I no longer want to talk business
Manu Chandaria’s few regrets is not retiring at 80.
At 93, the industrialist is still fit as a fiddle and sharp-witted as ever; you feel he could still be globe-trotting and addressing gatherings of business people.
But he retired at 90, detaching himself from the businesses that he made - and that, it could be argued, made him in return.
“Unless you detach completely - even from that which you have been running for these many years - you will always be thinking about it and will not be in retirement.”
After more than seven decades of service and leadership at Comcraft Group, which was founded in 1915 and which he grew into a multinational manufacturer of steel and aluminium, Mr Chandaria decided to step aside and let his protégés take over.
“My body is still okay. I chose to retire when I am still okay and do social work and other things, not wait until I am sick,” he says.
His schedule has since changed. While he still wakes up around 6am, he no longer has to get ready for the office at 9.30 am.
“I wait until 10.30am, or 11am, when I will take my coffee,” he says.
