Rajmohan Pillai

Rajmohan Pillai was born in Kerala, India, and educated in the state capital Trivandrum.{{cite news|title=Cashew King|url=http://archives.digitaltoday.in/businesstoday/20051009/people.html|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Business Today|date=9 October 2005 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009234140/http://archives.digitaltoday.in/businesstoday/20051009/people.html |url-status=live|archivedate=2012-10-09}} He gained management experience with his family's business in 1981.

Beta Group is a diversified transnational business group with a {{currency|2|USD}} billion turnover.{{cite news|last=Hamid|first=Hamisah|title=Beta Brands looks forward to cracking RM1b mark|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-195514725/beta-brands-looks-forward.html |accessdate=7 February 2012 |newspaper=New Straits Times|date=10 March 2009 }} The group’s vertical subsidiaries include packaged processed foods manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. The Group also claims interests in entertainment, logistics, and business consulting.{{Cite web |url=http://www.betaempire.com/html/beta_bsn_devp.html |title=About us: Beta Groups Background |access-date=10 February 2009 |archive-date=14 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514210900/http://www.betaempire.com/html/beta_bsn_devp.html |url-status=dead }}, betaempire.com

The group began in the early 1900s as Beta Industries, an exporter of cashew nuts. The company is based in the Netherlands. It is one of the world's largest cashew nut companies.

Rajmohan Pillai formed the Beta Group as a conglomerate of nine companies in memory of his eldest brother, Kerala businessman Rajan Pillai, former chairman of Britannia Industries, whose death in 1995 closed what The Economic Times referred to as one of India's most dramatic corporate sagas.

Today, while still essentially a cashew products company, the Beta Group has diversified into fruit drinks, almonds, dates, and pistachios. The group owns the dry fruit and nut brands, Nut King and Ole.{{cite news|title=Beta Empire group launches 'Date King' |newspaper=Business Line |date=12 November 2002 |accessdate= 2012-12-10 |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/bline/2002/11/13/stories/2002111300081300.htm |archivedate= 2013-02-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://archive.today/20130218191058/http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/bline/2002/11/13/stories/2002111300081300.htm }}

Pillai's previously declared intentions for the group have included:

• waging a "cashew-nut war", matching the price of potato chips marketed by multinational companies in India (2000){{cite news |title=Nut King J R Pillai to take on the might of MNC's |url=http://www.rediff.com/business/2000/jun/12nutty.htm |work=The Rediff Business Special |date=12 June 2000 |accessdate=9 February 2009 }}
• entering the pharmaceutical and hospitality sectors (2006){{cite news |title=Doctorate for Beta Group chief |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/04/03/stories/2006040303151500.htm |department=Business Line |work=The Hindu |date=3 April 2006 |accessdate=9 February 2009 |archivedate=2024-05-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://archive.today/20240526100355/https://www.webcitation.org/6CoWzVOWI?url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-corporate/doctorate-for-beta-group-chief/article1729754.ece%3Fref=archive }}
• purchasing the Barista Coffee chain (2006){{cite news |title=Barista to be sold again, for Rs 150-200 cr |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-10-10/india-business/27799312_1_barista-retail-chain-rajan-pillai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921025816/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-10-10/india-business/27799312_1_barista-retail-chain-rajan-pillai |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 September 2012 |work=The Times of India |date=10 October 2006 |accessdate=17 August 2011}} (it was purchased instead by Lavazza)[http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/mar/09barista.htm Italy's Lavazza to buy Barista], Rediff India Abroad, 9 March 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
• diversification including a {{currency|200|USD}} million desalination plant in Tamil Nadu (2006){{cite news |title=Netherlands co to invest Rs 250 cr in Nut King |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2143287.cms |work=The Economic Times of India |date=11 October 2006 |accessdate=4 March 2009}}
• opening an aviation academy in Malaysia (2007){{cite news |title=Netherlands-based Indian group to open aviation academy in Malaysia |url=http://www.indianaviationnews.net/careers/2007/05/netherlands-based-indian-group-to-open.html |work=Business Times |date=14 May 2007 |accessdate=10 February 2009}}
• resurrecting the Britannia Amritraj Tennis (BAT) Academy, a former Chennai center of excellence, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, as Beta Ace Technique (BAT) Tennis Academy{{cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2016/mar/15/bat-academy-to-be-resurrected-911757.html |title= BAT Academy to be Resurrected |date=15 March 2016 |newspaper=The New Indian Express |access-date=13 September 2020}}
• investing $100 million in Guinea-Bissau's cashew industry (2022) for exports to US and China{{cite news | title=Beta Group to invest $100 million in Guinea-Bissau in cashew biz | url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/beta-group-to-invest-100-million-in-guinea-bissau-in-cashew-biz/article66143640.ece |work=The Hindu Business Line | date=16 November 2022 }}

He was instrumental in establishing the KJP Research Foundation, named in honor of his late father, K. Janardhanan Pillai. The Foundation conducts research and development in the fields of cashew and other horticultural crops. He also established the Rajan Pillai Foundation in memory of his brother Rajan Pillai, to promote excellence in arts, sports, social sciences, and medicine, serving the cause of humanity. The Rajan Pillai Foundation institutes and presents awards to accomplished individuals in international relations, social welfare services, and industry development.{{cite news |title=Kerala can show the way in plurality, says Tharoor |url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/22/stories/2006122211800400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104225333/http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/22/stories/2006122211800400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 January 2007 |work=The Hindu |date=22 December 2006 |accessdate=15 December 2008}}

Pillai, as Managing Director of Pace International Ltd, was one of four men convicted of fraud over a letter of credit in 2008.The case was determined on 10 December 2008 by a special court set up by the CBI in Kochi, India. The accused were charged with conspiracy to defraud the Kollam Branch of the state bank of Travancore of Rs 62 million using letters of credit. All four were sentenced to two years' imprisonment and fined Rs 200,000 each, and Pace International Ltd (of which Pillai was the Managing Director) was fined Rs 100,000. Sources: [http://www.indlii.org/JudgementDetail.aspx?JudgementID=1538 Court report] of preliminary hearing in 2001. [http://news.indiainfo.com/2008/12/18/0812181905_3_including_former_bank_official_get_jail_for_misappropriation.html 3 including former bank official get jail], 18 December 2008, IndiaInfo.com. Reports in Malayala Manorama, 11 December 2008; Mathrubhumi, 11 Dec 2008. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined {{currency|200000|INR}} but appealed the convictionSee Criminal appeal case 2951 of 2008, [https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/case_no.php?state_cd=4&dist_cd=1&court_code=1&stateNm=Kerala# High Court of Kerala case status]. Status: Pending. Next hearing date 22 May 2025. Retrieved 27 March 2025. and the sentences have been suspended until the appeal is resolved.

Pillai was arrested in Kerala for allegedly raping his domestic help in 2017. The police started investigating him after his help, a 23-year-old from Odisha, showed up at a private hospital for an abortion. She was reportedly two months pregnant.{{Cite web|title=Kerala Businessman Rajmohan Pillai Arrested For Allegedly Raping Help|url=https://www.ndtv.com/kerala-news/kerala-businessman-rajmohan-pillai-arrested-for-allegedly-raping-help-1720686|access-date=2020-12-08|website=NDTV.com}}{{Cite web|date=5 July 2017|title=Kerala businessman Rajmohan Pillai held for rape of housemaid |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/kerala-businessman-rajmohan-pillai-held-for-rape-of-housemaid/articleshow/59447453.cms|access-date=2020-12-08|website=The Times of India|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Kerala Cashew Baron Rajmohan Pillai Arrested For Raping And Impregnating Domestic Help From Odisha|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/kerala-cashew-baron-rajmohan-pillai-arrested-for-raping-and-impregnating-domesti/299497|access-date=2020-12-08|website=outlookindia.com/|date=5 July 2017 }}

In 2006, he was awarded a doctorate in business management by the New Age International University of Seborga, Italy, (a diploma mill unlicensed by any Italian or European authority, which is an offshoot of the Institute of Education, Research & Development, Kolkata) for a thesis that chronicled the history of the global cashew industry.

His other published works are:

• A Wasted Death – a book on the rise and fall of Rajan Pillai, co-authored with K. Govindan Kutty{{cite news|title=CM releases book on Rajan Pillai|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2001/08/22/stories/0422211x.htm|accessdate=19 August 2017|newspaper=The Hindu|date=21 August 2001}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} (Penguin Books, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-14-100601-7}}; subsequently translated and published in five Indian languages{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}).
• K. Janardhanan Pillaiyude Jeevitham Daivathinte Nadakom – a Malayalam book about the life of Pillai's father. Co-authored with V. S. Nair (Current Books, 2002).
• The World Cashew Industry – a book detailing all aspects of the production, processing, and trading of cashews. Co-authored with Mrs. P. Santha, a relative and former principal scientist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Rajan Pillai Foundation, Kollam, 2008).{{cite news |title=Comprehensive book on cashew industry released |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1416005321.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103084159/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1416005321.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 November 2012 |work=Hindustan Times|date=21 January 2008 |accessdate=2008-12-15 }} The book incorporates several chapters of Pillai's thesis.{{cite news|last=Nair|first=N.J.|title=The tale of cashew trade over the years|url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012253460400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921103002/http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012253460400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 September 2008|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=The Hindu|date=22 January 2008}}
• Siddharthan – a novel on the life of Rajan Pillai narrating his material life and spiritual transformation.{{Cite web|title=ജെ.രാജ്മോഹന്‍ പിള്ളയ്ക്ക് സാഹിത്യ പുരസ്‌കാരം |trans-title=Literary award to J. Rajmohan Pillai |url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/print-edition/business/j-rajmohan-pillai-gets-vayalar-samskarikavedi-award-1.3924601|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Mathrubhumi|language=ml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704025903/https://www.mathrubhumi.com/print-edition/business/j-rajmohan-pillai-gets-vayalar-samskarikavedi-award-1.3924601 |archive-date=4 July 2019| url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Success Story of Dr J Rajmohan Pillai |url=https://www.brilliantread.com/success-story-of-dr-j-rajmohan-pillai-business-leader-serial-entrepreneur-chairman-of-beta-group/ |website=Brilliant Read |access-date=8 July 2022 |date=21 September 2020}}

He was awarded the Vayalar Ramavarma Samskarika Vedi award for the year 2019 for his book Siddharthan.

He received the Export Excellence award for being the best Indian exporter to the USA in the cashew sector at the Kerala-America partnership summit 2023 in Kochi.{{cite news |title=Rajmohan Pillai wins best cashew exporter award |url=https://english.metrovaartha.com/life/people/rajmohan-pillai-wins-best-cashew-exporter-award |work=Metro Vaartha |date=13 April 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/rajmohan-pillai-gets-best-cashew-exporter-award/article66724873.ece | title=Rajmohan Pillai gets best cashew exporter award |work=The Hindu Business Line |date=11 April 2023 }}

In 2024 he was elected as President of Sport Climbing Federation of India (SCFI).{{cite web|url=https://www.business-standard.com/content/press-releases-ani/dr-rajmohan-pillai-elected-as-new-president-of-sport-climbing-federation-of-india-124062400717_1.html |title=Dr Rajmohan Pillai elected as new president of Sport Climbing Federation of India |date=24 June 2024 |website=Business Standard}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.betagroup.world Beta Group]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, Rajmohan}}

Category:1964 births

Category:Living people

Category:Businesspeople from Kerala

Category:People using unaccredited degrees