I learn from the achievements and mistakes of my father

Bhawna Pani

Market Analyst

He has a penchant for innovation and value addition. It has helped him to double the turnover of the business that his father entrusted to him six years ago. Meet Angad Paul, 38-year-old chief executive officer of Caparo, a leading UK-headquartered steel component manufacturer with an annual turnover of £1.5 billion.

The youngest son of non-resident Indian industrialist Lord Swraj Paul feels that innovations and value additions come from the determination to prove something both in professional and personal life. "My most important job is to look at innovative ways and add value to our organisation. Moreover, one needs to be loyal to people around you. I am loyal to the people around me and I expect it back from them," says Angad as a matter of fact.

He was recently in India to "connect with his roots". He says he feels at home in India even after spending most of his life in the UK. He still considers Kolkata his hometown. ''Since my father was brought up in Kolkata and I spent my childhood there, I consider this city as my home.'' He keeps coming back to India regularly to "seek inspiration" and feels "elated" whenever he gets a chance to visit his father's hometown. "I visit India pretty often. It feels great to be in India," he emphasises.

Angad's love for India is so intense that he was the first in his family to bring some business back to India.

He says that he is a great fan of former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and considers him a great icon. "I have great respect for him. He is also a superb human being," says Angad.

A frequent visitor to India, he is aghast at the unhealthy working conditions of people in the country and the inadequate safety standards of the workers in various factories. "Some of the manufacturing plants I see here are very shameful. The condition in which people work here, particularly safety standards, are quite depressing," he says with regret.

At the same time, he adores the fact that people still work hard despite the many odds. "One great thing in India is that work is worship. People realise there are no shortcuts.''

He also laments "the obsession for money" amongst Indians. He adds, ""In Britain the scenario is totally different. People there are preoccupied with celebrities. It ought to change."

Angad says he is himself obsessed about work, but not money. He adds that people in India try to earn money because they feel that it would earn them respect. He does not agree with the perception. He points out, "I didn't list my own company and take out millions. Instead, I kept building the company and making it bigger."

The proud son of the NRI industrialist considers his father to be a great teacher and gives him credit for all his success and achievements. ''I try to learn lessons from the struggles, achievements and mistakes of my dad," he says.

The Caparo Group was established in 1968 by Angad's father, Swraj Paul, when he moved to the UK in the hope of finding a cure for his leukemia-stricken two-year-old daughter, Ambika. But traumatised by her untimely death, he immersed himself in work there and launched his business career. The memory of Ambika was the main inspiration that guided the family through those tough times.

In 1968, Swraj Paul started buying and selling steel and acquired a small tube unit, Natural Gas Tubes, which developed into one of the leading producers of welded steel tubes and spiral-welded pipes in the UK. Gradually, he bought more companies by the day, mainly in the steel products manufacturing industry.

But the young scion doesn't want to rest on the laurels of his father and believes that one should carve out his/ her own distinctive identity. "I am tremendously proud of my father, but at the same time I am of the opinion that everybody should have his or her own distinct identity."

Swraj Paul handed over the business to Angad in 1996. And that was when he worked on a growth plan to take the company to greater heights. "When my father asked me to take over the business, the turnover was just under $700 million in 2002. One place I could see the company growing was in India," says Angad. "We had a very good reputation as a quality producer and I wanted to capitalise on it. It has worked out well for us."

He had to wait a little while before putting his plans into action, but a healthy financial year in 2004 was the starting point. By the end of 2006 the company had bought 22 companies in the UK, created Caparo Vehicle Technologies and began investing heavily in India. Caparo Engineering India has already established itself as a major supplier to the automotive market in the country.

Though taking new challenges in business is his passion, Angad is very much a family man and loves to spend time with his two children and wife Michelle. He married her five years ago after a decade-long courtship. "I am surrounded by my family. I miss my kids while I am out on my business trips. I leave them with a very heavy heart." He doesn't find it easy to balance his professional and personal life. "It must say that it is very difficult to do the balancing act."

A great movie lover, Angad became highly interested in films and pursued this passion upon completing his studies. He was the producer of the film Bombay Boys, which went on to become one of the biggest grossing English films in India and among the top three in the year of its release.

He followed this up by serving as the executive producer of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, which became a landmark event in British cinema and reached number one at the box-office. He also served as the executive producer for Snatch, which was released worldwide by Sony Pictures. He, however, refuses to speak on whether he is getting into the movie industry in a big way. "I don't do anything in a big way. I prefer to do it in a good way," he quips.