Naukri founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani recalls meeting L&T chairman: 'He was decent enough'

Sanjeev Bikhchandani said he was impressed with L&T chairman SN Subrahmanyan after the hour-long meeting.

Amid the controversy surrounding Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairperson SN Subrahmanyan over his comments on making employees work long hours even on Sundays and a disparaging remark on their personal lives -- "What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife?" --  Info Edge and Naukri founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani has spoken up in his defense.

Recalling meeting Subrahmanyan for the first time last November, Bikhchandani said he had come across as "humble, amiable and affable". He added that in the hour-long meeting, initiated by the L&T boss, they discussed "matters of mutual interest" and Bikhchandani remembered walking out of L&T's corporate office in New Delhi impressed.

Sharing a screenshot of the email invite he received from Subrahmanyan's office, Bikhchandani said, "A couple of months back I got this email out of the blue. I had never met Mr. Subramanyan, however it is not everyday that the CMD of a giant company like L&T calls you for a meeting. So I went. He spent an hour with me. He was curious about my story. Entrepreneurship. Investing in startups... There was no agenda except that he wanted to learn. He struck me as humble, amiable and affable. And he told me about his career and his family."

The Info Edge boss said they also discussed how much cash L&T had and he accordingly advised Subrahmanyan to deploy some if it judiciously in startups. "India needs domestic Venture Capital I told him and a company with a balance sheet like L&T could take the lead. And then I explained the kind of returns Info Edge has earned on Zomato and Policy Bazaar. We agreed to meet again and discuss ideas."

Bikhchandani added that after the meeting, he had walked away impressed. "He (Subrahmanyan) was decent enough to walk me to my car," he said.