Devraj Lahiri to head ITC's cigarette business

Ltd has for the first time appointed a lateral hire to lead its flagship cigarette business. Devraj Lahiri, who joined the conglomerate in December 2020 from rival where he was the managing director, has taken over the role of divisional chief executive for tobacco business.

Lahiri had initially joined as the chief operating officer of ITC's tobacco business.

Erstwhile chief executive Sandeep Kaul has become a corporate management committee member for ITC overseeing businesses like tobacco, matches and agarbatti, and the start-up cell.

Lahiri will now report to Kaul who will, in turn, report to chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri.

The changes were confirmed by an ITC spokesperson, but he did not share further details.

The move is in line with ITC's recent strategy to hire lateral talent from the industry, executives aware of the change said.