Anand Mahindra mourns Vikram Kirloskar: 'I grieve for my friend from school days'

Anand Mahindra paid tribute to Vikram Kirloskar who died on Tuesday.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra mourned Vikram Kirloskar who died in Bengaluru due to a heart attack on Tuesday. The vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor was 64.

“I mourn the passing of an industry colleague. I grieve for a friend from my school and college days. But above all, I treasure the memory of a warm human being who always had a smile on his face. We’ll catch up, old friend, in another galaxy, far away,” Anand Mahindra tweeted on Wednesday night.

I mourn the passing of an industry colleague I grieve for a friend from my school & college days But above all, I treasure the memory of a warm human being who ALWAYS had a smile on his face. We’ll catch up, old friend, in another galaxy, far away. Om Shanti Vikram Kirloskar pic.twitter.com/t9hSOFaAtV

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 30, 2022

Paying their tributes, several business leaders called Kirloskar a pioneer in the automobile industry in India.

Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a close friend of Vikram Kirloskar, expressed her shock at her fellow Bengalurian’s sudden death. “Devastated with Vikram’s shocking demise. He was such a dear friend who I will hugely miss. I share the pain and unconsolable grief of Gitanjali Manasi n the family (sic),” she tweeted, sharing a photo of her with Kirloskar.

Devastated with Vikram’s shocking demise. He was such a dear friend who I will hugely miss. I share the pain and unconsolable grief of Gitanjali Manasi n the family. May he rest in eternal peace. Om Shanthi pic.twitter.com/PwT8kywtdM — Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) November 29, 2022

Toyota Kirloskar, which sells a range of vehicles, is a joint venture between the Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Company and the Kirloskar Group. It unveiled a new variant of its highly popular sports utility vehicle "Innova HyCross” recently.

Vikram Kirloskar was the president at Confederation of Indian Industry from 2019 to 2020.

Kirloskar’s wife is Geetanjali Kirloskar. The couple’s daughter is Manasi, who is married to Neville Tata, son of Noel Tata, in 2019. They recently welcomed their firstborn, Jeh.

Vikram Kirloskar had “world class vision to bring the best to India”, said Kotak Mahindra Group chief Uday Kotak.