 ArcelorMittal SA(Steel)

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer 2006

 Aperam SA(Steel)

Chairman 2010

ArcelorMittal (Private Equity) Chairman & Chief Executive Officer -

World Steel Association Director -

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Trustee -

Gita Mittal Foundation Trustee -

The Mittal Champions Trust Trustee -

Lakshmi & Usha Mittal Foundation Trustee -

ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd. Director -

ONGC Mittal Energy Services Ltd. Director -

Arcelormittal Foundation Member-Governors Board -

Gita-Mohan Mittal Foundation Trustee -

Mittal Childrens Foundation Trustee -

Cleveland Clinic Trustee -

World Economic Forum Member-International Business Council -

Indian School of Business Member-Executive Board -

International Investment Council Member -

Kazakhstan Foreign Investors Council Association Member -

LNM Institute of Information Technology Chairman-Governing Council -

Holdings of Lakshmi Mittal

 

Name Shares % Valuation

 Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS)Investment Banking & Brokerage Services

15,000 0.0035% 2,829,000 USD

Lakshmi Mittal : Personal Network

 

Name Linked companies

Bhikam Chand Agarwal ArcelorMittal SAArcelorMittal (Private Equity)

Aditya Mittal ArcelorMittal SAAperam SAWorld Economic Forum

Lloyd Blankfein Goldman Sachs Group IncIndian School of Business

Vanisha Mittal Bhatia ArcelorMittal SAAperam SA

Gonzalo Urquijo Fernández de Araoz ArcelorMittal SAAperam SAArcelormittal Foundation

Thomas Henry Glocer World Economic ForumThe Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Rahul Bajaj World Economic ForumIndian School of Business

Pawan Kant Munjal World Economic ForumIndian School of Business

Rajendra Singh Pawar Indian School of BusinessWorld Economic Forum

Wilbur Ross ArcelorMittal SA

Biography of Lakshmi Mittal

 

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal ; born 2 September 1950) is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company. Mittal owns 38% of ArcelorMittal and holds a 34% stake in Queens Park Rangers F.C..

In 2007, Mittal was the richest man of Asian descent in the United Kingdom. Despite being the eighth wealthiest man in Britain in 2002, he does not hold British citizenship. He was ranked the sixth richest person in the world by Forbes in 2011, but dropped to 21st place in 2012, due to having lost $10.4 billion the previous year. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding was the second most expensive in recorded history.

Mittal has been a member of the board of directors of Goldman Sachs since 2008, and is also member of the board of directors of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. He sits on the World Steel Association's executive committee, and is a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council,

Early life and careerMittal studied at Shri Daulatram Nopany Vidyalaya from 1957 to 1964. He graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, with a B.Com degree from the University of Calcutta. His father, Mohan Lal Mittal, ran a steel business, Nippon Denro Ispat. In 1976, due to the curb of steel production by Indian government, the 26 year old Mittal opened his first steel factory PT Ispat Indo in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. Until the 1990s, the family's main assets in India were a cold-rolling mill for sheet steels in Nagpur and an alloy steels plant near Pune. Today, the family business, including a large integrated steel plant near Mumbai, is run by Pramod and Vinod, but Lakshmi has no connection with it.

PhilanthropySportsAfter witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and one medal, silver, at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust with $9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential. In 2008, Mittal awarded Abhinav Bindra with Rs. 1.5 Crore (Rs. 15 million), for getting India its first individual Olympic gold medal in shooting. Arcelor Mittal Also financed the construction of [Orbit] for 2012 Summer Olympics.CN|date=March 2014Source @ Wikipedia

AnecdotesLakshmi has a sumptuous residence in Kensington, which has been decorated with marble from the same quarries than the Taj Mahal. The British have called it “the Taj Mittal”.

In 2004, he offered his daughter’s wedding. The ceremony took place in France, in Vaux-le-Vicompte and in Versailles. It was one of the most expensive weddings (55 million euros).Citations"We are not in the business of iron ore. Whatever captive iron ore sources we have, we use it to make steel."

LINKED COMPANIES

Airbus GroupAerospace company

Airbus Group SE is a European multinational aerospace and defence corporation. Seated in Toulouse, France, the group consists of the three business divisions Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space, and Airbus Helicopters. Wikipedia

Stock price: AIR (EPA) € 54.68 +1.13 (+2.11%)2 Oct, 5:36 PM GMT+2 - DisclaimerHeadquarters: FranceCEO: Tom EndersFounded: July 10, 2000Subsidiaries: Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space, moreParent organization: Daimler AG, Lagardère Group, SOGEADE

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Type Public

Traded as NYSE: GS

Dow Jones Industrial Average Component

S&P 500 Component

Industry Banking, Financial services

Founded 1869; 146 years ago

Founder Marcus Goldman,

Samuel Sachs

Headquarters 200 West Street,

New York, New York, U.S.

Area served Worldwide

Key people Lloyd Blankfein

(Chairman and CEO)

Gary D. Cohn

(President and COO)

Products Asset management,commercial

banking,commodities, investment

banking, investment management, mutual

funds,prime brokerage

Revenue  US$ 40.08 billion (2014)[1]

Operating

income

 US$ 12.357 billion (2014)[1]

Net income  US$ 8.477 billion (2014)[1]

Total assets  US$ 856.24 billion (2014)[1]

Total equity  US$ 82.797 billion (2014)[1]

Number of

employees

34,000 (2014)[1]

Website GoldmanSachs.com

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational investment banking firm that

engages in global investment banking,

ArcelorMittalSteel production company

ArcelorMittal S.A. is a multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Avenue de la Liberté, Luxembourg. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Mittal Steel. Wikipedia

CEO: Lakshmi MittalStock price: MT (AMS) € 4.78 +0.30 (+6.58%)2 Oct, 5:36 PM GMT+2 - DisclaimerHeadquarters: Luxembourg City, LuxembourgFounder: Lakshmi MittalFounded: June 25, 2006

AperamCompany · aperam.com

Aperam S.A. is a company, listed on the Amsterdam, Paris and Luxembourg stock exchange and with facilities in Brazil, Belgium and France, which concentrates on the production of stainless and speciality steel. Wikipedia

Stock price: APAM (AMS) € 25.43 +0.81 (+3.27%)2 Oct, 5:35 PM GMT+2 - DisclaimerHeadquarters: Luxembourg City, LuxembourgFounded: 2011

London-based Ispat International (now Mittal Steel) and its

founder Lakshmi Niwas Mittal recently became the world's biggest

steel maker, and has been named by Forbes magazine as the world's

third richest man.

How does Mittal transform poor performing steel mills into power-

packed profit centers?

We bring to you an inside account written by written Gita Piramal and

late Prof Sumantra Ghoshal. Sumantra Ghoshal was a leading

management guru. Gita Piramal is managing editor,The Smart Manager.

The two also co-authored a book: Managing Radical Change.

Acquisitions is one of the three major routes for business expansion, the

other two being organic growth and strategic alliances.

But why choose acquisition as a growth strategy? When is this strategy

more appropriate? And, if you have chosen this strategy, what are the

main do's and don'ts for managing it well?

While not quite an Indian company -- incorporated in Holland and

headquartered in London -- Ispat International N.V. (now called Mittal

Steel) is Indian in both its spirit and management. In less that a decade,

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal has spectacularly expanded the company from a

wire rod manufacturer in Indonesia to the largest steel producer in the

world, largely through an acquisitive strategy.

He can buy 44 lakh Maruti 800s!

Lakshmi Mittal's $19-billion year!

In 1992, Mittal acquired a Mexican steel mill. From this case study, it is

possible to distil some simple lessons about how to manage acquisitive

growth.

There are, of course, some variations depending on the nature of the

industry, the history of the acquiring company, and the specific

circumstances of each individual acquisition case. But, overall, there is a

certain commonality in the pre- and the post-acquisition phases.

The story of Ispat Mexicana (Imexa)

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal's (widely referred to as 'LN' both inside and

outside the company) faith in DRI (direct reduced iron) technology

governed his choice of acquisitions. He believed in its future long before

others.

"This has spelt success for so many of my plants," he says. Starting in

Indonesia in 1976, he bought mini steel mills using the DRI route in

various countries and turned them around. Eventually in January 1995

Mittal acquired Hamburg Stahlwerke, the originator of DRI technology

on which almost all LN's plants depend.

According to Peter F Marcus, director of Paine Webber: "Lakshmi Mittal

championed the practice of mini mills becoming integrated producers

through the use of scrap alternatives."

This faith created 'the only true global steel company,' according to

the Financial Times, and Mittal's reputation as a doctor of sick steel

mills. In 1991, this reputation brought the Mexican government knocking

at his door.

In the early 1980s, the Mexican government decided to build a new steel

mill -- Sicartsa II -- adjacent to its existing Sicartsa facility located in

Lazaro Cardenas.

They invested $2.2 billion in a state-of-the-art facility, which included a

pelletizer plant to produce iron pellets from ore, the first DRI plant in the

world using the HyL III technology, electric arc furnaces, casters to roll

molten steel into flat slabs and a mill to convert these slabs into plates to

produce pipes for the then-booming oil industry.

Before the factory was completed, however, the end of the oil boom

coincided with a faltering economy which forced Mexico to devalue the

peso. The government curtailed investment in the planned pelletizer

plant, which forced Sicartsa management to source high cost iron pellets

on the open market.

The government also abandoned the planned plate mill, forcing the plant

to sell steel slabs -- an intermediate product -- rather than finished steel

plates. Three years after opening, the plant operated well below its

capacity of two million tons per year and incurred significant operating

losses.

Mexican government officials publicly blamed the management and

employees of the factory for the losses, and decided to privatize both

Sicartsa factories in 1991. Based on Ispat's reputation for turning around

Iscoot, a steel mill in Trinidad, the Mexican government invited Ispat to

join two other steel companies in bidding for Sicartsa.

The pre-acquisition negotiation process

The team: Mittal sent a due diligence team consisting of twenty

managers representing all line and staff functions chosen from

Ispat's Trinidad and Indonesian plants and instructed them to

develop plans to turn around the plant.

Mittal also explained that some members of the due diligence team

would have an opportunity to remain in Mexico if Ispat acquired the

facility. There were no merchant bankers.

The team was divided into sub-units to look at specific are as such as

finance, marketing, management and costs. Each team had to make

specific recommendations.

"These had to be solid and do-able as the person making the

recommendation could easily be called upon to implement it," said one

manager. "This eliminates consultants and their ivory tower analyses.

After this process, targets are fixed and LN largely steps out of the

picture."

Each team's report provided a valuable check on the other's to eliminate

biases and oversight.

The team's due diligence revealed a factory plagued by technical

problems, running at 20% of capacity, producing low quality slabs and

manned by a dispirited workforce. The Ispat team was impressed,

however, by the recent vintage of the assets, a young workforce with an

average age of 27 years, and the supporting infrastructure.

The team recommended bidding for the plant, and developed a turn

around plan.

The bid: Ispat proposed acquiring all the Sicartsa II factory's

assets and liabilities, excluding contingent environmental liabilities.

Ispat also bid for 50% equity stakes in several of the businesses that

supported the Sicartsa II plant, including PMT, a producer of welded

pipes, Pena Colorada, which provided the factory with iron pellets and

Sersiin, which managed the deep water port facilities and distributed

electricity. It took eight months to sew up the contract.

Ispat proposed a total consideration of $220 million, consisting of $25

million in cash and $19 million n in ten year bonds (at 15% interest)

issued by the Mexican government and secured by a warrant for 49% of

Imexsa (not Ispat) equity. Of the cash component, $5 million was a loan

from Trinidad and $20mn came from LN's personal resources.

Ispat's bid outlined the company's five-year plan for improving Sicartsa's

operations, and included a commitment to invest an additional $350mn,

with a $50mn penalty if the company failed to follow through on its

promised capital spending.

Ispat's proposal also included a clause capping the number of employees

it would lay off at 100 of the 1,050 workers. Impressed by the business

plan, the Mexican government selected Ispat's bid. Ten members of the

due diligence team remained in Mexico to run various departments,

including Dr Johannes Sittard the former head of Iscoot, who served as

the managing director of Imexsa from 1991 to 1993.

The post-acquisition integration process

Stopping the bleeding: Ispat took control of Imexsa on January

1st 1992 in the midst of a global recession in the steel industry, and

had to briefly shut down the furnaces because there were no orders

for the steel and no place to store the finished slabs.

Despite the shut-down, Imexsa laid off only seventy people -- thirty fewer

than the agreed-upon limit -- and ultimately hired an additional 270

employees.

The $220 million consideration which Ispat had committed to more than

halved almost instantly. The plate mill which had been lying abandoned --

still packed in crates -- was shipped to a Korean company.

"Our focus is slabs and we didn't need the plate mill," RR Mehta,

Imexsa's executive director told Business India. The deal brought in $135

million -- much of this went towards upgrading facilities.

Mittal recalled his first steps at Imexsa: "In Mexico we did what we do

with every business . . . we sat down with management of the acquired

company to discuss various options for improvement and we developed

the business plan. We sat down with each of the departments to

understand their problems and viewpoints and gave our input based on

international experience and our due diligence."

"Together we set very aggressive targets because we don't benchmark

companies based on local standards, but on international standards. If

the management of the acquired company is willing to commit to these

targets, they stay. If they have any problems following our business plan

and vision, they go. The Imexsa managers stayed," he added.

Production Planning Manager Oscar Vasquez recalled his first meeting

with Mittal: "In our first meeting, we presented two alternative

production plans, one for 600,000 tons -- it was conservative and based

on our past experience -- and another plan for 1.2 million tons. Mr Mittal

saw both and said, 'forget the small plan, just let me know what you need

to implement the second plan.' We expressed concern that we might not

find a market for the additional slabs, but Mr Mittal said, 'You will have

the volume because I'm going to take care of that for you'."

Mittal used Ispat Indo's sales network to identify Asian customers for

Imexsa's slabs, including a contract for 400,000 tons per year with a

Taiwanese steel manufacturer. Although these orders provided low

margins, they allowed Imexsa to increase capacity utilization while

improving quality to win more profitable business.

Imexsa also reduced costs by switching to suppliers willing to match the

lowest costs provided at Ispat's Trinidad and Indonesia plants.

The next step was to quickly develop cost-consciousness and discipline

among the Imexsa management team. Jai K Saraf, Ispat International's

finance director, and Sittard instituted a daily meeting of the heads of

each department in the plant, which began after the day shift ended at

5:00 p.m. and generally ran until 9:00 or 10:00 at night.

The team evaluated the previous day's cost, volume, productivity and

quality performance, discussed the current day's results, and agreed on

detailed targets by department for the following day.

Om Mandhana, purchase director, described the purpose of the daily

meeting: "The idea of the daily meeting was to cut red tape. You got

together all of the people involved to talk through any issues, and as a

means of coordinating and resolving day to day problems. The idea was

to take a decision then and there rather than refer to committees."

Raul Torres, melt shop director, recalled his first impressions of the

meetings: "Before Ispat bought the plant, the boss just told us how we

should do things, but the daily meetings were nothing like that. Dr

Sittard asked a lot of detailed technical questi

ons to force us to think through problems to their root causes."

"If we were consuming too much steel in the electric arc furnaces, for

instance, Dr Sittard would ask: 'Why are you consuming this amount of

steel? Is there leakage? Why do you have this amount of leakage? Are

you losing steel in the slag? How do you plan to improve this? Is that the

cheapest way in the world? Who does this best in the world? Can we

adopt their technology?'"

"We had open and sometimes heated discussions, but once we agreed on

the right thing to do, it was easy to get Dr Sittard's approval and any

resources you needed to make it happen. But you had to commit to

improvements -- how much you were going to achieve and by when, and

the entire team monitored how you did against the promised target."

"And Dr Sittard was always asking for higher targets -- he always kept

the pressure on us to increase volume and quality and cut costs."

Imexsa's existing cost accounting system reported only aggregate

production costs on a monthly basis, and was first available three weeks

after the previous month ended. One of the first things the new

management team did was to implement Ispat's daily reporting system

which provided overall figures for each day's operations by the next

morning.

Led by Saraf, Imexsa's accounting department began collecting detailed

volume, cost, quality and productivity data for each step in the

production process on a daily basis.

Initially, Imexsa's accountants collected these data themselves every day,

and analysed it by hand. To monitor raw material usage, for example, the

accountants asked warehouse workers to track the volume of materials

leaving the storeroom each day.

As the discipline steeped in, kudos flowed back. A JP Morgan report

hailed Imexsa as the lowest-cost slab producer in the world, while Credit

Suisse First Boston reported, 'At Imexsa, Ispat makes Nucor's cost

position look almost amateurish.'

Imexsa could land a slab in the middle of American at $35 a ton below

Nucor's cash cost of production of $210 a ton. And Nucor founder

Kenneth Iverson acknowledged, "Ispat comes in and runs the operations

very well. They control costs very very closely."

In 1992 -- the first year under Ispat ownership -- Imexsa increased

shipments from 528,000 tons to 929,000 tons, decreased the cash cost

per ton produced from $253 to $178, and earned a small profit.

From 1992 to 1998 Imexsa increased annual steel shipments from

929,000 tons to over 3mn tons, and improved productivity from 2.62 to

0.97 man-hours per ton.

Antonio Gonzales, the Pelletizing Plant Supervisor observed, "There is no

feeling of having finished the turnaround . . . we keep resetting the

targets, and now we are aiming for 4 million tons per year -- that's double

our rated capacity."

In 1997, MRR Nair joined Imexsa as managing director from the Steel

Authority of India, the seventh largest steel company in the world, where

he had served as chairman and CEO and had been awarded the Best CEO

in India award.

Nair cited four mechanisms for maintaining constant improvement at

Imexsa -- i.e. daily meetings and reports, quality programmes, global

integration and stretch goals.

01. Daily meeting and daily report: The daily meeting, now held

each morning for one or two hours, continued to play a pivotal role

at Imexsa. A typical meeting (in March 1998) was attended by

representatives from each of the departments, most of whom wore

the khaki Imexsa uniform.

A few of the managers however wore red Imexsa jackets awarded to

recognize achievement of ambitious goals, such as increasing one of the

DRI facility's production nearly 50% above its rated capacity.

On several occasions during the meeting, participants jokingly asked

whether their targets were ambitious enough to earn a jacket. Nair

guided the meeting with a series of questions, inquiring about the results

of previous experiments to improve performance, asking what level of

performance was budgeted for the following month, and probing why

targets were not higher.

Nair left the room for extended periods on two occasions during the

meeting, but the discussion continued with the members of the different

departments discussing targets and experiments among themselves.

The participants frequently referred to the daily report which provided

detailed data on cost, productivity, volume and quality for each of the

departments.

02. Quality programmes: In 1998, Imexsa used standard quality

tools, such as ISO methods, to describe existing processes.

Imexsa's quality efforts won numerous international awards and

earned it the British Standards Institute's prestigious Company

Wide Recognition, one of only two steel companies in the world so

honoured (Iscoot was the other).

More importantly, Imexsa's quality initiatives helped the company

upgrade its products to serve more demanding customers.

Imexsa enhanced its product mix from 97% low grade steel sold into

construction applications in 1992 to 47% of slabs sold for demanding

automotive and coated plate applications in 1997.

Despite Imexsa's success, Quality Director Rafael Mendoza wanted more:

"Traditional quality programmes such as ISO 9000 provide excellent

statistical tools for documenting your current processes, but they are not

as useful in accelerating continuous improvement. For this we introduced

benchmarking, Top 10s and internal agreements."

In benchmarking operating processes, quality team members looked at

best practices within the Ispat network, the steel industry as a whole and

also identified and studied related processes at global leaders such as

Ericsson and General Electric.

When Imexsa management wanted to improve cafeteria service during

the busy lunch hour, for example, a quality team studied the restaurant

in a busy soccer stadium renowned for serving large quantities of

excellent food quickly during half time.

Imexsa would only work with customers and technology suppliers who

agreed to openly share information on new technological developments

and applications, and in turn agreed to open their plants for

benchmarking.

Mendoza was not worried that Imexsa would surrender competitive

advantage by allowing other companies to benchmark the plant:

"In the steel industry these days, all companies have access to good ideas

through customers, suppliers and consultants. The difference is who can

implement them successfully."

In the Top 10 programme, each department identified projects to either

cut costs or improve quality, quantified each project's financial impact (in

US dollars per year), and rank ordered the projects from one to ten based

on their bottomline impact.

Each project was assigned to a project owner charged with selecting a

multi-disciplinary team to quantify the benefits of the project, develop an

action plan and monitor progress against agreed process milestones.

In Mendoza's view, the Top 10 programme introduced a consistent

discipline in translating proposed projects into financial results and

allowed each department to prioritize its own projects for improvement.

In 1996 Imexsa initiated a systematic program for making internal

service agreements between Imexsa's departments and monitoring

service delivery levels against these agreements.

The head of the department receiving a service would meet once a year

with each internal supplier to articulate their key requirements and

agree on targets and concrete measures of service delivery. Before

agreeing to target service levels, a service provider could request any

prerequisites necessary to guarantee delivery.

The maintenance department might agree to provide preventive

maintenance on time, for instance, provided that they were notified at

least one week in advance of the scheduled downtime.

The head of the department providing the service was responsible for

monitoring performance on a daily basis and reporting to the head of the

internal customer on a monthly basis, who would sign off on the

performance evaluation.

If a service provider repeatedly failed to meet goals, the failure would be

elevated for discussion in the daily meeting, but this had occurred only

once in the programme's first two years.

In 1998 Imexsa had 140 internal service agreements across 28

production and service departments and sub-departments in the plant.

70% of the agreements fulfilled 100% of the requirements, 11% of the

agreements met between 95% and 99%, with the remainder fulfilling less

than 95%. These internal agreements yielded significant improvements in

operations.

03. Knowledge integration programme: The Knowledge

Integration Program (KIP) was an Ispat corporate initiative

designed by Mittal to "keep stirring the whole organisation."

A few representatives from each operating and staff function (twelve in

total) at each Ispat plant would meet twice each year. These KIP

meetings lasted two to four days, and rotated among the plants in the

Ispat network.

Prior to the meeting, the department heads would send their suggestions

for discussion topics to Ispat group headquarters in London, where the

agenda would be set and then distributed to each of the participants in

advance.

During the meeting, the participants would review their performance

against targets, including major accomplishments and disappointments,

discuss common technical problems, update each other on developments

in their plant and commit to future targets. The participants also

communicated between KIP meetings, as Torres described:

"If I have a question, I don't have to wait until the next KIP meeting. I can

make a phone call or send an email to Canada or Trinidad. I probably

exchange at least one email every week with them."

04. Stretch goals: Each department in Imexsa committed to

annual targets for production volume, productivity and costs, and

presented their plan for achieving these goals. The process was

based on a firm philosophy of Ispat.

As described by Nair, "Senior managers should ask the departments

what they plan to do, rather than telling them what to do."

At the same time, however, it was not a laissez fair. Nair and his team

asked a lot of questions on the plans that were presented. "You achieved

this level last year, why can't you do it again? They can achieve the level

at another factory, what prevents you from doing the same? What can we

do to help you achieve more?"

At the end of such discussions, while the targets were very demanding,

they were owned by the departments instead of being perceived as

coerced from above.

As Raul Torres described: "I feel the need to constantly improve

performance every day, but its not forced on me by management. I'm not

fighting against somebody else's budgets -- I agreed to the goal, and the

best way to reach a goal is not with a big gun to your head. I set stretch

goals because I want Imexsa to win."

"At first, I wanted Imexsa to be the best steel plant in Lazaro Cardenas,

then the best steel plant in Mexico, but now I ask 'why can't we be the

best steel plant in the world?' We always wanted to be the best, but we

couldn't because the old management put up too many limitations."

About Lakshmi Narayan MittalUntil 1960's, the village Lakshmi Mittal was born into was deprived of basic amenities like electricity, water etc. His family then moved to Calcutta in West Bengal, where his father Mohan Lal Mittal set up a small steel plant. He has two siblings (brothers), Pramod and Vinod Mittal, who run the family business.

Personal Background of Lakshmi Narayan MittalIn Calcutta, Mittal studied business and accounting at the reputed St. Xavier's College. After classes, he used to work with his father in the family steel mill. He graduated as Bachelor of Commerce in accounting and business with first class

distinction. 

He is married to Usha Mittal, who was, then, the daughter of a well settled moneylender. Today, she handles the Indonesian business. 

They have two children, Vanisha and Aditya Mittal, who are members of the Board of Directors of Mittal Steels. Lakshmi is known for spending extravagantly on his family. His daughter's marriage was a five day event, which cost him more than $55 million. 

Virtues

He is an active philanthropist. Mittal Champion trust was set up with US $ 9 million to support 10 Indian athletes

with world-beating potential. A CSR system has also been set up to produce safe sustainable steel.

An astute businessman, with a knack of calculating risks to his own advantage, he has practically made his mark in the world. 

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal's Career His first step towards reaching the billionaire club, took place in the early seventies,

when he started working in his father's steel firm. In 1976, he moved to Indonesia, on the realization of the fact that opportunities for higher growth were limited to him in India.There, with his father's backing, he found a steel plant, Ispat Indo and made this company a success.

A shrewd businessman, his success has largely been built on buying up loss making state owned firms and turning their fortunes around.

In 1989, he turned a government owned firm that was making a loss of $1 million a day, in Trinidad and Tobago, into a profitable business. It was a situation, where US consultants and German experts had failed to find any solution.

With the similar strategy, he went ahead acquiring various firms all over the world, proving every risk worth its effort.

His list of acquisitions is a lengthy catalogue, including1. Sircasta: Mexico's third largest steel producer, in 1992,2. Steel Blast furnace plant, owned by the state in Kazakhastan,3. Steel plant in Europe,Germany in 1995, along with the formation of two new

companies Ispat international Ltd and Ispat Shipping to assist the group.Meanwhile, in 1994, a partition in the family business transferred all its foreign business under Ispat International. 

Awards and Achievements won by Lakshmi Narayan MittalOnce ranked as the richest man in United Kingdom (in 2011), and the sixth richest in the world, with a personal wealth of US $31.1 billion, today his wealth has come down to $16 billion and his rank has dropped to 82nd place in March 2015. He has won many awards to his credit, and is a member of many prestigious groups of societies.

2007, he won the Padma Vibhushan , by the President of India. Fellowship of King's college, London.

Grand Cross of Civil Merit, by Government of Spain. 2004, Entrepreneur of the year, by Wall Street Journal. European businessman of the year, Forbes

Times magazine, named him in their list of ''100 most influential people of the world". 

ArcelorMittal- Company Profile It was in the year 2004, when Mittal steel was formed through the merger of Ispat

International and LNM holdings. During the same period, Ispat International also merged with International Steel

Group Inc. ISG was an Ohio based company, which became the world's largest steel producer,

with a net worth over $22 billion. Mittal's steel empire stretches over 14 countries of the world. In 2006, after major negotiations and oppositions, Mittal Steels took over European

Steel giant Arselor for $33 billion, becoming the world's largest 100 million tonne steel entity. This merged entity was called, Arcelor Mittal, with the family owning 43.6 share of the group.

Apart from the mainstream steel business, they have diversified into shipping, coal, power, oil enterprises.

Problems Faced by Arcelor Mittal In 2001, Mittal Steel had to close down on the Irish Steel plant. It led to a lot of

criticism, as it left 400 people redundant and affected the concerned environment. 2002, 'The Mittal affair’, exposed links between UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and

Lakshmi Mittal. Mittal's LNM steel company, sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase steel industry in the state of Romania. Blair, on his part, wrote a letter to the Romanian government, hinting that the privatization of the firm and it's sale to Mittal might help them smooth their way into the European union.

Apart from this, multiple fatalities in his mines have raised questions about safety conditions. He has also been accused of 'slave labour'.

- See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/business-leaders/lakshmi-

narayan-mittal.html#sthash. shmi Narayan Mittal Factsheet

NameLakshmi Narayan Mittal

Born on15 June 1950

Place of BirthSadalpur, Rajasthan,India

EthnicityMarwari

Educated fromSt.Xavier's College,Calcutta

PositionChairman & Executive Officer ArcelorMittal, Owner of Karrick Limited, Co-owner of Queens Park Rangers F.C. Valued atUS $ 13.6 Billion

Married toUsha Mittal

Father ofVanisha Mittal Aditya Mittal

Awards WonPadma Vibhushan

Steel 'maharajah' Lakshmi Mittal tumbles to 4th rank in UK Rich ListSunday, 21 April 2013 - 6:09pm IST | Place: London | Agency: PTI

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Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal's wealth has plummeted but the Hinduja brothers have

become the richest Asians in the UK, while Lord Swraj Paul has emerged as the

wealthiest Peer, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Mittal, 62, who spent eight years at the top of the list, has dropped down to fourth

position this year, with a fortune of 10 billion pounds, 2.7 billion pounds less than last

year.

"So, after eight years on top of The Sunday Times Rich List, the steel maharajah is

no longer No.1," the report said.

It said, "the 40 per cent stake Mittal and his wife Usha hold in the steelmaking

giantArcelorMittal has plummeted from 28 billion pounds at its peak to 5.95 billion

pounds." Srichand (77) and Gopichand Hinduja (73), the Chairman and co-Chairman

of the Hinduja group respectively, take the third place. The Hinduja brothers are

worth 10.6 billion pounds in 2013 as against 8.6 billion pounds last year.

Noting that "the Hinduja brothers are on a roll," the Rich List 2013 said, in the past

year "the stock market value of their IndusInd Bank shot up from USD 2 billion to

USD 4.6 billion, while the acquisition of the American company Houghton

International by their Gulf Oil for USD 1.1 billion was the largest Indian investment

outside India last year." Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, 59, who has a near 30

per cent stake in ArsenalFootball Club, is the richest person in Britain with a fortune

worth 13.3 billion pounds.

The list's biggest gainer over the past year is another Russian tycoon Leonard

Blavatnik, who ranks second with his wealth of 11 billion pounds.

According to the list, Lord Paul, Chairman of the Caparo Group, is the richest Peer in

the House of Lords with a fortune worth 2 billion pounds. He stands at 38th position.

Lord Paul's fortune has been boosted by profits from his Caparo steel and

engineering firm, the report said.

The highest placed UK-born person is Gerald Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster,

who is worth 7.8 billion pounds and ranked eighth.

London-based Ravia Ruia, one of India's leading industrialists, is 24th in the list with

a wealth worth 2.55 billion pounds - up 550 million pounds over the previous year.

Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources, the London-quoted Indian metals-to-

oil group, is 35 in the list with a wealth of 2.2 billion pounds, down 50 million pounds

over the previous year.

Sri Prakash Lohia, who is into Textiles and plastics business, is 39th in the list with

1.89 billion pounds wealth.

Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways, is 170th in the list with a 515 million pounds

worth fortune.

1. When people can see which direction the leaders are going in it

becomes easier to motivate them.” –Lakshmi Mittal

2. “It is true that we are interested in scale but there are very sound

reasons for this.” – Lakshmi Mittal

3. “Everyone experiences tough times, it is a measure of your

determination and dedication how you deal with them and how you

can come through them.” – Lakshmi Mittal

4. “Hard work certainly goes a long way. These days a lot of people work

hard, so you have to make sure you work even harder and really

dedicate yourself to what you are doing and setting out to achieve.”

– Lakshmi Mittal

5. “It’s difficult for them to do a deal at these levels.” – Lakshmi Mittal

6. “At the end of the day you have to keep emotions away.” – Lakshmi

Mittal

7. “Production cutbacks have remained in place in the third quarter and

this has helped to further reduce inventory levels worldwide,”

– Lakshmi Mittal

8. “We do not believe in oversupplying the market. When you are a large

company, you can afford to do it. When you are a small player, your

flexibility gets reduced.” – Lakshmi Mittal

9. “This is not about creating a giant. It’s about creating the

sustainability of the steel industry.” –Lakshmi Mittal

10. “We are pleased with the very positive reception our offer has

received, and are confident that progress is being made towards

establishing the regulatory framework for the offer.” – Lakshmi

Mittal

11. “I understand that this has taken a lot of politicians by surprise. But

we believe that this is an important and right step for the steel

industry.” – Lakshmi Mittal

12. “In the past twenty years, we have lived through several cycles and

we have always managed to buy under good terms and conditions at

the right time. This has enabled us to build a solid group that is now

the world number one.” – Lakshmi Mittal

13. “I am sure all politicians will be convinced of the merits of this deal.”

– Lakshmi Mittal

14. “It’s true that I run a multi-national group but I have no interests in

India. So please tell me, what should my identity be?” – Lakshmi

Mittal

15. “There will be no job cuts arising out of this merger in Europe — this

is in the interest of jobs in Europe.” – Lakshmi Mittal

16. “I have confidence that the government of Luxembourg will not

make any decision that frustrates this transaction.” – Lakshmi Mittal

17. “If I go to a match it doesn’t mean I want to buy the stadium or the

club.” – Lakshmi Mittal

18. “We have no intention of shutting down plants. We have always said

there will be no redundancies or lay-offs as a result of this merger.”

– Lakshmi Mittal

19. “This is a learning in the business life that first of all you need to

have commitment, dedication and passion for what you are doing.”

– Lakshmi Mittal

20. “I came from a Hindi medium school… the principal felt that I would

not fit into an English medium college. Though I was top in my class in

school, and I got admission in other colleges, but I really wanted to

study in St. Xavier’s.” – Lakshmi Mittal

21. “It is a high for me. It is my biggest and most satisfying deal,”

– Lakshmi Mittal

22. “When I think about parallels between myself and an Olympian, I

believe that success in the world of business is underpinned by very

similar principles of perseverance and hard work.” – Lakshmi Mittal

23. “I built a steel plant from the grassroots, so I learned all the nuts

and bolts. When there was a problem, I would be able to guide them,

though I am not a technical person.” – Lakshmi Mittal

24. “We are beginning to see the benefits of global consolidation,”

– Lakshmi Mittal

25. “I’m cautious about the currency situation, oil pricing and the

economies of some countries not performing as we are expecting.”

– Lakshmi Mittal

26. “The torch relay is an excellent embodiment of all that the Olympic

Games have come to symbolise – a celebration of the human spirit.

Personally to me, it represents striving to be the best in whatever we

do, never giving up despite the odds, and a commitment to health and

fitness.” – Lakshmi Mittal

27. “We are not in the business of iron ore. Whatever captive iron ore

sources we have, we use it to make steel” – Lakshmi Mittal

28. “A strong player, which has the sufficient critical mass, can withhold

pressure better and create a more stable environment that benefits

shareholders as well as employees.” – Lakshmi Mittal

29. “I am very confident that we will be able to convince all the

stakeholders – the shareholders, the governments and the employees,

that this is in their best interests.” – Lakshmi Mittal

30. “Always think outside the box and embrace opportunities that

appear, wherever they might be.” –Lakshmi Mittal

31. “We have experienced highly challenging global market conditions

in the past quarter with significant steel price decline in all regions.”

– Lakshmi Mittal

32. “The danger, though – and there have been signs of this recently –

is that Europe begins to demonstrate a return to more nationalist

sentiment. To my mind, that would be a great mistake.” –Lakshmi

Mittal

33. “In our industry today only a strong company with a global reach

can ensure long-term employment and provide acceptable returns for

shareholders.” – Lakshmi Mittal