Mr. Harsh Piramal spearheads the textile business of the Ashok Piramal Group, a conglomerate with business interests in real estate, textiles, auto components, cutting tools and renewable energy.
Mr. Harsh also heads the auto components business of the group which has operations in India, the Czech Republic and Mexico. His initiative has led to the group’s diversification into the renewable energy business which runs a hydro-power project in Himachal Pradesh.
Mr. Harsh began his career at a venture capital firm Indocean Chase Capital Partners (now part of JP Morgan Chase). After his MBA, he founded Thundercloud Technologies, an IT company, in May 2000.
In August 2001, he became COO – Allied Pharma Businesses, at Nicholas Piramal India Ltd. He successfully turned the loss-making vitamins division around and launched the ‘Wellspring’ brand for the pathology labs division.
In 2004, Mr. Harsh realised that the textile business had a good potential and took control of Morarjee Textiles. Over the years, he has transformed the company from a manufacturing into a retail power and also changed the product portfolio. He has been responsible for changing stand fabrics into higher-end fabrics. This not only gave the company a niche in the Indian market but also opened up the global market for its products.
He has also created a strong brand recall for Morarjee Textiles, and the fabric portfolio includes premium shirting fabric, printed fabric, voiles and guthra. The company exports most of the popular brands to over 40 countries.
His vision is to create a world-class, environmental-friendly, integrated textile company for customers. Towards this, he has already conceptualized and implemented a technology upgradation and expansion plan at the company’s Nagpur plant, with an investment of Rs. 320 crores.
Mr. Harsh firmly believes that sustainability is integral to the growth of the company. As part of the expansion project, the company has set up an effluent treatment plant which will reduce the intake of fresh water substantially, as water will be reused.
Along with the textiles business, Mr. Harsh heads the auto engineering business which has also witnessed accelerated growth under his leadership. PMP Components Pvt. Ltd. acquired two wiping systems companies in Europe in 2007 and 2008, to scale up and internationalize its operations. With these acquisitions, PMP Auto has consolidated its position and currently enjoys a seven per cent market share in the wiping system business in Europe.
Mr. Harsh is a keen wildlife enthusiast and he co-founded the Wildlife Conservation Trust along with his wife Reshma Piramal. The trust was founded in 2012 as a philanthropic initiative to promote community-based wildlife conservation.
Apart from business and his passion for wildlife conservation, Mr. Harsh is an ardent fan of polo and football. He plays competitive polo at the national level and is a keen football player and fan. He co-founded the Pune Football Club along with his brothers.