S. N. Subrahmanyan

S. N. Subrahmanyan
Born	Sekharipuram Narayanan Subrahmanyan 16 March 1960 (1960-03-16) (age 64) Chennai, India
Occupation	Chairman & Managing Director
Alma mater	London Business School NIT Kurukshetra
Spouse	Meena Subrahmanyan
Children	2

Sekharipuram Narayanan Subrahmanyan (born 16 March 1960) is an Indian businessman who is the chairman and managing director of Larsen & Toubro, an Indian multinational conglomerate.[1] He took over as the MD from A. M. Naik on 1 July 2017.[2] He is vice chairman on the Boards of LTIMindtree and L&T Technology Services, chairman of L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited and chairperson of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd.[2][3]

In February 2021, he was appointed chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC) for a tenure of three years by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.[4] He is also one of nine founding members of Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India.[5]

Early life

Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Subrahmanyan's father, S S Narayanan was a General Manager with the Indian Railways. He studied at Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Mylapore in Chennai and completed his graduation in Civil Engineering from Regional Engineering College Kurukshetra (Presently National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra in 1982.[6]

He pursued a Masters in Business Administration from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune followed by an Executive Management Programme from the London Business School.[6]

Career

S. N. Subrahmanyan joined the ECC Division of Larsen & Toubro in 1984 and began working with leaders like Cheyur Ramaswamy Ramakrishnan (former Joint Managing Director, L&T), A Ramakrishna (former President & Deputy Managing Director, L&T) and K V Rangaswami (former President, ECC).[7]

In July 2011, Subrahmanyan was appointed as full-time Director on the L&T Board and designated as Member of the Board and Senior Executive Vice President (Construction).[7] In October 2015, he was designated Deputy Managing Director & President, L&T.[8] In 2017, he was promoted to the role of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director by the company's board of directors.[7]

He took charge as Chairman and Managing Director of L&T from 1 October 2023.[9]

Awards and recognition

• Ranked 8th in Power 100 list by Construction Week about influential faces of Middle East construction in 2023[10]
• Best CEO in the Infrastructure Sector of the Fortune India Best CEOs 2022[11]
• Best CEO in the Infrastructure & Engineering category of the BT-PwC India’s Best CEOs ranking 2022.[12]
• Featured in the Top 50 Utilities Leaders In The GCC 2021[13]
• Appointed as Chairman of National Safety Council by Labour Ministry[14]
• Ranked 11 in the Construction Week magazine Power 100 Ranking for 2021[15]
• CEO of the year(pvt) 2019 by CNBC – Awaaz[16]
• Emergent Award at the CEO Awards 2019 for exemplary leadership.[17]
• Ranked 13 in the Construction Week magazine Power 100 Ranking for 2019.[18]
• Recognized with the IIM-JRD Tata Award by the Indian Institute of Metallurgy (IIM) in 2019 for his "service to the country through leadership in the industry, corporate governance and fulfilling societal responsibilities."[19]
• ‘Contractor CEO of the Year’ at Qatar Contractors Forum & Awards function in 2014^[citation needed]
• Ranked 36th in the ‘2014 Construction Week Power 100’[20]
• Leading Engineering Personality award at ‘Glimpses of Engineering Personalities’ by the Institution of Engineers (India) in 2014[17]
• Recognized as the ‘Infrastructure Person of the Year – 2012’ by Construction Week (CW) magazine.[21]

Controversy

In January 2025, an undated video of Subrahmanyan’s New Year address sparked widespread controversy online. In the video, an employee is heard asking why Larsen & Toubro, one of India's largest conglomerates, requires employees to work on Saturdays.[22][23] In response, Subrahmanyan expressed remorse not being able to make employees work on Sundays, stating it would make him happier since he himself works on Sundays.[22][23] He further questioned that what do employees do "sitting at home" and how long could spouses stare at each other, suggesting that employees should "Get to the office and start working" on Sundays instead.[22][24][23] Shortly after the video went viral, Meena Subrahmanyan, his wife, became the target of widespread trolling on social media due to her husband's remarks.[25]

Subrahmanyan justified this stance by citing a conversation with a Chinese individual who claimed that China's longer work hours could enable them to surpass the United States.[22][23] He subsequently endorsed a 90-hour workweek for employees, adding that such effort was necessary for achieving success.[22][23] However, his statements were contradicted by a 2021 United Nations report, which highlighted the detrimental effects of excessive work hours on mental and physical health.[26]

The remarks reignited concerns about toxic work environments in India, especially following the 2024 suicide of an Indian Chartered Accountant and death due to heart attack of another one attributed to work pressure.[27] This controversy also brought attention to Subrahmanyan’s substantial remuneration in 2024, which amounted to ₹510,000,000 (approximately $6,000,000 in 2025), compared to L&T’s median employee salary of ₹955,000 (approximately $11,000 in 2025).[28]

Prominent figures such as Harsh Goenka, Deepika Padukone, Anand Mahindra, Anupam Mittal and Cyrus Poonawalla expressed their disapproval of Subrahmanyan’s remarks on social media.[29][30][31][32][24] A spokesperson for Larsen & Toubro defended his statements, describing them as a call for collective dedication and effort to drive progress and achieve the shared vision of India, emphasizing that extraordinary outcomes demand extraordinary effort.[32]

References

1. "L&T Chairman AM Naik passes the baton to SN Subrahmanyan". BusinessLine. 30 September 2023.
2. "Will speak less and work more, says S N Subrahmanyan". Business Standard India. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
3. "LTFH appoints S.N. Subrahmanyan as chairperson". The Hindu. 28 February 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
4. Prasad, Rachita. "Labour Ministry appoints L&T CEO Subrahmanyan as Chairman of National Safety Council". The Economic Times.
5. "Bloomberg Announces Founding Members of CFLI India | Press | Bloomberg LP". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
6. "Meet one of highest-paid CEOs who leads Rs 372000 crore company, his salary is..." DNA India. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
7. "SN Subrahmanyan to lead L&T from today". 30 June 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
8. "SN Subrahmanyan named deputy md of Larsen & Toubro, likely to succeed AM Naik". The Economic Times. 22 September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
9. "Be ready for 'massive changes' in ecosystem: SN Subrahmanyan". The Economic Times. 1 October 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
10. "POWER 100 REVEALED: The most influential faces of Middle East construction in 2023". Construction Week. June 2023.
11. "The C-Suite Extraordinaire". www.fortuneindia.com. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
12. "How S.N. Subrahmanyan is Building a New Legacy at L&T". Business Today. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
13. "The Top 50 Utilities Leaders in the GCC 2021 – Utilities Middle East". 8 July 2021.
14. Prasad, Rachita. "Labour Ministry appoints L&T CEO Subrahmanyan as Chairman of National Safety Council". The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
15. "2021 CW Power 100: L&T's SN Subramanyan climbs to no. 11". Construction Week Online. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
16. "CNBC-AWAAZ CEO Awards 2019 – Celebrating India's Outstanding Leaders". cnbctv18.com. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
17. "Meet SN Subrahmanyan, CEO who Rs earns 16.7 lakh per day, runs Rs 3 lakh crore firm". DNA India. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
18. "2019 CW Power 100: Indian giant L&T's SN Subrahmanyan at #13". 30 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
19. "L&T MD and CEO Subrahmanyan receives IIM-JRD Tata Award". The Financial Express. 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
20. "2014 Construction Week Power 100: 1-10". 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
21. "Chairman – NSC". Retrieved 6 October 2023.
22. ""What Do You Do Sitting At Home": L&T Chairman Suggests Working Sundays". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
23. PTI (9 January 2025). "'How long can you stare at wife?': L&T chairman Subrahmanyan suggests 90-hour work week". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
24. "Anupam Mittal's Humorous Take On L&T Chief's 'Stare at Wife' Remark: "But Sir, If..."". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
25. "Meena Subrahmanyan, Wife Of L&T Chief SN Subrahmanyan, Gets The Heat From Netizens For Latter's 90-Hour Workweek Remark". Retrieved 10 January 2025.
26. Panwar, Sanya (10 January 2025). "L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan endorses '90-hour work week' but a UN report warns long working hours can kill you". Hindustan Times.
27. "Anna Sebastian Perayil: Death of Indian employee sparks debate on 'toxic work culture'". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
28. Service, Express News (11 June 2024). "L&T CMD got Rs 51 crore salary in FY24, up 43%". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
29. "'She Loves Staring At Me On Sundays': Adar Poonawalla Espouses Anand Mahindra, Takes A Swipe L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan In The 90-Hour Debate". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
30. "Love staring at my wife: Anand Mahindra's cheeky reply to 90-hour work week debate". India Today. 11 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
31. "'Rename Sunday to Sun-duty': Harsh Goenka slams L&T chairman's 90-hour workweek remark; Deepika Padukone says it's 'shocking'". The Indian Express. 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
32. Srivastava, Soumya (9 January 2025). "Deepika Padukone calls out L&T chairman for wanting employees to work everyday: 'Shocking to see such…'". Hindustan Times.