The 120 year old, Mumbai based Godrej Group’s flagship company Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) gets a new Chairman. The company has appointed Nisaba Godrej, Chairman Adi Godrej’s younger daughter as its executive chairman. According to the succession plan, the 75 years old patriarch, Adi Godrej becomes the company’s Chairman Emeritus. In February, 2017 a similar transition took place at another group company Godrej Properties, in which Godrej’s son Pirojsha was elevated to the chairman’s position. Godrej’s elder daughter Tanya is the chairperson of Godrej Retail and group’s chief brand officer. Nisaba is a Harvard Business School graduate and has been successfully spearheading GCPL’s strategic transformation and growth for the last ten years. She has been the driving force behind the firm’s international acquisitions and HR revamp. GCPL recorded a 10% rise in post-tax profits in FY2016-17.
All the next generation members at the Godrej Group moved up the ladder and took leadership positions only after several years of experience and delivering results. Commenting on the roles played by the next generation members in the group Adi Godrej said, “Tanya, Pirojsha and Nisaba have been playing key roles in the group. Over the last decade, they have both set the strategy and put the people in place to deliver results.” In the last few years, Adi has moved out of operational responsibilities and focused on mentoring the next generation members and non-family professionals. “I will continue to serve GCPL Board and contribute in whatever way I can to GCPL’s success and long-term growth,” said Godrej on how he intends to remain engaged with GCPL in future.
Source: The Economic Times, May 10, 2017.