By comparison, Hindalco was mainly a low-cost producer of primary aluminum and copper.

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Hindalco's Bhattacharya says it involved changing the American company's obsession with filling up its factories to a focus on margins.

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He has served on the boards of Hindalco in India, Emaar, Austin Industries, Tyco Electronics, and Fischer and Porter.

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Hindalco's stock price has gained 60% in the past year and analysts have put the metals firm back on their "buy" list.

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But the boss, eyeing a global footprint for India-focused Hindalco, was unfazed.

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Kumar's fortune, which is lately benefiting from a rise in commodity prices and Hindalco's prosperity, rests on a globe-girdling empire with a presence in 27 countries.

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Analysts gave a thumbs-down, calling the deal an expensive vanity purchase that would crush Hindalco under the mountain of debt it would need to acquire Novelis.

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"It was a christening by fire, " recalls Hindalco's Bhattacharya.

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In a first for the Birlas, Kumar introduced a retirement policy and started hiring experienced executives from outside: Hindalco's Bhattacharya was a 28- year Unilever veteran when he joined Birla in 1999.

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