Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. He has been Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022; after the general election in July 2024, he became Leader of the Opposition.

He is the first British Asian prime minister. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.

Born in Southampton to African parents of Indian descent who migrated to Britain in 1960s, Sunak was educated at Winchester College. He subsequently read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Lincoln College, Oxford, and later gained an MBA from Stanford University in California as a Fulbright Scholar. While studying at Stanford, he met his future wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, the Indian billionaire businessman who founded Infosys. Sunak and Murthy are the 222nd richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune of £730m as of 2022. After graduating, he worked for Goldman Sachs and later as a partner at the hedge fund firms the Children's Investment Fund Management and Theleme Partners.

Sunak was elected to the House of Commons for Richmond (Yorks) in North Yorkshire at the 2015 general election, succeeding William Hague. Sunak supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum on EU membership. He was appointed to Theresa May's second government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government in the 2018 reshuffle. He voted three times in favour of May's Brexit withdrawal agreement. After May resigned, Sunak was a supporter of Boris Johnson's campaign to become Conservative leader. After Johnson was elected and appointed Prime Minister, he appointed Sunak as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Sunak replaced Sajid Javid as Chancellor of the Exchequer after his resignation in the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle.

As Chancellor, Sunak was prominent in the government's financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, including the Coronavirus Job Retention and Eat Out to Help Out schemes. Amid the Partygate scandal, he became the first Chancellor of the Exchequer in British history to have been sanctioned for breaking the law while in office after being issued a fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations during lockdowns. He resigned as chancellor on 5 July 2022, citing his economic policy differences with Johnson in his resignation letter. Sunak's resignation, along with the resignation of Javid as Health Secretary, led to Johnson's resignation amid a government crisis.

Siddhartha Lal

Siddhartha Vikram Lal (born October 1973) is an Indian businessman. He is the son of Vikram Lal, and a former chief executive officer (CEO) and the current managing director (MD) of Eicher Motors, a director of Eicher Goodearth Limited and chairman and MD of VE Commercial Vehicles. Lal is credited with the turnaround and revival of Royal Enfield.

Early life and education

Siddhartha Vikram Lal is the son of Vikram Lal, who was the chief executive officer of Eicher Motors. Like his father, Siddhartha attended The Doon School for his secondary education. After completing twelfth grade, Lal attended the St. Stephen's College of University of Delhi for a bachelor's degree in economics in the 1994. Between 1996 and 1998, he attained a postgraduate diploma in mechanical engineering from Cranfield University, and a master's degree in automotive engineering from the University of Leeds in England. He has a sister, Simran Lal.

Career

Lal, after completing his education started working with MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG. He joined Eicher Group in 1999, working in various capacities in the Eicher tractor division, and then became CEO of Royal Enfield in 2000 (at the age of 26) aiming to end the unit's losses. From 2000 to 2004, he worked out of Royal Enfield's headquarters in Chennai, introducing cost-cutting measures and product upgrades. "Honestly, at age 26, it seemed a fun thing to do. I could eat, sleep, ride and talk motorcycles," Lal said in a 2015 interview.

In Jan 2004, Lal was appointed as the chief operating officer (COO) of Eicher Motors. In May 2006, Lal took over as the CEO and MD of Eicher Motors.