Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Dr. B. Ramakrishnan (BRK), Founder, Corporate Clinic, a leading funding and advisory services company based out of Chennai, is presented with The Times Business Award 2020 in recognition of his three decades of excellence as a consultant for capital structuring and financial re-engineering. The award was presented in a virtual function held last week.
Dr. B. Ramakrishnan – Founder, Corporate Clinic
A post graduate in management with specialization in Finance, BRK started his career as an executive for H C Kothari Group of companies. He was a part of the core finance team that floated India’s first private sector mutual fund. He had raised working capital, term loans, ECBs, FCTL, commercial paper, rated bonds, preferred stocks, and convertible & non-convertible debentures during his tenure at the company. After nearly a decade of experience, he started Corporate Clinic, now a leading financial consulting firm. He also floated BRK Academy to teach financial techniques through practical learning for UG/PG students, technocrats, bankers and working professionals. He is very strong in valuations, mergers & acquisitions, business/brand valuations, business strategies, capital structuring, financial re-engineering.
In the past three decades Mr. BRK has raised over Rs. 10,000 crores of finance for his customers who include large corporates and small & medium industries representing life sciences, technology, outsourced services, education, retail, auto ancillaries, power, media & entertainment, infrastructure, and hospitality services.
Commenting about the honour, Mr. BRK said, “The award motivates me to serve more. My mission is to make the Indian economy free of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). Toward this end, I impart financial knowledge to promoters and managers, and I organise finance for their organisations at optimal cost. The satisfaction in my work comes from the knowledge that the employees of my company are happy with no financial problems in their lives – and my customer organisations do not have – and will never need to face – financial problems.”
On the factors that contribute to his success in his career, Mr. BRK said that it is important for a financial consultant to understand the business of his customers well. “Many consultants work on the customer’s proposals. But I keep the proposals aside. I insist on understanding the business of my customers first so that I can arrive at the exact financial requirements.” He cited the case of a turnaround strategy of a large scale animal feed manufacturer, for which he went ahead hiring an animal nutrition expert to understand the science of the product, and worked with the promoter, and tweaked the strategy and supply chain, making it a win-win for all stakeholders – right from the farmers to the milk processing units.
“Lack of business strategy, and financial acumen are the root causes of most financial ‘illnesses’ affecting the health of many companies. Financial problems result often when the organisations divert short term funds for long term needs. It is like a household with Rs. 10,000 monthly income buying a Rs. 50,000 plasma TV by withdrawing the money from the deposit of Rs. 1,00,000 it saved over the years to mitigate short-term contingencies like loss of income. Many SMEs and even big corporations with a team of experienced financial professionals do this blunder. I call it financial murder,” he said.
Mr. BRK urged the lending companies to monitor the progress of its customer organizations periodically in order to avoid NPAs. He stressed the need for the promoters of companies – especially SMEs – to read the financial agreements thoroughly before they sign up with lending institutions, to understand the deal better.
More information at www.corporateclinic.com.
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