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Vision Statement
Our family finds that the dynamic ownership of a diversified business with a spirit of entrepreneurship, built on a tradition of integrity, discipline, humility, community service, hard work and fun to be the
most meaningful activity.
We wish to become and remain industry leaders and deliver outstanding value to our customers, achieved through world class performance and quality,
by committed people who share our values.
| Mr. Karan Paul, Group Chairman |
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Karan Paul is the Chairman of Apeejay Surrendra Group. Karan Paul oversees Group financial planning and business strategy, Group diversification into new business ventures and operations as well as management of Group's Tea, Shipping divisions as well as its Schools. Karan’s first business as an entrepreneur was a finance company and a stock-broking company. |
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Ms. Priya Paul
Art collector and design aficionado Priya Paul is Chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels in India.
Priya Paul started her career under her father, the Late Surrendra Paul, as the Marketing Manager of The Park in New Delhi. A prominent business woman and one of the most revered personalities in the hospitality industry;
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Ms. Priti Paul
Educated at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and Architectural Association School of Architecture, UK, Royal Institute of British Architects, Priti Paul has been at the forefront of taking over the business of the century old Apeejay Surrendra Group post her father’s assassination in 1990. Since then, she has spearheaded the real estate division of the Group which included expanding the |
Mr. Surrendra Paul
Surrendra Paul was the Chairman of Apeejay Surrendra Group. A global minded businessman with a clear vision and decisiveness, Surrendra Paul who took over as Chairman in 1982 had the ability to make things happen. His leadership saw a period of consolidation of existing businesses and expanding into newer ventures. Inspiring, energetic, hardworking and full of joie de vivre, Surrendra Paul was exacting and demanding as a leader and motivated employees to share his vision of the Group’s future. Joining the family business in late 1950s he turned the Group’s steel enterprise into the country's most advanced steel mill, amongst the first to manufacture stainless steel, emerging as the third largest exporter of steel after Hindustan Steel Limited and Tisco, pioneering exports to markets like UK and Japan.
The Shipping enterprise grew rapidly; the vessels became larger and more specialized carrying the company's new initials, APJ emblazoned in red and white, out of Calcutta and Bombay to the Far East, Europe and North America. The Group diversified into hospitality and opened its first hotel, The Park, on the fashionable Park Street in Kolkata in 1967, added a hotel at Visakhapatnam in 1968, while The Park Delhi was started in 1987. Surrendra acquired tea estates in Upper Assam, North East India and within less than a decade, the tea enterprise had created new jobs, better pay and more facilities for its workers. The greater exports and higher tax revenues substantially contributed to the economy of the state of Assam.
Youngest of four brothers, who collectively transformed Amin Chand Pyare Lal from a small business located in Jalandhar into a diversified enterprise, guided by their brother Jit Paul, Surrendra was a hands-on person, trained his teams by himself doing things to show how the work should be done. Surrendra was added to Apeejay to honour its dynamic late Chairman post his untimely death in 1990.
A student of engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later Brandeis’ University, Surrendra’s early schooling was in Jalandhar and at Vincent Hill, Mussorie. Surrendra Paul and his wife, Shirin Paul, had two daughters, Priya and Priti and two sons, Anand and Karan. Karan Paul is Chairman of Apeejay Surrendra Group and Shirin Paul is Chairperson Emeritus.
Memorial Lecture
The Surrendra Paul Lecture was instituted by Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata, in the memory of our Late Chairman Mr Surrendra Paul. This memorial lecture held annually since 1991, after his sudden demise in 1990, is rooted in his progressive way of thinking. Over the last 29 years, eminent personalities from various walks of life have spoken from this platform about God, science, religion, spirituality, work ethics, medicine, importance of values in modern life, Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, pluralism and spiritual values of Indian culture. Some of the past speakers of the lecture were Dr Kalyan Sarkar, Senior Vice Chairman and Senior Consultant Cardiac Surgeon, Medica Superspeciality Hospital; Swami Bhajananandaji Maharaj, Senior Trustee, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math; Swami Muktidananda, Adhyaksha, Advaita Ashrama; Swami Atmapriyananda, Vice Chancellor, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math; Dr Sudipto Roy, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Indiana State University, USA; Swami Shantatmananda, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi, among others. Remembering his keenness for Indian values & culture, the institute had set up the Surrendra Paul Chair of Indological Studies and Research in 1991 to encourage young scholars to study different branches of Indology.
Mrs. Shirin Paul
Mrs. Shirin Paul was Chairperson Emeritus, Apeejay Surrendra Group. Mrs. Paul took over the Chairmanship of the Apeejay Surrendra Group under tragic circumstances in April 1990. In July 2004, she became the Chairperson Emeritus of the Group, handing over the office of Chairperson to her son Karan Paul. Apeejay Surrendra Group (established in 1910) is a dynamic Indian multinational with rapidly expanding operations in Tea, Hospitality, Shipping, Real Estate and Retail.
Mrs. Paul directs the Educational and Philanthropic activities of the Group. She oversees the management of the Apeejay Schools and is the Chairperson of The Paul Foundation. The Paul Foundation awarded scholarships to outstanding scholars committed to making a difference to the society through their work from 2001 - 2008. The program was amended in 2009 to address the educational needs of the least privileged and most deprived sections of society giving shape to the Anand Paul Education Support Program. As a Trustee of the Apeejay Trust, she works with development projects focusing on children, women, the disadvantaged and the disabled. She has a deep interest in promoting art and culture, is a keen horticulturist, and finds Yoga-Meditation as the ultimate healer of body, mind and soul.
Mr. Jit Paul
Mr Jit Paul was Advisor Apeejay Surrendra Group. Born in 1923 on April 1, in Jalandhar, into a modest, small manufacturing family, Mr Jit Paul decided early on that he would dedicate his life to building the business. From 1938, when he formally joined his father in the steel business, he utilised his acumen to convert Amin Chand Payarelal into Apeejay Surrendra as one of India’s leading business houses. His close knit family, the capacity of all four brothers Stya Paul, Jit Paul, Swraj Paul and the late Surrendra Paul to convert a boundless, restless enthusiasm for work into a focused determination to build and transform, changed Amin Chand Payarelal into a leading importer of steel and manufacturer of steel pipes and other steel products. Propelled by an infectious zest for work, the momentum of success led to the diversification of Amin Chand Payarelal into shipping, hotels, real estate, tea and book retail.
Jit Paul’s acumen was a rare amalgam of shrewd calculation, a legendary capacity for hard work, deep insight and a flair to recognise opportunity ahead of rivals and above all a great joy in doing things. His business was founded on the concept that he described as reliability; undertake what can be done and complete it to the satisfaction of the other party. He believed that destiny provided him with the opportunity and his role was to take it and nurse it. He learnt as he worked with his father in Jullundur, quitting school after completing his matriculation. He was joined by his elder brother Stya Paul. Together they worked and nurtured a modest business into a robust one. Along the way, they ensured that the two younger brothers Swraj and Surrendra received the best education that could be provided. Both younger brothers went to MIT.
Jit Paul started visiting Kolkata, then Calcutta, to seek orders for the steel business in the early 1940s. By 1951, the compulsion of business necessitated Mr Jit Paul’s relocation to Calcutta. Apeejay was built from scratch. It was built on love and trust. “Performance builds image not the other way around,” was Jit Paul’s belief. His simplicity, infectious enthusiasm and attention to detail permeated everything he did.
Wealth is a trust and Jit Paul shared his wealth with a very large number of people and organisations, Ramakrishna Mission, Arya Samaj, Deen Dayal Research Institute, Bharat Sevasram. His gifts were quietly given, for he sought no gratitude. His gifts were to make a positive change for the intended beneficiary. Jit Paul valued education and the schools he established and nurtured were institutions to not merely educate but also instil the values of integrity, service and humility. His simplicity was intrinsic, because he despised consumerism. His curiosity was ceaseless because he, despite loudly asserting his lack of formal education, was a pursuer of knowledge. He read and absorbed, he questioned and was a seeker. His ideal was Mahatma Gandhi, and a photograph of the Father of the Nation adorned a wall of his office.
Work was worship for Mr Jit Paul and he seamlessly combined his life with his work. ‘I am never busy. I am available twenty-four hours a day and three sixty five days of the year’. At work he entertained a stream of visitors, making them feel at home. Yet he was a very private person. This was not a paradox; it was the essence of Mr Jit Paul. Surrounded by his family he left this life after almost eight decades of struggle, success, triumph and tragedy, on June 3 2009, after a brief illness bravely borne.
Memorial Lecture
Apeejay Jit Paul Memorial lecture was created in the memory of our late patriarch Mr Jit Paul as part of Kolkata Literature Festival at the International Kolkata Book Fair in 2014. Ever since its inception, the lecture has witnessed many renowned personalities speak about their perspectives on themes as diverse as the significance of humanities in today’s world; problems with the Indian education system; importance of values like honesty, hard work and openness to learn in today’s world; making a life vs making a living and India after 70 years of independence. The past editions have been graced by stalwarts from respective fields such as Homi Bhabha, Anne F Rothenberg Professor of Humanities, Department of English, Harvard University, in conversation with Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Harvard University; Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation and wife of former Infosys Chairman Narayan Murty; Jawhar Sircar, former CEO of Prasar Bharti Limited, in conversation with Devi Kar, Principal, Modern High School for Girls; Anuja Chauhan, bestselling author, screenwriter and advertising consultant, in conversation with Saikat Majumdar, Professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University; and renowned author, commentator and thought leader Gurcharan Das.
Under his stewardship, Apeejay Surrendra has made very large business investments and expanded across various business verticals especially its core businesses of Shipping and Hotels. The Group has forward integrated its Tea Plantation business by acquiring an FMCG brand which retails in nearly 50 countries globally. The Group has diversified into new business ventures of Marine Cluster, Logistics Parks which has effected backward and forward integration of its Shipping Business. The Real Estate division has incremented Land Banks and consolidated as well as grown Real Estate commercial developments across India.
With a sense of shared ownership and a deep belief in the joint family business Karan Paul works with his sisters, Priya and Priti Paul, as a team involved in oversight of Apeejay Surrendra’s growth and management. The same approach flows within the Group where Karan has tried to evolve away from the family owned concept to that of a team backed by an extremely professional HR structure ; a professional system with a lot of delegation and responsibility given to Group top management, the CEOs and HODs.
After working in various positions within the Group for 12 years, Karan donned the mantle of Chairmanship in 2004 and immediately set the Group on a path of consolidation and growth. Working Hard, Being Humane, Being Reliable, Doing good business with trust, integrity and fairness, Ensuring a win-win partnership for everybody related to the enterprise, whether it is employees, suppliers, customers or bankers, is the Family legacy and values Karan was born to and ensures that they remain intact as the business grows. Within less than a decade of joining the Group Karan put in place a system of providing grants to students pursuing higher studies in India and abroad through The Paul Foundation set up in 2001. A year after he became Chairman, Typhoo Tea, a company he acquired in what was then India’s 2nd largest global FMCG acquisition began its partnership with the English Federation of Disability Sport to make sport more accessible for disabled people across the UK.
Karan Paul has evolved a comprehensive strategy that funnels resources into the Social Sector, Education, Environment and Stakeholder Relations, all executed through institutionalized processes at the corporate level while each Group company invests in sustainability and social sector partnerships within communities attached to their business. Karan created India’s pioneering National Award for Volunteers in 2011 that took forward the Individual Social Responsibility™ program instituted in the Group in 2007 which he had put his weight behind, three years after he ascended to Chairmanship. Confederation of NGOs (iCONGO) felicitated Karan Paul with its coveted ‘Karmaveer Puraskaar, 2012 Corporate Citizen for Holistic CSR Initiatives’ award. The award was in recognition of commendable work in the field of social service and for interpreting responsibilities in the broadest and deepest terms - as an individual and as a leader of Apeejay Surrendra Group - adjudicated by processes created by the international HR audit firm Mercer and Grant Thornton.
A Brown University alumnus, Karan Paul's vision is that Apeejay Surrendra Group should become and remain one of India's largest and the most profitable privately owned family business. In the past and at present, Karan has been on the Executive Committees of various Chambers of Commerce like CII, FICCI, ICC, Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Bengal Chamber of Commerce and actively involved with reputed trade organizations and professional forums like YPO, YLF, INSA, ITA, etc.