Vikram Lal (born 1942) is an Indian businessman. Lal is the founder and former

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Eicher Motors Eicher Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive company that manufactures motorcycles and commercial vehicles, headquartered in New Delhi. Eicher is the parent company of Royal Enfield, a manufacturer of middleweight motorcycles. ...

, an Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer based in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, India. He has been a member of the board of directors of

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...

. As per the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, as of 9 October 2024, Vikram Lal and his family are ranked 31st with a net worth of $8.8 billion.

Early life and education

Vikram Lal was born in 1942. He studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

at the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmsta ...

Business career

In 1966, Lal joined Eicher India, part of his family owned companies established by his father, Man Mohan Lal, in 1948. Eicher started as the first tractor manufacturer in India in 1959 under the company name Eicher Tractor Corporation of India Pvt. Ltd., as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with German tractor manufacturer

Eicher Eicher may refer to: * Eicher (surname), a surname * Eicher Motors (Eicher Group) * Eicher tractor * Eicher School, a school in the Faridabad district in the state of Haryana, India * 3617 Eicher, a main-belt asteroid See also * Aicher Aicher ...

, and eventually branched out into light commercial vehicles in 1986, and then into heavy vehicles. In 1985, he took a step back in detailed management of his companies as result of a

heart bypass Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest p ...

, which also contributed to his later decision of handing over management control of his companies to professionals. In 1997, Lal retired from all executive roles in his companies and handed control over to professional managers.

Personal life

Lal is married to Anita Lal and they have 3 children. Anita founded the lifestyle brand Good Earth. His son,

Siddhartha Lal Siddhartha Vikram Lal (born October 1973) is an Indian businessman. The son of businessman Vikram Lal, Siddhartha Lal is the executive chairman of Eicher Motors, a director of Eicher Goodearth and chairman and MD of VE Commercial Vehicles. La ...

, became CEO of

in 2006. One of his daughters, Simran, runs the family's two lifestyle brands, Good Earth and Nicobar. Lal spends his retirement years volunteering at his own Goodearth Education Foundation.

References

External links

Interview by The Tribune

Vikram Lal, The Times of India
1942 births Living people Businesspeople from Delhi Indian billionaires The Doon School alumni Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni Eicher Motors {{India-business-bio-stub