Mr. V.P. Nandakumar is the Managing Director & CEO of Manappuram Finance Ltd, a leading gold loan company, which is ranked among India’s top 20 non-banking finance companies. Manappuram’s origins go back to 1949 when it was founded by the late V.C. Padmanabhan, father of Mr Nandakumar. In those days, its activity was money lending carried out on a modest scale at Valapad in Thrissur district of Kerala. Mr Nandakumar took over the reins of this one branch business in 1986 after his father expired. Since then, it has been a story of unprecedented growth, and his leadership was instrumental in scripting the success story.
Mr Nandakumar has led from the front to transform Manappuram Finance Ltd into a leading NBFC with 5,200 branches in 28 states and UTs and Assets under management (AUM) of ₹35,452.3 crore, and around 45,000 employees. In recent years, Mr Nandakumar has resolutely steered the company’s diversification into microfinance, home loans, vehicle finance, SME and personal loans to reshape the company into a full-spectrum NBFC. Today, more than third of the company’s total business comes from the non-gold businesses.
Mr Nandakumar’s achievements in business have earned recognition at the national level. In May 2018, the Business World magazine profiled him as one among 40 of India’s most valuable CEOs. In December 2019, the Economic Times published the ET500 list of Top Wealth Creators of 2019 with Manappuram as the ‘chart topper’. In February 2023, Mr Nandakumar bagged The Hurun Industry Achievement Award 2022 from Hurun India for his remarkable achievements in the world of business.
Besides focus on business, the cause of the wider community is central to his vision. He established the Manappuram Foundation at Valapad in 2009 to drive the corporate social responsibility (CSR) mission of the Manappuram group.
Manappuram Foundation expanded its area of services to the grassroots of the community through its various initiatives. The Foundation now manages two schools, various coaching centres for varied skills, yoga centres, counselling & psychotherapy centres, fitness and wellness centres and a sports complex with badminton/basketball courts and an aquatic complex with state-of-the-art swimming pool. It also has a fleet of seven ambulances equipped with advanced medical support systems and services of experienced paramedics. All the services in these institutions are offered to the BPL community at subsidised rates.
Besides Manappuram Finance Ltd., V.P. Nandakumar was elected to serve as international director of Lions Clubs International at the association’s 102nd International Convention, held in Milan, Italy, July 5 through July 9, 2019. He became a Lion in 1981 after joining the Triprayar Lions Club. Nandakumar has held a number of offices within the association including multiple district council chairperson, board appointee, and member of the LCIF Corporate, Foundation & Government Gifts Committee. Past Director Nandakumar held additional leadership responsibilities as the current Chair of LCCIA and the Chairperson of ISAME area Leadership.
Mr Nandakumar was involved as a promoter of Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd (India’s first SFB) and Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd, which were subsequently listed on the stock exchange. He was also a promoter of Five Star Business Finance Ltd, an NBFC dealing in MSME finance.
 Mr V.P. Nandakumar was born in 1954 and holds a post-graduate degree in science with additional qualifications in Banking and Foreign Trade. He has served as a managing committee member of leading trade and industry associations such as Assocham and FIDC. In January 2019, he was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. In July 2019, He was also a Distinguished Invitee to the All India Management Association’s Council of Management and currently serve as the Co-Chair of the State Council of FICCI Kerala.