Sudarshan Venu is an Indian entrepreneur and business executive, currently serving as the Managing Director of

TVS Motor Company TVS Motor Company is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Chennai. It is the third-largest motorcycle company in India by revenue. The company has annual sales of three million units and an ...

, a position he assumed in May 2022. He was named as a

Young Global Leaders Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), is a non-profit organization. The organization was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum and is managed from Geneva, Switzerland, under the supervision of the Sw ...

by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

in 2023 and was included in

Fortune India ''Fortune'' (stylized in all caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a global business media company. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...

40 Under 40 ''Fortune'' magazine's 40 Under 40 is a list of individuals the publication considers to be the most influential young leaders for the year. The list has existed in two phases: From 1999 to 2003, the list was presented purely as a numeric rankin ...

list for 2024.

Early life and education

Sudarshan Venu was born on 1 February 1989 in the TVS family to

Venu Srinivasan Venu Srinivasan is an Indian industrialist, he is the chairman emeritus of two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company and auto components manufacturer TVS Holdings. In addition, he serves on the board of Tata Sons and as one of the vice-chairmen ...

and

Mallika Srinivasan Mallika Srinivasan (born 19 November 1959) is an Indian industrialist and is the chairman and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, a tractor major incorporated in 1960 at Chennai, India. She served as Chairperson of the Pub ...

. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

with Mechanical Engineering and Economics degrees. Venu also holds a postgraduate degree in International Technology Management from the

Warwick Manufacturing Group WMG, University of Warwick (formerly Warwick Manufacturing Group) is a UK-based research and education group combining collaborative research and development with education programmes working in applied science, technology and engineering. An a ...

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, UK. During his master's studies, he underwent training at the Die Casting division of Sundaram-Clayton Limited and TVS Motor Company Limited.

Career

Venu's career has been with the

TVS Group TVS Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate with its principal headquarters in Madurai and international headquarters in Chennai. It has more than 50 subsidiaries including the two-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor Company and TVS Supply ...

, a Chennai-based conglomerate founded by his great-grandfather. He joined the board of Sundaram Clayton, the holding company of TVS Motor Company, in 2011 and was appointed Vice President later that year. In 2013, he became a full-time Director of TVS Motor Company. Venu served as Joint Managing Director of TVS Motor Company from 2014 to 2022. He played a key role in the company's international expansion into

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. During his tenure, TVS Motor acquired

Norton Motorcycles The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motorcycles.) is a brand of motorcycles headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands, (originally based in Birmingham), England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles we ...

in 2020 and EGO Movement in 2021. In February 2022, Sudarshan Venu was elected as an Additional Director of

Coromandel International Coromandel International Limited is an Indian agrochemicals company which makes crop protection products. Originally named Coromandel Fertilisers, the company makes fertilizers, pesticides and specialty nutrients. Coromandel International is ...

for a period of five years. He is also the chairman of TVS Credit Services. He is a member of the Government of India's National Board for Electric Mobility. In August 2023, he was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees for the

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent government trust in India managed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The trust primarily oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious center Venkatesw ...

Trust.

Personal life

Venu married Tara Sam in 2014.

Awards and recognition

* In 2012, he was included in

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

magazine's list of "37 Indians of Tomorrow," which recognized individuals under 35 across various fields. He was ranked 20th on the list. *He was awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year by

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...

in 2016. * In 2017, he was named one of the Economic Times 40 Under 40. * In 2023, the

named him a

Young Global Leader Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), is a non-profit organization. The organization was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum and is managed from Geneva, Switzerland, under the supervision of the Sw ...

. * In August 2023, he received the

Moneycontrol Network18 Media & Investments Limited, ( d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief, ...

's Next-Gen Leader of the Year Award at the Indian Family Business Awards. * In 2024, Venu was included in the

list of India's brightest young business leaders.

References

{{reflist Living people Indian business executives People in the automobile industry TVS Group World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders 21st-century Indian businesspeople University of Pennsylvania alumni Wharton School alumni Alumni of the University of Warwick 1989 births