Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde (1959 – July 2019) was an Indian businessman from Karnataka.

[1] He was
the founder of the cafe chain Café Coffee Day and served as its chairman and managing director. He also served on
the board of directors of Mindtree, GTV, Liqwid Krystal, Way2wealth Brokers, Coffee Day Natural Resources, and
Way2wealth Securities.
After going missing on the evening of 29 July 2019, his body was found by three fisherman at the Hoige
Bazaar beach, near the mouth of the river Nethravati on 31 July 2019.[2]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
 3Personal life
 4Death
 5Awards
 6References
 7External links

Early life
Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde was born in the Malenadu region of Chikkamagaluru district
in Karnataka State.[3]He received a master's degree in economics from St. Aloysius College and Mangalore
University, Karnataka.[4]

Career
At the age of 24 he joined J M Financial Limited in 1983–1984 in Mumbai as a management trainee/intern in portfolio
management and securities trading on the Indian stock market.[5] After two years he returned to Bangalore. With
capital given by his father, Siddhartha bought stocks worth Rs. 30,000 and started the company Sivan Securities. In
1999, it was renamed Way2wealth Securities Ltd. Its venture capital division came to be known as Global Technology
Ventures (GTV).[5]
He established his coffee trading company ABC in Karnataka 1993, with a Rs 60 million turnover. He bought an ailing
coffee curing unit in Hassan for Rs 40 million and improved it. The company now has the largest curing capacity in
India at 75,000 tonnes.[5]
He grew coffee in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, exported about 28,000 tonnes of coffee annually and sold another 2,000
tonnes locally for about Rs 350 million each year. His coffee growing and trading company, Amalgamated Bean
Company (ABC), has an annual turnover of Rs 25 billion. Siddhartha had 200 exclusive retail outlets selling his brand
of Coffee Day powder in South India. ABC is India's largest exporter of green coffee. He owned 12,000 acres (4047
ha) of coffee plantations.[6]
He was the first entrepreneur in Karnataka to set up a café in 1996 (Café Coffee Day, a chain of "youth hangout"
coffee parlors). By 2018, the chain had over 1700 cafés in India.[7] His cafes attract 40,000 to 50,000 visitors a
week.[5] Siddhartha also held board seats in GTV, Mindtree, Liqwid Krystal, Way2Wealth and Ittiam.[5] In 2000, he
founded Global Technology Ventures Ltd, a company that identifies, invests and mentors Indian companies engaged
in technologies.[8] GTV set up Global Village Tech Park on a 59-acre (240,000 m2) plot as an incubator park in
Bangalore, providing office space, communication links, recreational facilities and a commercial centre. [5] In 1999,
GTV was valued by BankAm at $100 million.[5]
He planted banana trees on 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) and had plans to export bananas. [6] The Dark Forest Furniture
Company is named after V. G. Siddhartha's Kathale Kaad (Dark Forest in Kannada) estate in Chikmagalur. The
company's Greenheart, Purpleheart, Wallaba, and Bullet Wood logs are shipped from the Guyanese capital
of Georgetown to Mangalore Port and then to the Coffee Day Group's furniture plant in Chikmagalur. The Guyanese
government allows cutting of only four full-grown trees from every hectare (approximately 2.5 acres) and when one
tree is cut, it is mandatory to replant another to maintain the ecological balance of the Amazon rainforest.[9]
Sical Logistics Ltd, a logistics company founded in India in 1955, was acquired by Coffee Day group in 2011. [10]
On 21 September 2017 a tax raid was conducted at more than 20 of V. G. Siddhartha's locations in Mumbai,
Bengaluru, Chennai and Chikmagalur by senior officers of the Income Tax Department of Karnataka and Goa
regions.[11]

Personal life
Siddhartha was married to Malavika Krishna and had two children.[12] He was the son-in-law of S. M. Krishna, the
former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Indian Minister for External Affairs and Governor of Maharashtra.[13]

Death
On the evening of 29 July 2019, he left his car and driver near a bridge over the Nethravati River in Ullal, Mangalore.
The Indian Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force eventually joined a search.[14] A letter, apparently
written by Siddhartha and addressed to his company board, shareholders, and family, surfaced a few hours after he
went missing.[15]
His body was found at the Hoige Bazaar beach on 31 July around 6:30 am by local fishermen who informed the
police.[16][13] His body was cremated at Chethanahalli coffee estate owned by his family in Chikkamagalur district on 31
July 2019.[17]

Krystal, Way2Wealth and Ittiam.[5] In 2000, he founded Global Technology Ventures Ltd, a company
that identifies, invests and mentors Indian companies engaged in technologies.[8] GTV set up Global
Village Tech Park on a 59-acre (240,000 m2) plot as an incubator park in Bangalore, providing office
space, communication links, recreational facilities and a commercial centre.[5] In 1999, GTV was
valued by BankAm at $100 million.[5]
He planted banana trees on 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) and had plans to export bananas.[6] The Dark
Forest Furniture Company is named after V. G. Siddhartha's Kathale Kaad (Dark Forest in Kannada)
estate in Chikmagalur. The company's Greenheart, Purpleheart, Wallaba, and Bullet Wood logs are
shipped from the Guyanese capital of Georgetown to Mangalore Port and then to the Coffee Day
Group's furniture plant in Chikmagalur. The Guyanese government allows cutting of only four full-
grown trees from every hectare (approximately 2.5 acres) and when one tree is cut, it is mandatory
to replant another to maintain the ecological balance of the Amazon rainforest.[9]
Sical Logistics Ltd, a logistics company founded in India in 1955, was acquired by Coffee Day group
in 2011.[10]
On 21 September 2017 a tax raid was conducted at more than 20 of V. G. Siddhartha's locations in
Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Chikmagalur by senior officers of the Income Tax Department of
Karnataka and Goa regions.[11]

Personal life
Siddhartha was married to Malavika Krishna and had two children.[12] He was the son-in-law of S. M.
Krishna, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Indian Minister for External Affairs and Governor of
Maharashtra.[13]

Death
On the evening of 29 July 2019, he left his car and driver near a bridge over the Nethravati
River in Ullal, Mangalore. The Indian Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force eventually
joined a search.[14] A letter, apparently written by Siddhartha and addressed to his company board,
shareholders, and family, surfaced a few hours after he went missing.[15]
His body was found at the Hoige Bazaar beach on 31 July around 6:30 am by local fishermen who
informed the police.[16][13] His body was cremated at Chethanahalli coffee estate owned by his family
in Chikkamagalur district on 31 July 2019.[17]
Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde (1959 – July 2019) was an Indian businessman
from Karnataka.[1] He was the founder of the cafe chain Café Coffee Day and served as its chairman
and managing director. He also served on the board of directors of Mindtree, GTV, Liqwid Krystal,
Way2wealth Brokers, Coffee Day Natural Resources, and Way2wealth Securities.
After going missing on the evening of 29 July 2019, his body was found by three fisherman at
the Hoige Bazaar beach, near the mouth of the river Nethravati on 31 July 2019.[2]

History[edit]
Cafe Coffee Day Global limited Company is a Chikkamagaluru-based business which grows coffee in its own estates
of 20,000 acres.[4] It is the largest producer of arabica beans in Asia exporting to various countries including the U.S.,
Europe, and Japan.[5]
V. G. Siddhartha started the café chain in 1993 when he incorporated Coffee Day Global which is the parent of the
Coffee Day chain[6] The first CCD outlet was set up on July 11, 1996, at Brigade Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka. It
rapidly expanded across various cities in India adding more stores with more than 1000 cafés open across the nation
by 2011.
In 2010, it was announced that a consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts would invest ₹10 billion (US$140 million)
in Coffee Day Resorts, owned by the company.[7] The same year, the logo was changed to the current logo, which the
company stated was to showcase the chain as a place to talk. [8] This was done with major changes in the layout of the
stores, including the addition of lounges and a total revamp of the interiors. [9]

A cup of coffee at CCD

Sandwich, Coffee & Tea served at Cafe Coffee Day

A veg burger at CCD

 

Cafe latte At CCD

The company is known for being vertically integrated to cut costs: from owning the plantations, [4] growing the
coffee,[4]making the coffee machines[10] to making the furniture for the outlets.[4]
On 29 July 2019, Siddhartha went missing, and his body was found in the Nethravathi river back waters two days
later. A letter, assumed to be written by Siddhartha addressing the board of directors and staff, was made public in
which he takes responsibility for not creating a profitable business model.[11]

Outlets[edit]
As of 2018, the company had 1,722 café outlets in over 200 cities of India.[2] Cafe Coffee Day has also expanded
outside India with its outlets in Austria (Vienna), Czech Republic, Egypt and Nepal.[3]

Mysore outlet

Bangalore Airport

Subsidiaries[edit]
In June 2010, CCD acquired Café Emporio, a café chain from the Czech Republic. Cafe Emporio has 11 cafés in
Czech Republic. While 7 of them are in Prague, 1 is in Brno and Olomouc and 2 are at Freeport-Hate.
Cafe Coffee Day's divisions include:

 Coffee Day Fresh 'n' Ground, which owns 450 coffee bean and powder retail outlets
 Coffee Day Square, a high level coffee bar in Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi
 Coffee Day Xpress, which runs 900 plus Coffee Day kiosks
 Coffee Day Beverages, which runs over 50,000 vending machines
 Coffee Day Exports, its exporting wing
 Coffee Day Perfect, its fast-moving consumer goods packaged coffee division
 Coffee Day B2C Plant, Coffee vending machine manufacturing division
See also[edit]
 List of coffeehouse chains
 Tata Starbucks

Coffee Day Annual report 2018

The Rediff Business Special/M D Riti- 2009

V G Siddhartha: From coffee to cyber cafes and beyond

When V G Siddhartha talks about money, his eyes acquire

the blaze of missionary zeal. And you cannot help but get
'converted': he makes the entire process of making seem like
fun, and you begin to feel that it must be a very simple thing to do indeed.

"When I was a young man just out of college in Mangalore, I decided that
I wanted to get into business and make a lot of money: albeit, in a very
respectable manner," he says, his eyes sparkling with delight, sitting in his simply
furnished office in Raheja Chambers in Bangalore.

The M F Husain paintings on the walls are the only indicator that this space belongs to
a very successful businessman. There were three options that he considered seriously
at that time: exports of some kind, trading in stocks and shares, and trading in metals.
Metals, he discarded, as 'not a very pretty option'. As he could not figure out what to
export, he decided to join J M Financial Services -- now J M Morgan Stanley -- in
Bombay as a management trainee.

Almost 15 years later, Siddhartha is now virtually the coffee king of Karnataka. He
grows coffee on 2,500 acres of plantations in Chikmagalur, the heart of the coffee-
growing region of Karnataka. He exports about 28,000 tonne of coffee annually, sells
another 2,000 tonne locally for about Rs 350 million each year, and his coffee
growing and trading company Amalgamated Bean Company has an annual turnover
of Rs 25 billion.

Siddhartha now has 200 exclusive retail outlets selling his brand of Coffee Day
powder all over South India. He is also halfway through negotiations with at least two
foreign investors, who will invest another Rs 1 billion in his coffee retail business, and
help him go national with his branded stores, increasing them to 600 in number,
spread over the whole country. After two years, he plans to take the chain overseas:
into China and Singapore.

However, Siddhartha has not stopped just at selling coffee. He was the first
entrepreneur in Karnataka to set up a cyber café in 1996. Now, he has 11 Coffee Day
Cafes all over Bangalore, and another four due to open in Hyderabad shortly. V G
Siddhartha also hopes to bag the contract to take his chain to all the airports of
Karnataka and then the rest of the country.

His cyber cafes attract at least 40,000 to 50,000 visitors a week.

"But that is not my thrust business area at the moment," says

Siddhartha, almost dismissing Rs 1 billion with a wave of his
hand. His pride and joy at the moment is Global Technology
Ventures (GTV), a Bangalore-based incubator that will create,
build and mentor the development of Indian technology companies. GTV was
formally launched only in May this year, but along with its promoting company Sivan
Securities, already has stakes in 24 young companies, including high profile start-ups
like Sabeer Bhatia's Arzoo!.com, Ashok Soota's MindTree Consulting, Ramana
Gogula's Liqwid Krystal and B V Jagadeesh's NetMagic.

Siddhartha's company Sivan holds 80 per cent in GTV, while Bank of America Equity
Partners (BAEP), which provides private equity capital to the Bank of America Corp,
has the remaining 20 per cent.

GTV has now set up a global technology village on a 59-acre technology incubator
park in Bangalore, which will provide its companies office space, communication
links, recreational facilities and even a commercial centre. GTV has been valued by
BankAm at $100 million last year, and is expected to have doubled its valuation this
year. It is poised to grow on the lines of Softbank of Japan.

A family connection that seems to embarrass Siddhartha a little bit now is that he is
the son-in-law of S M Krishna, the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
The media never fails to focus attention on this when writing about his business
interests. Thus, Siddhartha often prefers to avoid contact with the media. He prefers so
much to remain just a low-profile businessman, that he refuses to even pose for
photographs.

Vernacular media even wrote that Siddhartha made his money with the help of
political favours. "I had already bought most of my coffee plantations before my
marriage, which took place in 1989," says Siddhartha, debunking all speculation right
away.

"Krishna became a minister only in 1992. What major favours could he have done for
me to help me buy my plantations before that? Actually, it works the other way
around. Businessmen all over the country fund both political parties and individual
politicians. This happens in other countries too, but there its all legal, above board and
organised, that's the only difference."

After a two-year stint with J M Financial Services, when Siddhartha returned to

Bangalore, his father gave him a good amount of money to start any business of his
choice. Siddhartha promptly bought a stock market card for Rs 30,000 with it, along
with a company called Sivan and Company, as well as a site in the city. "I was a very
smart trader," says Siddhartha with an endearing kind of self pride. "I made money
almost every day on the stock market. And with whatever money I made, I kept
buying coffee plantations in Chikmagalur. My family background was such that I had
a mindset that the new economy might not be the greatest, and that solid, tangible,
physical assets like land were the best to own."

When the coffee business was opened up due to liberalisation in 1993, and
government restrictions compelling planters to hand over most of their produce to the
Coffee Board were eliminated, Siddhartha was one of the earliest beneficiaries. He
admits to having actually facilitated the process by lobbying actively for this removal
of restrictions. He started his coffee trading company ABC in 1993, with a Rs 60
million turnover. His company grew gradually. He bought a sick coffee curing unit in
Hassan for Rs 40 million and turned it around. Now, his company has a curing
capacity of 75,000 tonne, which is the largest in the country. Last year, ABC's coffee
exports were 28,000 tonne, and his projection for this year was 33,000 tonne.

"Then, I thought selling coffee in bulk as a commodity without branding had no

future," continues Siddhartha. So he started special retail outlets for his branded
coffee powder all over Karnataka. He now has 18 outlets in Tamil Nadu, 20 in Andhra
Pradesh, 6-7 in Kerala and about 90 all over Karnataka. They are all owned half by his
company and half by other franchisees. He sells 7-8 tonne tonne of coffee per week
through this outlets to over 100,000 buyers. The cafes, which he started later on, draw
6,000 to 7,000 visitors a day.

Then, he decided to use the network he had developed as a

raiser of funds for other companies on his own coffee retail
business. "I would like my chain to become like the Starbuck of
Asia," he said, referring to America's leading coffee retail and
café chain. The cyber café concept was just incidental to his
coffee retail business. "I thought Internet access would be a
good way to attract young people to the cafes, and give them a clean hangout place,"
he explained.

When the stock market crashed in the early 1990s, Siddhartha began to look around
for a new investment avenue that would spin him good returns. He decided to invest
in technology.

Thus began Sivan Securities, which is now a major player in the South Indian capital
market, which is now featured among the top 12 investment brokers in the country. It
has a network of 35 offices spread over 25 cities in South India catering to both
corporate and retail clientele. Its secondary capitals market division is now in the
process of developing an Internet-based trading portal to provide access to retail
investors in remote centres.

Siddhartha certainly seems to be blessed with that special intuition that enables him
pick out business areas that are poised for takeoff, and get into them before everyone
else. This will probably make him one of the major players in the money game in the
country soon enough.