Kanwar Deep Singh
Areas of Interest
Business, Health Care, InternationalHonorary Award
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration, 2012Biography
Kanwar Deep Singh is an international business leader, Member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, and pioneer of industrial, educational and healthcare reform within his native India.
A first generation entrepreneur, Kanwar Deep Singh ventured into the world of business at the age of 19 with no background in business. The foundation of the Alchemist group was laid through a borrowed 20,000 Rupees (300 GBP) from a bank to start a trading business in Mumbai.
The group's first factory came into being in 1988 and Kanwar Deep Singh made his mark in the manufacturing sector through sheer hard work and innovative thinking. At the beginning of the 1990s he floated his company on the stock exchange. His first IPO - Initial Public Offering - and listing on Bombay Stock Exchange came in 1994.
In 2012 Kanwar Deep Singh's group has eleven companies operating in different segments, an asset base of 2 billion USD and about 9,700 employees.
As Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Alchemist Limited, Kanwar Deep Singh has managed to achieve outstanding business success whilst forging a reputation for integrity and the promotion of fair business practices across food processing, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, tea estates, aviation, infrastructure, real estate, hospitality and education.
Kanwar Deep Singh was elected to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament in India, in 2010. He has a deep commitment to public service and industrial reform, and he has served as the Chairman of the Central Advisory Board on Minimum Wages, and as Chairman of the National Meat and Poultry Processing Board.
Citation
"Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Kanwar Deep Singh for the award of Doctor of Business Administration, Honoris Causa.
Kanwar Deep Singh is an international business leader, Member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, and pioneer of industrial, educational and healthcare reform within his native India.
Kanwar Deep Singh's biography is like an alchemist's story and that's perhaps the reason he named his group 'Alchemist'.
A first generation entrepreneur, Kanwar Deep Singh ventured into the world of business at the age of 19 with no background in business, no Godfather and no money. Fresh out of the college with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, he had a lot of dreams and a whole lot of conviction and willingness to work hard to realize the dreams. A true Alchemist-like idea!
The year was 1981 when the foundation of the Alchemist group was laid through a borrowed 20,000 Rupees (300 GBP) from a bank to start a trading business in Mumbai, the financial capital of India.
Soon he realized that to grow to the next level he had to get into the manufacturing business, so the group's first factory came into being in 1988.
He made his mark in the manufacturing sector through sheer hard work and innovative thinking and then he was ready to move to the next level. At the beginning of the 1990s the winds of liberalization had started in India and the economy was opening up. Kanwar Deep Singh took part in those flowing winds of change and floated his company on the stock exchange. His first IPO - Initial Public Offering - and listing on Bombay Stock Exchange came in 1994.
From there he never looked back and kept on expanding by organic growth and also acquisition of businesses. Now in 2012, thirty two years after he started, his group has eleven companies operating in different segments, an asset base of 2 billion USD and about 9,700 employees.
As Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Alchemist Limited, Kanwar Deep Singh has managed to achieve outstanding business success whilst forging a reputation for integrity and the promotion of fair business practices across Food processing, Hospitals, Pharmaceuticals, Tea Estates, Aviation, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Hospitality and Education.
Kanwar Deep Singh was elected to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament in India, in 2010. He is regarded as a most respected leader who has been made a head and party in-charge of 13 Northern and North Eastern states of India for the All India Trinamool Congress party, which is a part of the ruling Government in India.
Kanwar Deep Singh has a deep commitment to public service and industrial reform, and he has served as the Chairman of the Central Advisory Board on Minimum Wages, and as Chairman of the National Meat and Poultry Processing Board.
Kanwar Deep Singh's efforts in his public and professional life have been recognised through a number of awards, including the Rashtriya Ratan Award from the Integration and Economic Council of India, the Udyog Ratan Award from the Institute of Economic Study, and the Jewel of India Award from International Solidarity in New York.
Kanwar Deep Singh is an inspirational business leader and dedicated social worker, one who is committed to driving social, industrial and economic reform in India.
Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present Kanwar Deep Singh for the award of Doctor of Business Administration, Honoris Causa."