Yogesh Deveshwar, chairman and chief executive officer of ITC Ltd. (Photographer: Sumit Dayal/Bloomberg)

India Inc. Remembers YC Deveshwar

May 11 2019, 12:51 PMMay 11 2019, 1:02 PMMay 11 2019, 12:51 PMMay 11 2019, 1:02 PM

Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, non-executive chairman of consumer goods maker ITC Ltd., died on Saturday aged 72. Deveshwar, the longest-serving chief executive officer of an Indian company, headed the tobacco-to-hospitality conglomerate for more than two decades. He was instrumental in expanding ITC’s business beyond tobacco, and warding off a takeover threat by British American Tobacco.

Here’s how India Inc and political leaders remember Deveshwar...

“A friend, a titan of corporate India and doyen of Virginia House passes away leaving big shoes to fill.”

Harsh Goenka, Chairman, RPG Enterprises

“It’s a great loss. He was the architect of the entire transformation of ITC. His (YC Deveshwar’s) contribution to ITC has been immense. Everybody is going to miss him. He was a role model for a lot of CEOs.

Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO, Marico

“YC Deveshwar was an absolute icon. He was one of the people we looked up to. He turned ITC from a cigarette company to an FMCG company. He will be greatly missed by the industry.”

Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India

“He (YC Devershwar) has made ITC a multi-brand company and had a great vision for the organisation. He set a target of Rs 1 lakh crore turnover for the FMCG business.”

R S Sodhi, MD, Amul

“It’s a sad day for corporate India as an outstanding professional passes on.”

Suresh Narayanan, MD, Nestle India