G. V. Krishna Reddy was living in the United States when India began liberalizing its economy in 1991. He first travelled to Eastern Europe to assess business opportunities in the power sector, but found the environment there still not industry-friendly. The man, who was never shy of his ambitions, had realized- why not trying my own country for a new business venture? It was a momentous decision. His entry turned the GVK group into business conglomerate with a diversified and transnational presence.

A saga that had its beginnings in the construction of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam in 1960s is today, literally and figuratively lighting up the lives of millions of people. In between construction and power, the GVK conglomerate has established a proven presence in the fields of hospitality, petrochemicals, manufacturing, finance and infrastructure projects and has now ventured into the fields of life sciences, IT infrastructure and non conventional energy. Reddy does not mince words when he says that he is ambitious. "Yes, I am ambitious, though it would be incorrect to call me over ambitious. I want to march ahead.

Unless you have ambition you can't achieve this goal. Ambition is contagious. It has caught on with my partners in the power projects. Today they look upon me as their leader. I'd love to continue in this role. We are a good team, so why not we play better. I don't hesitate in saying that I bulldoze people into action so that a project bears fruit soon," he once articulated. Under Reddy's dynamic leadership, the GVK group is today a transnational business group with a strong presence in the infrastructure sector. It is India's first manufacturer of pre-laminated particle boards. He has recently won the Rs. 7,500 crore Mumbai airport modernization bid. With the projects in hand, the infrastructure giants are worth Rs. 15,000 crore.

It is credited with establishing Hyderabad's first world-class luxury hotel - The Taj Krishna. GVK America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is acknowledged for "reverse flow of technology" from India to the US. Reddy is also a keen tennis enthusiast and has served as the president of the Andhra Pradesh Tennis Association. Today, the GVK group sponsors rising tennis star Sania Mirza and is now backing five other tennis hopefuls. "I have been able to prove myself. Now very big companies want to work only with the GVK group," Reddy says with pride. And why not? A man with a dream will like to fly with another dream merchant.