Meet Appa: A Different Kind Of Business Leader With 27,500 Daughters

His name is KP Ramaswamy, the owner of KPR Mills in Coimbatore. A textile magnate by profession, but to thousands of young women, he is simply “Appa” – a father figure who chose to build futures rather than just fortunes.

While many corporate leaders focus on profits, attrition rates, and operational costs, KP Ramaswamy stands apart. He is transforming lives – one girl at a time – by making education the foundation for social upliftment.

Everything changed the day a young girl working at his mill said, “Appa, I want to study. My parents pulled me out of school because of poverty, but I want to continue.”

That one heartfelt plea became a turning point, not just for Ramaswamy, but for thousands.

Instead of offering just salaries, Ramaswamy offered opportunity. He built a fully operational educational ecosystem right within the mill – classrooms, teachers, a principal and even yoga instruction.

After completing an eight-hour shift, the women attend four hours of classes – all fully funded, with absolutely no conditions attached.

The impact has been extraordinary. A total of 24,536 women have earned their 10th and 12th-grade certificates, undergraduate, and postgraduate degrees through this initiative.

Today, many of them are nurses, teachers and police officers – with 20 gold medalists from Tamil Nadu Open University this year alone.

In an industry where workforce retention is key, KP Ramaswamy has a different perspective.

“I don’t want to keep them in the mill and waste their potential. They are here because of poverty, not by choice. My job is to give them a future, not a cage”, he said.

And so, the women leave – not out of disloyalty, but to build brighter futures. Many return to send more girls from their villages to the mill, continuing the cycle of empowerment.

This is no mere CSR checkbox – it’s Human Resource Development in its purest form. At a recent convocation, 350 women graduated with degrees.

But Ramaswamy made a rare request: “If you or your friends can hire them, it will give other girls the hope to study further.”

A business magnate not asking for deals, but for job placements – for his people.

This is more than the story of KPR Mills. It is a lesson in leadership, corporate responsibility, and nation-building.

Business schools should teach it. HR professionals should study it. And the world deserves to hear it.