Ajay Harinath Singh Greatest Brand Leader 2018-2019

TM
powerful
Tulsi Tanti
Envisioning Power
Mr. Tulsi Tanti, CMD, Suzlon Energy, is a world renowned expert on
alternative energy and leads the strategic growth initiatives for the
businesses of the Group. He has been contributing to the world by
leading sustainable social, economic and ecological development
through modern technology to help mitigate the global climate crisis
Emerging Stronger
In 1995, Mr. Tulsi Tanti managed a
20-employee textile company that
suffered losses due to irregular supply
of electricity in the unit. Mr Tanti fixed
the problem by providing electricity to
his own company. It eventually paved
the way to his venturing into wind
energy production as a way to secure
the textile company’s energy needs and
he founded Suzlon Energy, designing
a unique business model for the same.
After some initial apprehensions, more
than 50 Indian banks started financing
wind power projects for Suzlon clients.
Suzlon prospered continuously under
Mr Tanti’s supervision and in 2003, it
got its first order in USA from DanMar
& Associates to supply 24 turbines in
southwestern Minnesota. In 2007,
Tulsi Tanti was reckoned as the tenth
richest person in the country, with a
fortune worth $10 billion, and Suzlon
was rated as the world’s most valuable
wind-turbine maker with the company’s
global outreach registered across Asia,
Australia, Europe, Africa and North and
South America, approximately 23,500
MW of wind energy capacity installed
and operations in over 30 countries
with the most comprehensive product
portfolios – ranging from sub-megawatt
onshore turbines at 600 Kilowatts to
6.2 MW 6.2M152 offshore turbine,
combined with a vertically integrated,
low-cost, manufacturing base and a
dedicated workforce of over 8,000.
Then, as part of an expansion bid, Mr
Tanti acquired German rival Repower
for $2 billion. This proved to be an ill
advised decision after the 2008 global
financial crisis that dented the demand
for wind turbines. Mr Tanti’s debt-fueled
expansion made Suzlon the country’s
largest defaulter on foreign-currency
loans. However, emerging stronger,
Suzlon began a turnaround recently
when it sold Repower to prune its debt
figures. Mr Tanti was also able to attract
Pharma billionaire Dilip Shanghvi, who
bought a 23% stake for $290 million, also
committing $65 million to a separate
joint venture with him to build wind
farms and eventually sell them to foreign
investors looking for renewable-energy
solutions. With an increasing flow of
investments in the renewable power and
foreseeing an addition of 50 GW of wind
energy capacity in the next 5 years in the
country, Tulsi Tanti expects his to be the
fastest company to exit corporate debt
restructuring process in the near future.
Currently, Suzlon has a 36% hold and
Mr Tanti aims to recapture 50% share of
the Indian market.
Window to the Future
Mr Tanti believes that India is set to be
a large hub for wind manufacturing in
the coming years on the strength of its
domestic demand and expects global
vendors to come to India in order to tap
60GW of additional wind capacity that
the government is aiming to achieve by
2020.
“Tanti stumbled upon
the renewable energy
venture by a stroke of
fate, and needless to
say this meant-to-be
venture revolutionized
the renewable energy
industry”
108 | india’s greatest leaders 2019-20 |