He is the current chairman Carborundum Universal Ltd,[3] Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited,[4] Murugappa Water & Technology Solutions and Trustee of the AMM Foundation.[5] He also serves as the Correspondent of the Murugappa Polytechnic College[6] and on the board of IIT Madras-Research Park.[7] Murugappan is a non-executive chairman on the board of Cyient Ltd. [8] He retired from the board of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd in 2020.[9] He also serves as an Independent Director of Carson Cumberbatch, Sri Lanka.[10]
He studied in The Lawrence School, Lovedale and has a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from the AC College of Technology, University of Madras, and a Master of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, United States. He is a member of the American and Indian Institutes of Chemical Engineers, the Indian Ceramic Society and the Plastics and Rubber Institute.[11] In December 2019, M. M. Murugappan was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the Vikatan Group for his contributions to the industry.[12] He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement award at TiECON Chennai 2022.[13] In 2022, he was appointed as the chairman of the Board of Governors of IIM Indore (Indian Institute of Management) for a four-year term.[14]
He is also the former chairman and director of Murugappa Group companies Tube Investments of India (TII), Coromandel International Ltd, and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company.[2] In 2018, in an interview with Business Standard, he mentioned how ancient Chinese writings and John Heider's book The Tao of Leadership influenced his ‘simple’ leadership style.[15]
In August 2019, at the CEO Awards 2019 ceremony, M. M. Murugappan bagged the “Boundary Breaker” award, given to “an extraordinary individual of Indian origin running an Indian company with a global presence while delivering superior performance”.[16]
An avid hockey enthusiast, Murugappan ensures the continued legacy of the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup national-level hockey tournament that has taken place in Chennai for more than 9 decades. [17]
