Veteran industrialist and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej will step down from the board of Rs 11,000 crore-group MFCG firm Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) next month. The 79-year-old patriarch will continue to be the Chairman Emeritus of the company.
Adi Godrej had passed on the reins of GCPL to his daughter Nisaba in 2017. GCPL is the consumer goods arm of Godrej Group which has a presence across real estate, appliances, agriculture, etc. Godrej had joined the 124-year-old-family business in 1963.
The company is building its presence in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa, and Latin America across three categories: home care, personal care, and hair care.
After stepping down from the board with effect from September 30, he will remain as Chairman Emeritus of the FMCG firm, according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
The 79-year-old industrialist passed on the baton of GCPL to his younger daughter Nisaba Godrej in 2017 after leading the company for 17 years. She is the Chairperson and Managing Director of the Rs 11,000 crore-group firm.
“It has been a privilege to serve Godrej Consumer Products. I am grateful to our board for their continued guidance; to all our team members for their passion for Godrej and for helping build a company that we can all be proud of; and to our customers, business partners, shareholders, investors, and communities, for their deep partnership over the years,” he said.
Adi Godrej also said that the company’s foundations are very strong. “I am very confident that Nisa and our leadership team will continue to build forward and create even more sustainable, long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he added.
In the statement, Nisaba Godrej thanked her father for his vision and guidance that has helped shape and transform GCPL.
“The values that he has taught us, combined with his disciplined, results-driven, and humble approach, will always be the core of our DNA. Our leadership team will continue to draw from this as we drive Godrej Consumer Products forward with a strong sense of purpose and ambition,” she said.
Adi Godrej has served at the helm of several Indian trade and industrial bodies, and associations. Among others, he is the past Chairman of the Board of the Indian School of Business and was President of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Godrej has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the MIT Sloan School of Management, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, and a member of the Wharton Asian Executive Board.
He is also a recipient of several awards and recognitions, including The Rajiv Gandhi Award 2002 and The American India Foundation (AIF) Leadership in Philanthropy Award, 2010. GCPL has also made changes in its leadership team following the resignation of Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary V Srinivasan.
