Y.C. Deveshwar at ITC and A.M. Naik at L&T have built a legacy any corporate leader would be proud of. Then there are others whose initiatives are still in the process of bearing fruit.
ANYONE WHO HAS MET BOTH Y.C. DEVESHWAR, synonymous with ITC, and Sanjiv Puri, the new MD & CEO, knows that they are strikingly different – physically that is. And as Puri takes the mantle from Deveshwar, to expect him to slide effortlessly into his mentor’s giant shoes may be unfair. But, thanks to some early thinking by Deveshwar, it may not be very difficult either. Deveshwar has, for the past few years, been involving Puri closely in strategy making and grooming him for February 5, 2017, the day Deveshwar, then 70, quit the executive leadership role and Puri took over as the CEO (he was re-designated as Managing Director effective May 16, 2018). For Deveshwar, who joined ITC in 1968 and has over the 21 years that he has been at the helm turned this tobacco company into an FMCG giant, passing the baton successfully to Puri might count among his biggest successes.
And this is exactly what he, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and Harvard Business School, who led Air India as Chairman and Managing Director between 1991 and 1994, shares with another icon of corporate India — A.M. Naik — who took L&T from a ₹5,000 crore company in 1999 to an over ₹1,20,000 crore engineering conglomerate. Naik, too, has been able to successfully pass on the baton to S.N. Subrahmanyan after spending years grooming him for the top role.
Beyond Tobacco
This story is from the July 15, 2018 edition of Business Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 15, 2018 edition of Business Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Dark Side Of Gold Loans
There Has Been A Sharp Rise In Gold Loans In Recent Years. But There Is A Seedier Side To This, As Is Evident From The Red Flag The RBI Raised Recently. Will The Regulator's Move Protect Customers?
All That Glitters
The price of gold has been rising unabated. It has soared to more than 73,000 per 10 gm in 2024 from *31,000 in early 2018. Is the rally sustainable or is this a bubble?
"Hire for attitude, not ability"
Thryve Digital is a player in the healthcare technology sector delivering next-generation solutions
Road Warrior
For Khalid Wani, Senior Director of Sales at Western Digital India, life is much more than just the corner office. Biking across the world is one way he derives meaning for his life
WIDENING THE POOL
THERE HAS BEEN A JUMP IN INDIVIDUALS INVESTING DIRECTLY IN THE STOCK MARKETS, BUT MUMBAI AND AHMEDABAD STILL ACCOUNT FOR THE LION'S SHARE. THERE DEFINITELY IS SCOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT IN TERMS OF PENETRATION LEVELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
CRISIS IN THE CLOUDS
INDIAN AVIATION IS IN CRISIS. AIRLINES ARE GRAPPLING WITH FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS, CREW SHORTAGES, AND COMPLAINTS ABOUT POOR SERVICE, ARE BLEEDING DUE TO RISING COSTS WILL THE FASTEST-GROWING AVIATION MARKET RECOVER?
"India should start privatising public sector banks"
Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, on growth, inequality, jobs, the banking sector, and more
"I LET MY WORK DO THE TALKING"
Megha Engineering & Infrastructures MD P.V. Krishna Reddy on being low profile, the infra opportunity and much more
"Core of insurance lies in long-term security"
Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO of HDFC Life, on the insurance provider's performance, surrender charges, and future innovations
Distress in the Books
Bandhan Bank, the brainchild of Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, has made the journey from an MFI to a bank, but with many hurdles. Now with his resignation as MD & CEO, is the lender staring at more uncertainty?