True they say, when passion meets dedication, one dives into the awe of the unknown. The man of the moment is one of the true examples of this unbeatable combination who, by keeping himself connected to his soil, achieved heights today. Mr. Anilkumar Manibhai Naik is the organisational head of country’s one of the most reputed companies, Larsen & Toubro.
Anilkumar was born to Smt. Maniben and Sh. Manibhai Nichchhabhai Naik in Endhal in district Navsari (Gujarat). What makes him worthy of a man already is the family of educationists he belongs to. His grandfather was a gold medalist who had commanded respect for his intellect, father was a freedom fighter who admired Gandhi’s thought, spirit, and leadership.
Naik had his education in a small village school with no modern amenities, but great minds don’t look for facilities, they chase ambitions. After getting a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya, Sardar Patel University of Gujarat, Naik’s excellence was appraised by L&T and the company appointed him as a Junior Engineer in 1965 but the man’s all-out effort got him the roles of General Manager, Managing Director, and CEO in the company in no time.
While Mr. Naik is rather a well-known industrialist, we got to know him better when on our way to compiling Jewels of Gujarat: Leading Global Gujarati Personalities – Vol. I in 2015. It has been several years since then, yet whenever we reopen the book, this charismatic man stares out at us, enticing us, inspiring us!
Concerned about the social and charitable issues, Mr. Anilkumar Naik is the Chairman and President of Kharel Education Society, which ensures quality education being provided to the students with maximum facilities. He had also contributed to the Larsen & Toubro Public Charitable Trust, which is a multi-industry conglomerate making productive use of technology-driven solutions to social needs and fostering self-reliance in communities.
Besides L&T’s CSR activities, Naik has been doing the personal good in the form of the Naik Charitable Trust and the Nirali Memorial Medical Trust; the organisations dedicatedly supporting education, community building, social service and critical medical assistance. Being a member of Board of Trustees of the Indian Business Trust for HIV/AIDS, he organises a large number of health camps throughout the country and supports the stoical.
A man’s success has a lot to do with the kind of woman he chooses in his life. Anil is married to Gitaben A. Naik in 2014 who’s been supporting him for more than a half-century now. They both have two children, Pratiksha and Jignesh who are well-settled in the USA.
In an era where loyalties are put on the stake and staying full-fledgedly in the corporate sector doesn’t make sense for the youth, Mr. Naik has been a brilliant example to the youngsters. Maneesh Media is glad to cover him in its coffee table book, Jewels of Gujarat (2015) and shows the gesture of respect to the steadfastness and single-minded devotion of Mr. Naik and hopes that he continues the good work for many years to come.