Malavika Krishna (CCD founder’s wife) Age, Caste, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Malavika Krishna Siddhartha
Other name	Malavika Hegde
Profession	Businesswoman
Famous for	Being the wife of VG Siddhartha, the founder of CCD chain in India
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 163 cm in meters- 1.63 m in feet inches- 5’ 4”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 60 kg in pounds- 132 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1969
Age (as of 2022)	53 Years
Birthplace	Bengaluru, Karnataka
Nationality	Indian
School	A local school of Bengaluru, Karnataka
Hometown	Bengaluru, Karnataka.
College/University	Bangalore University
Educational Qualification	B.Tech from Bangalore University
Caste	Vokkaliga (traditionally identified as landlords and village headmen)
Address	Sadashiv Nagar, Bengaluru
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Widow
Marriage Date	Year, 1991
Family
Husband/Spouse	VG Siddhartha
Children	Son(s)- 2 • Eshaan • Amartya Daughter- None
Parents	Father- SM Krishna (Politician) Mother- Prema Krishna (Social Activist)
Siblings	Sister- Shambhavi Krishna (Younger; Businesswoman)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Malavika Krishna

• Malavika Hedge is an Indian entrepreneur who is known for being the wife of VG Siddhartha, the founder of the cafe chain Café Coffee Day. On 29 July 2019, VG Siddhartha committed suicide at the bridge over the Nethravati River in Ullal, Mangalore. Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, is the father of Malavika Hedge. Since 2008, Malavika Hedge is handling the daily operations of CCD. she worked as a non-board member of CDEL for many years before becoming the CEO of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD).

• The husband of Malavika Hedge and the founder of CCD, VG Siddhartha, went missing on 29 July 2019. On his way from Bengaluru to Sakleshpur, Siddhartha asked his driver to drive toward Chikmagalur. On reaching Chikmagalur, he asked his driver to stop the car near the bridge and stepped out of the car. He told the driver to take the car to the end of the bridge and wait for him there. The driver did the same and waited for an hour, but VG Siddhartha did not return. The driver called him, but his phone was switched off. Then the driver called VG Siddhartha’s son, who rushed to the spot and complained to the police. On 31 July 2019, at 7:43 in the morning, VG Siddhartha’s body was recovered by the police in the Netravati River.
  

  Malavika Krishna At VG Siddharth’s Funeral

• The initial idea of VG Siddhartha about the coffee business was to sell a coffee cup for Rs. 25 when it was available locally for Rs. 5 per cup. However, the idea was dismissed by Malavika. Later, he modified the plan by adding free internet surfing along with coffee, and this idea was accepted by her, and they together planned to start a coffee venture. In 1996, on Brigade Road in Bangalore, the first CCD outlet was opened, and Malavika Hedge was present with VG Siddhartha at its inauguration. Soon, she started participating in the business activities of CCD (Cafe Coffee Day). She was appointed to the Cafe Coffee Day board, but as a non-executive board member. In a conversation with a media house, Malavika hedge stated that after the opening of their first outlet of CCD, they used to wait for the customers while playing a game. She said,
  

  During the construction of their first CCD store in Bangalore, they would look out the windows and used to play a game and guess who would come in their cafe.”

• Reportedly, Malavika Hegde is the owner of 4% of the equity shares in CCD.

• Malavika Hegde is a devoted environmental advocate, and she often campaigns to promote tree plantations in India. According to some media sources, till 2019, she planted more than 3000 trees along with her husband.

• In December 2020, Malavika Hegde was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cafe Coffee Day Enterprises by its board members for five years. She operates from the Cafe Coffee Day head office in Bengaluru. The company’s independent directors include CH Vasudhara Devi, Mohan Raghavendra Kondi, and Giri Devanur. At the end of 2021, around 1,700 cafes, 48,000 vending machines, 532 kiosks, and 403 ground coffee selling outlets were established by CCD under the leadership of Malavika Hegde.

• Soon after becoming the CEO of CCD, in a letter to the company’s 25,000 employees, she wrote,
  

  Committed to the future of the company and assured that the Coffee Day story was “worth preserving”. We will work to reduce the debt to a manageable level by selling a few more investments as I am committed to the company’s future.”

An investigation into the debts of the company revealed that during the tenure of late founder Siddhartha, the company owed Rs 2,693 crore to the listed entity, Coffee Day Enterprises Limited (CDEL).

• During the COVID lockdown in 2019, Malavika Hegde managed the operations of the venture, and she tried to reduce the debt of the company after the death of her husband, VG Siddhartha. In a media conversation, in 2019, she stated that the challenges had increased after the death of Siddhartha, but she had to uphold his legacy somehow. She said,
  

  Somewhere along the way in the last 12 months, my mission has been to uphold the proud legacy of Siddhartha. He has left me a job to do, to settle every lender to the best of my ability, to grow the business and to enthuse and foster our employees.”

• Several media houses praised her work and efficiency in running the shops during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In 2019, Coffee Day had a debt of over Rs 7,000 crore when VG Siddhartha died after committing suicide. According to the market analysts of the CCD venture, Malavika never raised the prices of the coffees despite the debts of the company rising high. However, her strategy included the removal of hundreds of coffee vending machines that were installed at various IT parks and firms, and she also closed a number of outlets of CCD that were not profitable. She acquired new investors, which increased the capital of her company. At the end of March 2020, the debt was reduced to Rs 3100 crores, and by the end of March 2021, the debts of the company were Rs. 1731 crores.

• On 14 February 2021, her son, Amartya Hedge got married to D. K. Shivakumar’s daughter Aishwarya Shivakumar.

• After Malavika Hegde took the operations and charge of the CCD chains, she successfully managed to open Café Coffee Day outlets in over 572 locations across the United States. Reportedly, she owns a 20,000-acre coffee farm that produces high-quality coffee beans.

• In a media interview, Malavika Hegde stated that her firm wanted to be an example of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is campaigning for.