ITC Executive Chairman and CEO YC Deveshwar passed away at the age of 72, after suffering from a prolonged illness.

YC Deveshwar was at the helm of ITC for the longest term spanning over two decades. He passed away on Saturday and is survived by his wife and son.

Deveshwar, who stepped down from executive role in 2017 but remained as a chairman in non-executive capacity, passed away at a private hospital in Gurugram.

According to ITC's website, Deveshwar joined the company in 1968 and is widely credited for ITC's transformation from being a tobacco company to becoming an FMCG giant.

YC Deveshwar was appointed the Director on the board of ITC on April 11, 1984 and became the Chief Executive and Chairman on January 1, 1996.

Deveshwar was an alumnus of Indian Institue of Technology-Delhi and the Harvard Business School.

YC Deveshwar had also served as a director on the board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and member of the National Foundation for Corporate Governance.