Amit Burman resigns as Dabur chairman, Mohit takes charge
Premium- The former chairman, who took over the position in July 2019, will continue as a non-executive director.
Amit Burman resigned as chairman of packaged goods company Dabur India Ltd, with cousin and vice-chairman Mohit taking over the role.
The former chairman, who took over the position in July 2019, will continue as a non-executive director.
Amit Burman’s resignation was effective 10 August, Dabur India said in a regulatory filing on Friday, when it held its 47th annual shareholders’ meeting.
Mohit Burman, the former non-executive vice-chairman of Dabur India, has been appointed as the non-executive chairman for five years from 11 August.
The company also named Saket Burman as the non-executive vice-chairman for five years.
Dabur India did not specify the reasons for Amit Burman’s resignation, and queries sent to the company remained unanswered.
However, people familiar with the development said the 54-year-old entrepreneur stepped down citing personal reasons.
In July last year, Burman was hospitalized in London following an injury. Burman is still overseas and recovering, they said.
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Amit Burman, the son of late Gyan C. Burman, had spearheaded Dabur’s foray into the foods business by launching packaged fruit juices under the Real brand.
He had established Dabur Foods as a wholly owned unit of Dabur and took on the responsibilities as the chief executive of this venture. He stepped down as the CEO of Dabur Foods when the company was merged into Dabur India in July 2007 and was then appointed the vice-chairman of Dabur India.
Burman also set up the food retailing venture, Lite Bite Foods, which operates restaurant brands such as Punjab Grill and Zambar.
In FY22, the maker of Dabur Chyawanprash and Vatika shampoo crossed ₹10,000 crore in consolidated annual revenues. The company has 13 plants in India.
In FY22, it had a dozen brands exceeding ₹100 crore in annual revenues, two brands over ₹500 crore and another four brands over ₹1,000 crore.
Other members of the Burman family, too, are part of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business.
Mohit Burman, the son of Vivek and Monica Burman, has led the Burman family’s foray into financial services, besides the agriculture and retailing sectors.
He started his career with Welbeck Property Partnership London and then joined Dabur Finance Ltd, a company specializing in fund and fee-based financial activities, as a senior manager.
He also played a pivotal role in expanding the group’s financial services business into asset management, life insurance and pension by setting up an insurance company with UK-based insurer Aviva.
He is also known for his role in acquiring Balsara’s Home and Hygiene business by Dabur India, which helped the latter add brands such as Odomos and Promise to its portfolio.
Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting, Mohit Burman said the pandemic, along with high inflation, has led to unprecedented times.
“The beginning of the 2021-22 fiscal saw the emergence of the second and most devastating wave of the covid-19 pandemic. As we slowly recovered from the aftermath of covid, the world was hit by a consequential crisis of high inflation, which was further aggravated by the recent geopolitical events, including the Ukraine war," he said.
The recent months and quarters have seen a dramatic surge in inflation, which also began hurting consumer sentiments.
“We combated these challenges through a mix of cost control measures and pricing actions," he said. The company is “closely monitoring" the emerging situation and will continue to make sustained efforts to drive demand for brands by enhancing the company’s rural footprint and putting investments behind its power brands, he added.
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