PASSING THE BATON

INDIA'S FAMILY BUSINESSES ARE REWRITING THE RULES OF SUCCESSION—ELEVATING PROFESSIONALS, BUILDING FAMILY OFFICES, AND SEPARATING LEGACY FROM MANAGEMENT

- BY MAMTA SHARMA

SUCCESSION PLANNING IN the corporate world is evolving, and Dabur provides for an interesting case study. Dabur India Chairman Mohit Burman says, "The shift to professional, non-family succession was not a rejection of family legacy; it was a reimagining of the process."

Burman's observation sums up the philosophy that has guided one of India's oldest consumer goods companies through its most radical transition.

The Burman family continues to hold significant ownership, but leadership has been entrusted to professional managers, supported by robust governance frameworks and independent board oversight. For Dabur, a fifth-generation family-led enterprise, 'professionalisation' was not about diluting the legacy but preserving it.

Burman explains that the journey began as early as the late 1990s. "The fourth-generation family members, after successfully running the business, decided to take a back seat and hand over management control to professionals. The strategic thrust came from the promoters. That was when we decided to hand over management control to professionals and the family took non-executive roles on the board."

A similar shift is already visible across other marquee groups. Mahindra appointed Anish Shah as its first non-family CEO, Marico's Harsh Mariwala entrusted leadership to Saugata Gupta, and Sona Comstar's Late Sunjay Kapur ceded operations to professionals. Pharma majors Cipla and Dr Reddy's have also embraced professional leadership, while Infosys pioneered the model years ago. Meanwhile, Asian Paints and Havells India, despite promoter ownership, have been professionally managed for years.

The guiding principle, Burman says, has always been that the organisation comes first. “We were among the first to realise that the promoters should provide a long-term vision to the company, and that professionals should manage the show efficiently,” Burman told