Indians first went to the United States and Great Britain – because of the language. In the meantime the focus has increasingly shifted to Continental Europe – and there primarily to Germany. India’s strong economic growth means that companies have full coffers – and there are attractive takeover opportunities to be found in Germany. Investors are looking closely at its brands and markets, expertise and high technology – from steelworks and automotive components suppliers to fashion labels. This increased Indian interest first attracted the attention of the German public at large after Mittal Steel’s spectacular takeover of Arcelor, the Luxembourg-based steel group, in 2007. Today ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steel producer by a considerable margin. The man behind the company is Lakshmi Mittal. After university he joined his father’s steel foundry and in 1976 was commissioned with the task of turning around an ailing Indonesian steelworks that the family had acquired. He did it so well that the family continued to invest and the business empire grew. Today Lakshmi Mittal is one of the richest people on earth. He has one daughter and one son, who is married to Megha...
Megha Mittal
The Escada Rescuer
Megha Mittal is chair of the Supervisory Board of Escada, the German luxury fashion group. She acquired the company in 2009 after it filed for bankruptcy. Megha Mittal studied at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania and then worked for Goldman Sachs, the US investment banking group. She hopes her involvement in the fashion industry will allow her to step out of the shadow of her father-in-law, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.////
Anshu Jain
The Deutsche Bank Star
Anshu Jain is a member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank and is responsible for investment banking. His division almost regularly supplies the largest part of the banking group’s profits and his bonuses probably make him the highest earning employee of a German public company. Jain is one of the world’s most influential bankers. Although not an entrepreneur, insiders consider him a candidate to succeed Josef Ackermann at the head of the bank.////
Baba Kalyani
The Textbook Mittelständler
Baba Kalyani is chairman of Bharat Forge. In 2003 his company acquired the automotive supplier Carl Dan Peddinghaus in Ennepetal. He allayed the employees initial fears, invested in the company and as a result increased turnover and profits. His goal was to make Bharat Forge the world’s largest forging company by combining German technology and a production base in India. One German business magazine described him as a “textbook Mittelständler”, a typically German proprietor of a family-owned business.////
Tulsi Tanti
The Wind Turbine Investor
Tulsi Tanti is chair of the Supervisory Board of Repower, the north German wind turbine producer, and co-owner of Suzlon Energy Limited, the leading manufacturer of wind energy equipment in India. He founded the company in the early 1990s because the electricity supply in India broke down on an almost daily basis. Suzlon now holds a majority stake in Repower. Tulsi Tanti plans to forge a global wind energy group with Repower.////
