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Sudhir Maheshwari, seen as a close confidante of steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal, has quit ArcelorMittal. Till now a frontline person in the Group, Maheshwari will leave on March 31, 2015.
Soft-spoken but firm, Maheshwari was viewed as the perfect link between the two generations at the top. Being 13 years younger to LN Mittal and 13 years older to Aditya Mittal, he was seen by many within the Group as one who helped maintain ‘business continuity’.
In an internal communication to Group employees, Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal, said “I am writing to inform you that Sudhir Maheshwari, member of the Group Management Board and an incredibly loyal and much valued colleague for the past 26 years, has decided to leave us to pursue other opportunities.”
In 2008, Maheshwari became a member of the Group Management Board, with responsibility for corporate finance, mergers, acquisition and divestments, risk management and the Group's operations in India and China.
As CEO of China he oversaw the construction and recent inauguration of VAMA joint venture, a plant focussed on high-quality steel for the automotive market. Recounting the role Maheshwari played in the Group, Mittal said, “He has also played a key leading role in various financing and tax structuring activities of the company through his career with us. He has handled and led many challenging projects at the company with a clear mandate and utmost focus.”
“Between 2000 and 2006 particularly we completed many acquisitions: Romania, Czech Republic, South Africa, Poland, ISG, Ukraine, Liberia, and, of course the merger to create ArcelorMittal,” Mittal said, adding that “No matter how tough or challenging the situation, he always rose to the challenge, maintained extraordinary energy and commitment and saw things through to a successful completion.”
Maheshwari has also played a key role in Mittal’s foray into energy sector. Director on the Board of HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, Singapore, a Mittal company, Maheshwari, was seen as a ‘perfect professional’.
HMEL operates the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery of 9 million tonne per annum at Bathinda in Punjab. Those who have closely worked with Maheshwari said “if he was critical of you, he was also appreciative of your good work.”
“I first met Sudhir in Calcutta in 1988. He was a young graduate, full of energy and looking for an exciting opportunity to leave India for a couple of years and see the world. We were just starting our journey to Trinidad and so I offered him the opportunity to join us there,” Mittal said in his letter.
Mittal goes on to say from 1994 to 2000, the journey continued and Maheshwari worked in Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Luxembourg, before moving to London where he reported to Aditya.
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