Anu Aga

Anu Aga (born 1942) is an Indian billionaire businesswoman and social worker who led Thermax, an energy and environment engineering business, as its chairperson from 1996 to 2004.[1][2] She had figured among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 Richest Indians by net worth according to Forbes magazine.[3][4] She was awarded with the Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by ALL Ladies League, the all ladies wing of ASSOCHAM.[5]

Anu Aga
Director, Theriuyax ltd.,Padma Shri Awardee, MP- Rajya Sabha Member-National Advisory Council (GOI)
MP of Rajya Sabha (Nominated)
In office
27 April 2012 – 26 April 2018
Member,
National Advisory Council
In office
2010–2014
Personal details
Born (1942-08-03) 3 August 1942
Mumbai, India
NationalityIndian
ResidencePune, India
Alma materSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
OccupationEx-Chairperson, Thermax Ltd., social worker

After retiring from Thermax, she took to social work, and In 2010 she was awarded the Padma Shri for Social Work by the Government of India.[6] She is currently Chairperson of Teach For India.[7] She was nominated to Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Indian Parliament on 26 April 2012, by President Pratibha Patil.[8]

Early life and education

Anu Aga was born to a Parsi family on 3 August[9]1942 in Bombay.[10][11]

She graduated with a B.A. in Economics from St Xavier's College, Mumbai,[12] and with a post graduation in medical and psychiatric social work from the prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. She had also been a Fulbright Scholar and studied in the United States for four months.

Career

Anu started her career in Thermax in 1985 and later headed its human resources division from 1991 to 1996. After the death of husband, Rohinton Aga, she took over as Chairperson of Thermax, retiring in 2004 and succeeded by her daughter and company vice-chairperson, Meher Pudumjee. Anu has since remained on company's board of directors,[3] and involved with social work. She has discussed her business career and social work at length in a recent interview for Harvard Business School's Creating Emerging Markets project.[13]

As a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha she served on the following committees

  • Member, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice (May 2012 - May 2014) and (Sept. 2014 - Present)
  • Member, Parliamentary Forum on Children (Aug. 2012 - May 2014)
  • Member, Committee on Empowerment of Women (Sept. 2012 - Sept. 2013)
  • Member, Committee on Commerce (Aug. - Dec. 2012)

Awards

Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award Anu Aga

Personal life

Anu was married to Rohinton Aga, a graduate from the Harvard Business School and gave birth to daughter Meher and son Kurush. Rohinton died in 1996 of massive stroke, and a little over a year later, her son Kurush died at the age of 25 years.[14][15] Today, Arnavaz 'Anu' Aga lives in Pune, Maharashtra.[16]

Her daughter, Meher Pudumjee is the current Chairperson of Thermax, taking over from her mother in 2004. She is a post graduate in chemical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London and joined Thermax in September 1990, and is also a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Family Business Forum and the Young Indians (YI).

References
  1. "Anu Aga". Forbes. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  2. "Anu Aga passes Thermax baton to new chairperson". Indian Express. 5 October 2004.
  3. "India's Richest". Forbes.com. 14 November 2007. p. 2.
  4. Vashisht, Pooja (9 February 2004). "Anu Aga and triumph of the spirit". The Times of India.
  5. "Women of the Decade". Archived from the original on 19 February 2014.
  6. "This Year's Padma Awards announced" (Press release). Ministry of Home Affairs. 25 January 2010.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Nominated (Rajya Sabha) - Statement as on 03/02/2014". Govt. of India. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  9. "On Anu Aga's Birthday, a Message From Her Close Friend Rahul Bajaj". The Quint. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  10. https://www.hurunindia.net/single-post/2017/09/07/Anu-Aga
  11. https://archive.india.gov.in/govt/rajyasabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=2227
  12. "St Xavier's past, present, future..." The Times of India. 5 January 2010.
  13. "HBS Creating Emerging Markets Interview with Anu Aga". Interview with Anu Aga, interviewed by Geoffrey Jones, Mumbai, India, February 14, 2017, Creating Emerging Markets Oral History Collection, Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. "Anu Aga: A House by the River". Forbes India. 21 July 2009.
  15. "Fitness – executive style". Business Line. 26 October 2002. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  16. Silk & steel: Anu Aga Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Harmony India.
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