Arun Misra to be Vedanta group CEO; four firms list

Hindustan Zinc chief executive officer Arun Misra is set to become group chief executive officer (CEO) of Vedanta Ltd within the next two months, according to people familiar with the matter.

- Dipali Banka

This marks a key leadership change at the mining-to-metals conglomerate as billionaire Anil Agarwal pushes ahead with a sweeping corporate restructuring.

The transition appears imminent. Hindustan Zinc shareholders are being asked to approve only a two-month extension of Misra's tenure as chief executive, from 1 June to 31 July 2026, at the company's annual general meeting scheduled for 29 June, according to the company's annual report.

The company said the board has cleared his reappointment "for a further period of 2 months, i.e. w.e.f. June 01, 2026 to July 31, 2026," an unusually short extension likely to facilitate the leadership handover.

Vedanta currently doesn't have a group CEO. The last executive to hold the position was Sunil Duggal, who served from April 2020 to July 2023, as per his LinkedIn profile. He was earlier CEO and wholetime director of Hindustan Zinc from 2015 to July 2020.

The leadership change is also expected to trigger a succession process at Hindustan Zinc. The people cited above said Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) former chairman and managing director Amarendu Prakash is the frontrunner to replace Misra at the company.

Prakash resigned from SAIL earlier this year and his resignation was accepted on 1 April.