His craze for football is well known in corporate circles. And he knows where is his goal? He is at the forward position of creating an Indian market for safety glasses. As Managing Director & CEO of Asahi India, he is also known to make glass market predictions - and for making the Japan-based company the leader in safety glasses in the automotive industry in India. Sanjay Labroo's educational career will make anybody envious. A Doon School alumnus of 1980, he graduated in finance & management from the Wharton School of Business & Finance, Pennsylvania, USA in 1984. He has been associated with Asahi India almost all though his working life.

He is known for successfully establishing and running of Asahi India Safety Glass since 1987. Asahi entered India in 1983-84. Asahi India initially incorporated as Indian Auto Safety Glass Private Ltd. From 1984 to 1986, it executed joint venture agreements among the promoters - the Labroo family, Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., Japan, Indo-Asahi Glass Company Ltd. (its equity stake subsequently transferred to Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., Japan) and Maruti Udyog Ltd. In 2004, Asahi India unveiled its new umbrella brand AIS and positioned itself as an integrated glass player. Though his family is involved in the company, Sanjay Labroo treats like any other CEO in an MNC in India. He loves taking up challenges. An example is Floatglass.

Labroo took up Floatglass in 2001. At that time, the company's accounts were soaked in red. But, after a two-year struggle, Labroo turned around the company's fortunes. He is not resting on his laurels. He has vision for the company and he aims to achieve it. "We want to be the best safety glass player in the country and also a globally competitive player. We have benchmarks set for all the operational parameters and we have a five-year ruling plan to reach that. So whether it is in the area of quality or productivity or cost or delivery or development, we have international benchmarks.

We have a clear plan of how to go about it. Very soon, we will be a globally significant world class Automotive Safety Glass Manufacturing Company," he once said in an interview. Today, Asahi India plans to start exports of automotive glass from its plant at Rewari in Haryana and would then handle exports out of the Chennai plant. Apart from the customers that Asahi India had lined up earlier-automobile manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor India, Toyota Kirloskar, Ford India, Hindustan Motors and Volvo-it has also secured orders from Piaggio, Bajaj and Ashok Leyland. Yes in his 18-year career in Asahi India, Sanjay Labroo has carved a niche for himself. And his experience in the industry has been widely recognised.

Labroo was elected as the chairman of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) for the northern region for 1995-97). He is an Executive Committee member of ACMA.  He is also a member of the Sub-Committee on Flat Glass & Other Building Material, instituted by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and also a member of National Quality Campaign Committee. In addition, he is also on the board of directors of a large number of companies like Maltex Masters, AP Rayon's, Jayems Engineering Company, PVR Roadshow and Essel Marketing. Having reached the heights of success, he remains firmly on terra firma. He talks of Asahi India's automotive market share going down to 75 per cent of the market for automotive glass. He calls it his worst-case scenario. But then just as he performs on the football field, he never wavers from netting it right.