Nationality Indian Net worth US$350 million | Occupation Entrepreneur Name Siddharth Balachandran | |
Born June 1, 1976 Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Title Entrepreneur Executive Chairman of Buimerc CorporationManaging Director of Builders Merchants Group Parent(s) R. BalachandranSavita Varma Balachandran | ||
Siddharth Balachandran (born June 1, 1976) is a non-resident Indian entrepreneur, and is now the Executive Chairman of Buimerc Corporation, a diversified conglomerate employing 500 people in the UAE, India and the United States.
Contents
- Siddharth Balachandran speech at Nexzen Excellence Awards 2014
- Early life and education
- Career
- Builders Merchants
- Buimerc Corporation
- Personal life
- Philanthropy
- References
Balachandran has been named as one of the most influential non-resident Indian (NRI) businessmen in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by the Arabian Business in 2011; the youngest chairman of India Club in Dubai and chief patron trustee of Indian Social and Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi, and has spoken out publicly on many issues, including those of NRIs and India’s latest budget
A civil engineer by training, Balachandran worked as a management consultant with Dun and Bradstreet in Chennai, India, and later became a businessman after having taken over a Dubai-based building materials supplier, Builders Merchants Group (Bumga) and turned it into a global corporation.
In addition to being the Executive Chairman of Buimerc Corporation, he is also the Managing Director of Bumga Group.
Buimerc Corporation, which is registered in British Virgin Islands, is an operating holding company operating in different parts of the world. One of its core activities include capital allocation for subsidiary companies and managing the investment portfolios in different geographical zones.
In 2010, at the age of 33, he was elected chairman of India Club, Dubai, the youngest person to be accorded the position.
Siddharth Balachandran speech at Nexzen Excellence Awards 2014
Early life and education
Siddharth Balachandran was born to R. Balachandran, a local businessman and Chairman Emeritus of Buimerc Core Investments P Ltd and Sabita Varma Balachandran, a former officer in the Reserve Bank of India, on on June 1, 1976 in Thiruvananthapuram, in the southern state of Kerala.
Balachandran did his initial schooling at the Asan Memorial School in Chennai and later, at the Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Ernakulam, Kerala. He graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from the Mysore University.
He earned his Masters in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (in collaboration with the PSG Institute of Management Coimbatore. He studied business at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
Although he graduated in civil engineering, Balachandran switched to management after getting admitted to the Indian School of Business.
Career
Balachandran started his business career in Chennai in 1999 as a Strategic Accounts Manager at Dun and Bradstreet Information Services.
Builders Merchants
He relocated to the UAE in 2002 and joined Builders Merchants in Jebel Ali, dealing in a variety of construction materials.
At Builders Merchants, popularly known as Bumga, he put the company under the ISO 9001 certification process. He also opened two more branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. At that time, the company had 25 employees generating a turnover of Dh90 million (less than US$25 million). The modifications, that were initiated, resulted in cost reduction, simplification of process, reduction in delivery time and improved efficiency over time.
Bumga imports building materials, structural steel, deformed bar, timber, timber related products and plywood. Its warehouses began to operate at full stock all the time. As business expanded, the Bumga Group came into being, comprising Builders Merchants, Bumga Enterprises, Bumga FZCO and Bumga Building Materials Trading LLC.
Builders Merchants became one of the first building material trading companies in Dubai to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification.
Buimerc Corporation
In 2012, Balachandran set up an offshore company under the name Buimerc Corporation, registered with the British Virgin Islands. Subsequently, Buimerc Corporation FZE was created in Jebel Ali Free Zone as a 100 per cent subsidiary of the offshore company.
Buimerc has been coined from two words, Builders Merchants – a company set up in 1968 in the UAE ‑ in which Buimerc traces back its origin.
Personal life
Balachandran is married to Sreedevi Eswaran and the couple have two boys, Shiv and Shresht.
Philanthropy
Balachandran is on the board of charities including the Abu Dhabi Indian Community Welfare Committee and Science India Forum. In 2011, he had pledged Dh1.8 million contribution to the Dubai Autism Center. He’s also on the panel of the Abu Dhabi Centre for Special Needs. In 2014, He also was appointed as a patron of the Majlis Al Ataa of the Al Jalila Foundation, Dubai.
In 2010, he helped create a fund, along with the Indian Community Welfare Centre, to help families whose bread-winners had lost job due to the financial crisis. He contributed an amount of Dh500,000 towards this fund to start the disbursement.
Balachandran has been involved in a number of charities and fora including the India Science Forum, UAE, a scientific educational charity for children.
He also supports the Abu Dhabi centre for special needs.