Notable Kamma Industrialists

MullapudiHarishchandra Prasad:
MullapudiHarishchandra Prasad is the chairman and managing director of the Andhra Sugars Group and an industrialist from South India. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Andhra Pradesh industry having started Andhra Sugars in 1947 - one among the first industries set up in Independent India. He is originally from the town of Tanuku in Andhra Pradesh, and is related to the Chitturizamindars of Kulla.

Dr. MullapudiHarischandra Prasad is Executive Chairman of the Board, Managing Director of The Andhra Sugars Ltd. He is one of the founders of The Andhra Sugars Limited and was partner Ex-Managing Agency firm The Andhra Sugars Limited. From 1.8.1968 he is the Managing Director of the Company. Under his leadership and guidance the Company grew in strength and size and diversified into an Industrial Complex manufacturing besides Sugar, wide range of Organic and Inorganic Chemicals.

VelagapudiRamakrishna :
Velagapudi Rama Krishna was a great visionary, Philanthropist and Industrialist. He was passed the I.C.S examination in 1921 and served the Country for about 25 years in the Civil Service. As an I.C.S man he won laurels froorganising the Technical Manpower of the Southern Region during the Second World War, from 'O'grady mission sent by President of the United States of America. The honour of C.I.E was conferred on him by the British Government for his distinguished and meritorious service as an administrator.

Pioneering industrialisation efforts by Ramakrishna in the Andhra part of the erst while Madras State are highly commended. He started the KCP group of companies in 1941 with a co-operative sugar factory in Andhra Pradesh. He also funded VSR college in Tenali and degree college in Nagaram. The Andhra Chamber of Commerce in Chennai is named after Velagapudi Ramakrishna.

CherukuriRamojiRao:
RamojiRaoCherukuri was born 16 November 1936 in PedaParupudi, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, into an agricultural family. He is an entrepreneur who has set standards in the print, television and the film industry. This media baron has also left a mark in the Chit Fund Industry through his Margadarsi Chit Fund. Well who can forget his very old 'Priya Pickles' which is still in everyone's lips even till this day. But it is his venture into the media that has made him one of the most powerful persons in the state and indeed he has got an empire like that of Rupert Murdock in this part of the World.It was in 1974, that he started EENADU, a Telugu Daily from Vishakapatnam. It was an instant success followed by many editions of the Newspaper in different places. Later he diversified his group into food products, hotels, financial services, advertising, handicrafts etc.

RamojiRao, started his career in the early 1960s in Delhi with an advertisement agency - Ad Crafts. In 1962, he opened the first branch of Margadarsi - a chit fund company in Hyderabad. In the late 1960s, RamojiRao also started a magazine for the farmers called 'Annadata' in Telugu. In 1974, RamojiRao entered the print media by launching Eenadu, a Telugu newspaper in Visakhapatnam. The Hyderabad edition was launched in 1975, followed by the Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) edition in 1976. In the early 1980s, Ramoji Group entered the foods business with Priya Pickles. The Group then made a foray into films with Ushakiron Movies. The Group established Mayuri Film Distributors to distribute its films and Mayuri Audio to market the audio cassettes of the films. In the early 1990s, Ushakiron Movies diversified into satellite television with ETV - the Telugu channel.

On September 9, 1997, The Ramoji Group inaugurated its most innovative creation - The Ramoji Film City based on the maxion - "Walk in with your script and walk out with your print". Spread over 1000 acres, the Film City had gardens, temples, a sprawling countryside, a fort, hotels, city streets, railway stations, a palace, an airport, a mobile kitchen etc.

Koneru Prasad:
Prasad Koneru is a first-generation entrepreneur, the driving force behind Trimex’s growth from a small trading firm in 1985 to an over USD 1 billion net worth global business that operates across multiple business lines mining, processing trading and several countries. With his log-standing experience of several industry sectors spanning industrial raw minerals, real estate development, trading, shipping and logistics, Prasad is guiding the Trimex Group into new business and geographies.

Through the Koneru Prasad Foundation, Prasad is involved in extensive philanthropic activities including the activities in free clinics and schools in India’s Andhra Pradesh state. Prasad has played an active role in promoting investments between the UAE and India in manufacturing, real estate and IT.

LagadapatiMadhusudhanaRao:
Born in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh in 1966, MadhusudhanRao completed B. Tech from V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada, and MS in design engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. He went on to earn another MS degree in industrial engineering from Wayne State University, Detroit, USA. Subsequently, he also did a stint of practical training in various aspects of Quality Management at Waggner Corporation in the United States.

On his return, MadhusudhanRao joined the team in building up Lanco Industries Limited near Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh. He became the Managing Director of the company in 1992. He became the Executive Chairman of LancoInfratech Limited in 2002.

Under his leadership, LancoInfratechLimited[1] has emerged as one of India's fastest growing business conglomerates. According to the Forbes magazine, MadhusudhanRaoLagadapati stands at No- 29 among the richest persons in India.

MVVS Murthy:
MuthukumilliVeeraVenkataSatyanarayana Murthy, is a Promoter of VBC Industries Ltd. and VBC Ferro Alloys. Mr. Murthy was a practicing Advocate in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Murthy serves as Non-Executive Chairman of VBC Industries Ltd. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Orissa Power Consortium Ltd. He has been the Chairman of VBC Ferro Alloys since May 21, 2007 and serves as its Non Executive Director. He serves as a Director of M/s Orissa Power Consortium Limited & Techno Infra tech Projects (India) Private Limited. He is an Industrialist. He is a distinguished personality in politics also. Mr. Murthy is a Post Graduate in Arts and did his Ph.D in Economics.

He headed Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1980. Dr. Murthy a leading educationist and has promoted several educational institutions includes GITAM University in Andhra Pradesh. He is also associated with several NGO's & Charitable Organisations. As a founder trustee, Dr. Murthi has guided the Institute to its present heights. He twice elected to Loksabha from Visakhapatnam Parliament segment.

Dr. GallaRamachandra Naidu
Dr. Ramachandra Naidu Galla (b. 1938) is an Indian industrialist, the founder of the Amara Raja Group of companies. He is married to ArunaKumariGalla, a minister in the Andhra Pradesh state government.

Galla was born on June 10th 1938 in the village of Petamitta in Chitoor District, Andhra Pradesh, in south-eastern India. He did his bachelors in Electrical Engineering at jawaharlalnehru university in anantapur, then took a masters degree at the Regional Engineering College, Rourkela and a second masters degree at Michigan State University. After leaving Michigan, he worked for US Steel, and then as a consulting engineer on the design of power plants.

He returned to India in the 1980s, when he founded Amara Raja Batteries in Chittoor; the group spun off a number of subsidiaries, including Galla Foods and Mangal Precision Products. The group currently has an annual turnover of Rs. 1900 crore, approximately US$315 million.

In 1998, he was awarded the Hyderabad Management Association's Entrepreneur of the Year award. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Sri Venkateswara University (Tirupati) and in 2008 an honorary doctorate from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Hyderabad).

Dr. Galla has established a number of charitable trusts. They include the Krishna Devaraya Educational & Cultural Association, which provides educational scholarships to poor students in higher education, and the Rajanna Trust and Mangal Trust, which works on providing accessible water supplies to villages.

MandavaPrabhakaraRao:
MandavaPrabhakarRao is the scion of a reputed agricultural family, hailing from Guntur District in Andhra Pradesh. Born on 19th January 1959, has a definite aim in his life with progressive vision. In a true sense, he is a chip of the old block. Like his father Shri. M. Venkataramaiah, who is a postgraduate in agriculture from Benaras Hindu University, PrabhakarRao is also an alumni of Benaras Hindu University. Had a bright academic career. He stood second in the University in B.Sc (Agriculture) and achieved 1st rank in M.Sc (Agriculture). He is the recipient of Gold Medal and Merit Scholarship in his Post Graduation.

Following his father’s footsteps, as his role model, took up the family managed seed company after completion of his education in 1982 and developed the company Nuziveedu Seeds Pvt Limited into one of the leading seed companies in the country. It goes to his credit that Nuziveedu Seeds Pvt Limited is the Winner of DSIR – National Award, 2002 instituted by Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India for the R & D achievements of the company.

In addition to his contribution to the seed industry, he has also contributed for substantial industrialization by making combined investments of about Rs. 4,000 Crores in Renewable Power, Textiles, Integrated Sugar Factories, IT Infrastructure in the form of IT Parks, IT SEZs etc. He has launched a new business to integrate the cotton farming with the market which will cover about 5 lakh farmers in Central and South zone. The farmers shall benefit by way of supply of quality input, technical advisory services in increasing productivity and also will have direct marketing access. Simultaneously, the operations will also help Mills to source quality cotton with proper specifications and no contamination.

He has established Mandava Foundation to play a key role in the development of Rural India by contributing in the sectors of Education, Health Care, increasing agricultural productivity etc.

Akkineni Ramesh:
Akkineni Ramesh Born on 30th September 1936 is the son of the legendary film maker and Dada SahebPhalke Awardee late Shri L V Prasad. An Engineer educated in the USA, Ramesh joined his father in business and was instrumental in setting up Prasad Film Laboratories in Chennai and subsequently developed a nationwide network of film laboratories which is today Asia's Largest such network of Laboratories. Under his management and guidance, Prasad Film Laboratories has won the Prestigious National Award for the Best Film Processing Laboratory 17 times. Prasad film labs commissioned Asia's First Integrated Digital Film Lab in Mumbai in 2002.

Ramesh in his quest to provide the best entertainment avenues to the people of India, founded Prasad Media Corporation Ltd and launched South India's first IMAX Theatre in Hyderabad in 2003. This mammoth facility is built on 2 acres of land with a built up area of 235,000 sq. ft comprising of an Imax Screen, 5 Screen Multiplex Theatre, shopping, edutainment & entertainment zones, food courts and restaurants providing complete entertainment for people of all age groups and has since became a landmark in Hyderabad. He started the L V Prasad Film & TV Academy in 2005 to provide quality education in Direction, cinematography, audio and editing in Chennai. In 2006 he brought the world famous Panavision Cameras and lenses to India exclusively through Prasad Panavision.

Ramesh is a Trustee on the Board of Trustees of L V Prasad Eye Institute, a state of the art Eye Care Institute in Hyderabad. This Institute was started on the vision of his father Shri L V Prasad, on land and money donated by him. Some of the positions held by Ramesh in the past include President - South India Film Chamber of commerce ( 1986-87 & 1991-92), President - Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (2000 -01), President - Film Federation of India (1988 -89), Member - Export Import Advisory Committee, Member - Governing Council of film & Television Institute of India, Pune, Member - Advisory Committee, Children's Film Society of India. Ramesh, at 72, is Chairman of Prasad Group of companies with offices and facilities in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Bhuvaneshwar, Kolkatta, Singapore, Dubai and USA, employing a labor force exceeding 1600.

KaruturiSai Rama Krishna:
Karuturi, 46, was born into a business family. His father distributed fertilizer and pesticide before becoming a large-scale farmer and then a manufacturer of cable and transmission towers. The youngest of four children, Karuturi earned an engineering degree from Bangalore University in 1988. Then came a business degree at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio before he joined the family business as a technical director in 1990.

By investing in Ethiopia, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi set the scene for his rise to become the “Rose King,” the world leader in rose production. He founded Karuturi Global in 1994 in Bangalore, India and in 2003 expanded his business to take advantages of floriculture opportunities in Ethiopia. Today, Karuturi Global is a top 25 transnational agribusiness. Karuturi is currently expanding his business into cereals, oils and processed foods, with the goal of becoming a complete agriculture production company.

DiviMurali Krishna:
Dr. DiviMurali Krishna Prasad is a Doctorate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He holds memberships in American Chemical Engineers, American Chemical Society, American Cosmetic Society and American Pharmaceutical Association.

He held key posts of Vice-President and Technical Director of large speciality manufacturing companies while he served in USA. On his return to India from USA, Dr. Murali co-promoted Cheminor Drugs Ltdand Globe Organics Ltd along with Dr.K.Anji Reddy of M/s Reddy Labs and was the Managing Director of these companies till May, 1990.

During 1990, Dr. Murali promoted Divi s Research Centre Private Limited and in 1994 startedDivi s Laboratories Limited. The company has been very successful in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients with the annual turnover of over Rs.1000 Crores and created considerable wealth for its shareholders. In terms of wealth, Dr. Murali is now ranked 36 among Fortune 40 in the country

NamaNageswaraRao:
NamaNageswaraRao was born in Balapala Village in Warangal Dist. Nama entered politics with a view to introduce ethical values and practices which he already inculcated in his business enterprises. Having succeeded as an entrepreneur and business man, he entered politics with the. He was elected to the LokSabha (Lower House of Parliament) in parliamentary elections.

Sri NamaNageswaraRao, Chairman, Madhucon group, founded the NamaMuthiah Memorial Trust (in memory of his father) to undertake various social service activities for the benefit of the Society in general and development of the local backward areas around the various projects undertaken by Madhucon.

MagantiRajendra Prasad:
Rajendra Prasad (Native of Tamirisa, Krishna District) an Entrepreneur - Technocrat heads one of the leading infrastructure developers in the country - Soma Enterprise Ltd. He has been associated with the Construction Industry for more than 32 years and has been instrumental in implementing several major infrastructure projects.

Mr Prasad is committed towards social welfare and is involved in various social and philanthropic initiatives, including financing and constructing two Rural Water Conservation projects in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh for the benefit of the rural poor; and constructing a building for Andhra MahilaSabha, Hyderabad to facilitate training of handicapped and disabled children. He has contributed actively in several projects towards betterment of educational and health facilities for the poor.

BollineniKrishnaiah:
BollineniKrishnaiah hailing from Mamudur Village of Nellore District.BollineniKrishnaiah, ChairmanBSCPL Infrastructureis the Driving Force behind the Company. He is BE (Civil) and ME in (Hydraulics Engineering). He is not a mere Contractor; he is a Visionary and his profile is multi-faceted. Mr.Krishnaiah is a Contractor, an Entrepreneur, a Social Worker, a Philanthropist, a Preacher, a Visionary and an Organization within himself. He promoted many Companies and provided employment to about 10,000 people.

Mr.Krishnaiah is an Ex-MLA and well known in his Constituency as “a True Worker and Result- Oriented’ across all Political Parties. He has set up a Trust, which donates to several Social Causes, such as Family Planning, medical relief and public utility services. Mr.Krishnaiah has a clear thought process as to where to take his Empire to during the next decade.

MotapartiSivaramaVaraprasad:
Sri MotapartiSivaramaVara Prasad is a Metallurgical Engineer by profession. After extensive experience in foundries in Mumbai and Gujarat, he acquired two sick units and turned them around very successfully.

Thereafter, Sri Prasad forayed into mini steel plant business and acquired M/s. Tema Steel Co. Ltd., Ghana, West Africa and turned it around in no time for which he was awarded The most successful and innovative Entrepreneur for the African Region in the year 1996 by UNIDO. After success at Tema, there was no looking back for.

Sri Prasad and he acquired two more sick units Amex Field Togo Steel SARL in 1994 and West African Cement S.A. in 1996. He is the chief promoter of over 25 companies which recorded an annual turnover of over Rs. 2500 Crores.

Dr. Potluri Raja Mohan Rao:
Dr Raja Mohan Rao is the Managing Director of United Telecom Limited. Dr Raja Mohan Rao is a doctorate in Economics and was associated with National Council of Applied Economic Research as a research fellow. After education, he was involved with setting up of various companies in the telecommunications sector. He was instrumental in setting up J T Mobile, a cellular mobile telephone company in AP and Karnataka, which is now a part of AIRTEL. He also served as the President of Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India during 1993-94. He is also an avid social worker actively involved in many philanthropical activities.

YalamanchiliSatyanarayanaChowdary:
Youngest in a family of four siblings, YS Chowdary is a Mechanical Engineer with a B.Tech from CBIT, Hyderabad, and an M.Tech from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

Mr. YS Chowdary has established himself as a successful businessman, founding the first Sujana enterprise in 1986, a venture that is today the successful and well diversified Sujana Group, with a combined turnover of over USD 1.3 billion in 2011.

The Sujana Group has interests in Steel, Power Transmission, Telecom Towers, Precision Engineering Components, Home Appliances, Healthcare and Infrastructure Development.

Sujana’s foray into healthcare has resulted in owning and operating a major corporate hospital that also conducts numerous free health camps and also has its own Post Graduate Medical and Nursing College and Schools.

The company has over 6000 employees has a well spread geographical footprint covering the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mauritius, Dubai and UAE, besides India.

He uses his not inconsiderable network and influence as a Member of Parliament (RajyaSabha) to leverage Government of India Schemes designed for the purpose, to facilitate the development of youth so that they may be true global citizens.