Jay is the Managing Director of Elgi Equipments Ltd, a globally present manufacturer of air compressors, based in Coimbatore, India. ELGi is a $ 250 Million enterprise with 2000 employees.
Jay believes that the purpose of an enterprise is not limited to profits, with a corollary that purpose cannot be fulfilled without profits. This belief is practiced by creating an organization that operates with a fine balance between profits and purpose, and equity towards all stakeholders.
His ambition builds on the topic of his doctoral thesis in the US, when he wanted to understand why Indian companies are not competitive worldwide. The late Dr. C.K. Prahalad was one of his guides for the doctoral work. When he returned to India in 1987, Jay began to transform a family business with a national character into a global enterprise that is currently ranked #6 in the world. His aspiration is to be ranked #3 in the world and is poetically called CK2. K2 is the second tallest mountain in the world and the most difficult to climb and hence CK2 stands for Conquer K2.
Jay moved to the US for his graduate studies after completing his bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Madras. He did his MBA from George Washington University and earned his PhD in International Business and Strategy from the University of Michigan. Jay is on the Board of a diverse set of companies involved in consumer appliances, textiles, castings and boilers as well as an active board member of non-profits involved in medical care and education.
Jay owns four patents in the areas of food processing, drive belts, compressors and consumer appliances. He is passionate about innovation that is frugal, disruptive, affordable and world class.