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After 21 years at the helm, as Chairman and CEO, YC Deveshwar (70), on Sunday, relinquished his executive role in ITC Ltd to Sanjiv Puri (54).
Deveshwar will henceforth operate as non-executive Chairman.
“I am more optimistic of the future now than in the past,” Deveshwar said announcing Puri’s elevation to CEO, in a January 27 e-mail to employees. Puri was COO of the company.
Diversification driveDeveshwar had been crucial in spearheading the company’s foray into the non-cigarette FMCG businesses and expansion of the hospitality business. His tenure saw over 50-fold rise in market capitalisation to nearly ₹300,000 crore.
Hospitality was very close to his heart.
During his two-decade-long stewardship, ITC’s hotel network grew from merely 12 to over 100 properties, operated under four major brands – ITC, Welcom, Fortune and Welcom Heritage.
Deveshwar was a firm believer that ITC’s next stage of growth will be led by non-cigarette new FMCG businesses. He visualised the business turnover increasing from ₹12,000 crore to ₹100,000 crore by 2030.
The road aheadThe challenge before Puri – an Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur alumnus who joined ITC in 1986 – is to scale up the non-cigarette FMCG business profitably as profits to the segment are still inconsistent.
Despite the wide investments in non-cigarette businesses for more than two decades, four-fifth of ITC’s profit before tax still comes from cigarette.
Puri has to ensure that the non-cigarette businesses contribute significantly to profit.
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