Industry leaders, sports personalities, friends and family members paid rich tributes to Sanmar Group Chairman N. Sankar who passed away last month at a memoriam function here on Sunday.
“He built the group with integrity, trust and ethics,” N. Kumar, Vice-Chairman of Sanmar Group and brother of Sankar, said. He was a pioneer in corporate governance and constituted a corporate board many years ago to ensure transparency, Mr. Kumar said while recalling his brother’s legacy. He said Sankar had framed a compensation policy which was way ahead of its time and which was still followed in the group.
N. Ram, Director of The Hindu Publishing Group, said Sankar was not a crony capitalist and said it was a long life of “understated achievements”.
Speaking about his philanthropy, R. Seshasayee, former executive chairman of Ashok Leyland, said Sankar was a generous donor and had contributed a substantial amount to The Cancer Institute, Adyar.
Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said Sankar brought beauty to the game when he played tennis and highlighted his role in promoting the sport through the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.
Arun Bharat Ram, Chairman-Emeritus of SRF, recalled how Sankar was the president of industry body Assocham when the reform process was started. It was a challenging time for the industry and through his acumen and strategic thinking, he navigated the phase smoothly.
Cricket legend Kapil Dev said there was no Indian cricketer who had not been touched by Sankar’s kindness and highlighted his passion for sports. A video message from Prem Watsa, CEO Fairfax Financial Holdings, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh and others sharing their memories of Sankar was played at the event.
Vijay Sankar, Deputy Chairman of Sanmar Group and Sankar’s son, recalled how he was groomed professionally by his father and had left a remarkable legacy to be taken forward in the coming years.
