Xerxes Desai

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Xerxes Desai
Born1937
Died27 June 2016(2016-06-27) (aged 78–79)
Alma mater Elphinstone College
Oxford University
SpouseRajni Desai [1]

Xerxes Desai was the first managing director of Titan Company, an Indian watchmaking company, and played an instrumental role in laying the foundation of the company. [2]

Contents

Biography

Desai was a graduate of Elphinstone College (Mumbai University) and Oxford University. [3]

Desai joined Tata Administrative Services in 1961 after graduation, working at several of their companies. [4] He founded Titan as a joint venture with J. R. D. Tata in 1986, with support from the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. [5] He had suggested the idea of a watchmaking company to Tata in the 1970s, who liked it, but bureaucratic hassles took time till the company was opened in 1986 in Hosur. [6] [7] [8]

In 1994, Desai challenged engineers at Titan to design the world's thinnest watch, with a movement 1.15mm thick inside a 3.5mm case. [9] The watch, called the Titan Edge was introduced in 2002. [10]

After Titan's success, Desai founded Tanishq, a jewelry brand. He had innovative ideas like asking people in Bangalore to get their jewelry appraised in 1999. The jewelry business grew over time, after a slow start. [11]

Desai retired in 2002, and was succeeded by his protégé Bhaskar Bhat. [12]

Post retirement

Desai was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the National Institute of Design during its 4th Design Excellence Awards in 2006. [13]

Post retirement, Desai was a part of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) initiative by Nandan Nilekani. [14]

Death

Desai died from illness in Bangalore, where he had lived for 30 years, on 27 June 2016, at the age of 79. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ Sharma, Shalini (28 June 2016). "Titan founder Xerxes Desai dies of dengue in Bengaluru". OneIndia. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  2. ↑ Tandon, Suneera (9 June 2016). "Xerxes Desai: The timekeeper". Live Mint. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Tandon, Suneera (9 June 2016). "Xerxes Desai: The timekeeper". Live Mint. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Titan's founding MD Xerxes Desai passes away at 79". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Titan's founding MD Xerxes Desai dies at 79 - Times of India". Times of India. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Xerxes Desai: The man behind Titan's success". Rediff. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Xerxes Desai, the Titan who changed the way Indians kept time dies". The Financial Express. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Ghoshal, S. (4 March 2002). "The Indian Watch Industry: Titanic Changes". World Class In India. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN   9789351180272.
  9. ↑ Satpathy, Anurag; Agrawal, Arjun; Mohapatra, Sanjay (16 November 2015). Innovation Strategy for Enterprises in Emerging Economies: Case Studies for the Digital Age. Emerald Group Publishing. pp. 115–117. ISBN   9781785604805.
  10. ↑ Narang, Rajiv; Devaiah, Devika (3 January 2014). Orbit-Shifting Innovation: The Dynamics of Ideas that Create History. Kogan Page Publishers. pp. 165–166. ISBN   9780749468767.
  11. ↑ Krishnan, Raghu. "Xerxes Desai: The titan behind the timekeeper". Business Standard. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "A Titan Departs". Business Today Archives. 14 April 2002. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  13. ↑ "Xerxes at NID Awards, 2006". www.indiatodayimages.com. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Nandan, Rohini Nilekani gift IIHS Rs 50 cr - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  15. ↑ Skariachan, Dhanya (27 June 2016). "Xerxes Desai, founder of Titan, dies". Live Mint. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
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