The former chairman of Mahindra Group, Keshub Mahindra, has passed away at the age of 99.

His death was confirmed by Pawan K Goenka, chairman of Inspace, in a tweet.

“The industrial world has lost one of the tallest personalities today. Shri Keshub Mahindra had no match; the nicest person I had the privilege of knowing. I always looked forward to (meetings) with him and inspired by how he connected business, economics and social matters,” he said.

Mahindra served as chairman of the conglomerate, which was his father’s, from 1963 to 2012 – nearly five decades. He then handed over the reins to his nephew, the current chairman Anand Mahindra.