The baton was formally passed on in one of India’s best known and loved companies on Tuesday.
The succession process at the Rs 60,000-crore Godrej group was set in motion with Adi Godrej handing over charge of the flagship company, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), to his second daughter Nisaba.
Adi Godrej, 75, will become chairman emeritus after leading the company for 17 years.
Nisaba, currently executive director of the company, assumes the new role of executive chairperson on May 10, 2017. She is the second among three children of Adi Godrej, whose eldest daughter Tanya Dubash is executive director and chief brand officer of the Godrej Group, while youngest son Pirojsha Godrej is the executive chairman of Godrej Properties.
The diversified corporate house, which has presence in consumer goods, real estate, appliances and agriculture sectors, has been grooming its fourth generation for over a decade. Adi’s elder daughter Tanya Dubash, who heads strategic marketing and media across the group, was instrumental in its rebranding, while second daughter, Nisaba, looks after strategy across the Group, particularly at Godrej Agrovet.
His son, Pirojsha, looks after Godrej Properties while cousin Jamshyd’s son, Navroze, is with Godrej & Boyce. All the 4 are well heeled, educated and joined the firm as management trainees. Adi Godrej had earlier said each business in the group has a non-family professional CEO & COO, while family members are in supervisory positions (chairman). The non-family members in various group firms are governed by an exhaustive succession exercise, which has been internally trademarked ‘Total Talent Management Process.’ Under this process, there is an emergency and a planned succession.
Nisaba has played a key role in GCPL’s strategy and transformation and has served on the company’s board of directors since 2011.
She was the brain behind the firm’s Project Leapfrog initiated in 2007 under which GCPL accelerated domestic organic growth through innovation and consolidation. At the same time, it went global by investing in emerging markets.
The century-old group, a household name in the country, has seen huge growth post-liberalisation, which has been run by Adi Godrej along with his younger brother Nadir and cousin Jamshyd.
Adi Godrej, who joined the firm in 1964, has steered the group from a Rs 10-crore entity to a Rs 60,000-crore firm, turning it into one of India’s best known FMCG and appliances firms. Adi Godrej said he would continue to serve on GCPL board. Vivek Gambhir will stay as MD & CEO, GCPL said in a statement.
“GCPL’s foundations are extremely strong. This is an opportune time to transition to a new chairperson, who will lead it in its next phase of growth,” he said.
GCPL, the flagship firm of the diversified Godrej Group, has presence in consumer goods, real estate, appliances, and agriculture sectors, among others.
In the last decade, Nisaba has played a key role in GCPL’s strategy and transformation and has served on the GCPL board of directors since 2011. In FY17, GCPL posted Rs 9,608.08 crore income against Rs 8,753.06 crore in 2015-16.
Nisaba has also been credited with institutionalising design-driven thinking and leads product development. She has also been hands’ on in identifying and developing in-house talent with an oversight over HR functions.
(With inputs from agencies)
