Profile

Born

August 9,
1961(age52)
Mumbai,Maharashtr
a,India

Residence

Mumbai,Maharashtra,I
ndia

Nationality

Indian

Occupation

CEOofFuture
Group,Managing
DirectorofPantaloon
Retail

Qualifications

B.Com Graduate Post

graduate Diploma in

It was the middle of September 2008. Kishore Biyani was watching television
images of employees from Lehman Brothers carrying their belongings out in
cardboard boxes. He knew there would be blood.

Biyani, at that time, was in the middle of a massive expansion spree, which was
guzzling capital. Then the taps ran dry. His sales plunged. Bankers who until
then had queued up at his offices to lend started to call in their loans, and funds
that had invested in his companies decided to get out. His market capitalisation
plunged two-thirds in a matter of six months. Biyani who had invested way
ahead of the cash flows from his network, found himself trapped.

To his credit, Biyani did the next best thing: He hunkered down for the next 18
months, mobilised his troops to slash costs, slimmed down his portfolio and
now, as shoppers are back with a vengeance, the Future Group is in far better
shape to tap that growth.