Shiv Nadar

Shiv Nadar (born 14 July 1945) is an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of HCL and the Shiv Nadar Foundation. As of 2015, his personal wealth is estimated at $13.7 Billion. Nadar founded HCL in the mid-1970s and transformed the IT hardware company into an IT Enterprise over the next three decades by constantly reinventing his company's focus.

Early life and education

Nadar was born in 1945 in Moolaipozhi village, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district (present ),Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were Sivasubramaniya Nadar and Vamasundari Devi. Nadar's mother, Vamasundari Devi, is the sister of S. P. Adithanar, founder of Dina Thanthi newspaper.

Career

Nadar began his career at Walchand group's Cooper Engineering in Pune in 1967. he soon gave it up to begin his own venture, in partnerships with several friends and colleagues. These partners were Ajai Chowdhry (Ex-Chairman, HCL Infosystems), Arjun Malhotra (CEO and Chairman, Headstrong), Subhash Arora, Yogesh Vaidya, S. Raman, Mahendra Pratap and DS Puri.

Focus on education and healthcare

In 1996, Nadar founded SSN College of Engineering in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the name of his father, Sivasubramaniya Nadar. Nadar takes active role in the college activities including gifting of Rs. 1 million worth of HCL shares to the college. In 2006, Nadar announced that the college will promote research apart from ensuring that students benefit from foreign university tie-ups.

Awards and accolades

In 2008, Government of India awarded Nadar with Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for his contribution to IT industry.

In 2007, Madras University awarded him honorary doctorate degree (D Sc) for his contributions in promoting software technology. Nadar was also recognised as E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 (Services).