Shiv Nadar—Founder & Chairman of HCL Corporation

Shiv Nadar—Founder & Chairman of HCL Corporation

Shiv Nadar is an Indian billionaire tycoon who founded the IT company, HCL Enterprise and serves as its Chairman. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, through which he made efforts for the development of educational system in India. He is the founder of SSN College of Engineering and Shiv Nadar University. In 2008, the Government of India awarded him Padma Bhushan for his outstanding efforts in the IT industry. As of January 2021, Forbes named him as the third richest person in India with a net worth of $26 billion.

Shiv Nadar- Biography

Name Shiv Nadar
Born 14 July, 1945
Birthplace Moolaipozhi, Tamil Nadu, India
Age 76 (2021)
Nationality Indian
Education PSG College of Technology
Profession Entrepreneur
Position Founder & Chairman, HCL Enterprise; Shiv Nadar Foundation
Founder of SSN College of Engineering; Shiv Nadar University
Net worth $26 billion (January 2021)
Father Sivasubramaniya Nadar
Mother Vamasundari Devi
Spouse Kiran Nadar
Children Roshni Nadar Malhotra
Cousin Ramanichandran (Tamil Novelist)
Awards Padma Bhushan

Shiv Nadar- Personal Life
Shiv Nadar- Education
Shiv Nadar- Professional Life
Shiv Nadar- Startup
Shiv Nadar- Founder of HCL
Shiv Nadar- Philanthropy
Shiv Nadar- Honors & Awards
Shiv Nadar- FAQ's
Shiv Nadar- Conclusion

Shiv Nadar- Personal Life

Shiv was born to Sivasubramaniya Nadar and Vamasundari Devi in Moolaipozhi Village, Tamil Nadu. S.P Adithanar, who is the founder of Dina Thanthi newspaper, is the sister of Shiv's mother. His cousin, Ramanichandran is a Tamil romance novelist.

He is married to Kiran Nadar and the couple has a daughter named, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, who currently serves as the Chairperson of HCL Technologies.

Shiv Nadar- Education

Shiv completed her elementary education from Town Higher Secondary, Kumbakonam. After completing his 6th standard, he was admitted in St. Joseph Boys Higher Secondary School, Trichy. He further studied from Elango Corporation Higher Secondary School, Madurai.

He received a pre-university degree from the American College, Madurai. He pursued a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

Shiv Nadar- Professional Life

Shiv started his professional career from Walchand group's College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) in 1967. He soon left the job to start his own business with the partnership of his friends and colleagues. He is the founder of the IT firm, HCL Enterprise, and the philanthropic firm, Shiv Nadar Foundation.

Shiv Nadar- Startup

Shiv initially launched a company, Microcomp, which sold teledigital calculators in the Indian market. He started the business with his partners, Ajai Chowdhry (Ex-Chairman, HCL), Arjun Malhotra (CEO & Chairman, Headstrong), Subhash Arora, S. Raman, Yogesh Vaidya, Mahendra Pratap and DS Puri.

He founded HCL in 1976 with an investment of INR 187,000. After four years, the company set forth into the international market with the opening of Far East Computers in Singapore to sell IT hardware. The company reported a revenue of INR 1 million within the first year, in continuation of the Singapore operations.


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Shiv Nadar- Founder of HCL

HCL Logo

Shiv founded Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL) Enterprise in 1976 and serves as the Chairman of the company. The company has successfully established three of its subsidiaries including, HCL Technologies Limited, HCL Infosystems and HCL Healthcare. He is the largest shareholder in the company without perpetuating any management control.

HCL Technologies Limited is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) firm based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was originally HCL's R&D division and emerged as a subsidiary of HCL Enterprise in 1991. The company has its offices in 44 countries including, United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Shiv Nadar- Philanthropy

Shiv founded SSN College of Engineering in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1996. He named SSN college under his father's name, Sivasubramaniya Nadar. He has played a vital role in the college activities, like gifting INR 1 million worth shares of HCL to the college.

Logo of SSN College

In 2005, he joined the executive board of Indian School of Business and his Shiv Nadar Foundation declared the establishment of two Vidyagyan schools for students of rural areas with a offer of free scholarships for 200 students from 50 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

He also served as the Chairman of the board of governors at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He has donated computers and other equipment's of worth INR 80 lakhs. He established Shiv Nadar University in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. He funds the university through his philanthropic firm, Shiv Nadar Foundation.


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Shiv Nadar- Honors & Awards

  • In April 2017, he was ranked #16th in India's 50 most powerful people list by India Today.
  • In 2011, he was named among Forbes' 48 Heroes of Philanthropy in Asia Pacific.
  • In 2010, he was conferred with the Dataquest Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • In 2008, he received the third highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan from the government of India.
  • In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Madras University.
  • He was recognized as E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.
  • In 2006, he received an honorary fellowship from the All India Management Association.
  • In 2005, he received the CNBC Business Excellence Award.
  • In 1995, he was declared the Dataquest IT Man of the year.

Shiv Nadar- FAQ's

Who is the owner of HCL?

Shiv Nadar is the Founder of HCL Enterprise, a $9.9 billion global organization with over 153,000 professionals operating from 50 countries. He is also the Chief Strategy Officer of HCL Technologies, a group company, and India's third-largest IT services organization.

Where is Shiv Nadar from?

Shiv Nadar is from Thiruchendur, Tamil Nadu.

What is Net Worth of Shiv Nadar?

He is the third richest person in India with a net worth of US$26 billion as of January 2021, according to Forbes.

What do HCL Technologies do?

HCL Technologies Ltd is a leading global IT services company that helps global enterprises re-imagine and transform their businesses through Digital technology transformation. The company is primarily engaged in providing a range of software services, business process outsourcing and infrastructure services.

What is Shiv Nadar's Education?

Nadar received a pre-university degree in the American College, Madurai and a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore.

Shiv Nadar- Conclusion

Shiv Nadar has always focused on quality education and he credits his success to the education and scholarships that he has received during his early years. He has always believed that access to quality education is the most potent tool of transformation which led him to establish the philanthropic Shiv Nadar Foundation. The Shiv Nadar Foundation endeavors to create institutions of transformational education that will continue to influence and nurture the country’s youth for decades to come. All the institutions established by Shiv Nadar Foundation aim to address the issue of quality in education, create lasting partnerships, and have a strong research orientation.

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