Visionary CEO Srikanth Bolla defies odds, leads eco-friendly packaging empire

HYDERABAD: Meet Srikanth Bolla, a 32-year-old CEO and founder of Bollant Industries, an organisation manufacturing eco-friendly disposable consumer packaging solutions, with a stake held by Ratan Tata.

Srikanth was born blind in a farmer's family in Seetharamapuram village, Machilipatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. His parents received heart-wrenching advice from some relatives, suggesting they abandon him, deeming him 'useless' for their later years. Contrary to judgments, Bolla's inspirational journey is now being chronicled in a biopic 'Srikanth' starring actor Rajkumar Rao.

Disposables at Bollant Industries

Multiple rejections didn't stop Srikanth Bolla

The 32-year-old CEO faced rejection in school and was not allowed to study science and maths due to a state law that claimed it would be challenging for blind students like Bolla to work with diagrams and graphs. Instead of becoming discouraged, he decided to approach the court and won the case. The court's ruling granted blind students the opportunity to study science and mathematics in their senior years at all state board schools in Andhra Pradesh.

Despite initially being rejected by his school for the science and maths stream, Bolla scored 98 percent in his intermediate exams. Despite being overlooked during his school's physical education classes, Srikanth Bolla defied odds by representing India in cricket and achieving national-level success in chess.

Bolla's dream of studying Engineering at IITs was once again shattered due to his disability. However, instead of giving up, he pursued business management science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, becoming the first international blind student to be admitted with full financial aid.

Bolla Srikanth successfully runs Bollant Industries

In 2012, Srikanth returned to Hyderabad to found Bollant Industries, a company dedicated to manufacturing eco-friendly products and providing employment opportunities for differently abled individuals. With four production plants in operation - one in Karnataka, one in Telangana, and two in Hyderabad - Srikanth's vision has flourished. Additionally, his impact has been recognised on a global scale, as he was honored with a place on the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders 2021 list.

His inspirational journey is being portrayed in a biopic starring actor Rajkumar, set to be released on May 10, 2024. Despite being told he could do nothing on numerous occasions, Srikanth Bolla has proven that he can do anything he dreams.