Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Dec 16, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Dec 16, 2004 |
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Corporate
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Management Britannia management gets a facelift Boby Kurian
Bangalore , Dec. 15 THE Britannia Industries Chairman, Mr Nusli Wadia, and the new Chief Executive Officer, Ms Vinita Bali, are imparting a facelift to the company's top management. The company, with interests in the domestic bakery and dairy businesses, has refurbished the key posts following a recent exodus as the promoters went about overhauling the management, a process set in motion soon after the controversial exit of the former Managing Director & CEO, Mr Sunil Alagh. Mr Vidyut Arte is coming on board as Director-Marketing of Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL), informed sources said. He joins from Cadburys India Ltd where he was heading sales and mass marketing functions. It must be mentioned that BIL did not have the post of Director of Marketing for a while. Mr Wadia has also roped in Mr Anupam Dutta, who was Vice-President of Marketing at Cavinkare, to join Britannia's dairy business, Britannia New Zealand Foods Pvt Ltd, an existing 49:49 joint venture with New Zealand's Fonterra Co-Operative Group. Britannia Industries under Mr Alagh's management hived off dairy business with Milkman brand into a separate joint venture in 2002, but retained management control, as it sought focussed attention for both its bakery and dairy businesses. Mr Dutta is expected to succeed Mr P.K. Malik, who quit as the COO of the dairy joint venture to join Cargill Foods. However, Mr Dutta's designation could not be confirmed even as he is expected to assume office on Thursday. He has had earlier stints in United Distillers & Vintners (UDV) and Cadburys. Ms Bali, CEO designate of Britannia Industries, who is expected to assume charge on January 3, has had a long innings with Cadburys India and its global operations. Another significant induction is that of Mr Ashok Sopori as Marketing Manager of BIL. He is making a comeback after leaving Britannia a few years ago as Mr Alagh held sway over the company's management. He is seen as replacing the role of Mr Naveen Chopra who had quit as General Manager to join Hutch in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the speculation regarding the future role of COO, Mr Nikhil Sen, continues. But Mr Sen, while talking to Business Line, denied rumours that he was in exit mode. Mr Sen has been managing Britannia's affairs since the exit of Mr Alagh in mid-2003. However, he refused to be drawn into talks regarding his future role in the company stating it was a "personal situation". Informed sources said Mr Wadia was closely monitoring Britannia's operations till Ms Bali assumes full control and was being assisted by the company's CFO, Mr N. Sridhar, another recent recruitment, and Mr Ninu Khanna, Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing, the flagship company of the Wadia family. Sources added that the process of management recast was likely to continue for a while with a few more exits and inductions.
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