Our Bureau/Agencies Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd has appointed Malavika Hegde, wife of its late founder VG Siddhartha, as CEO.

The decision was taken at the company’s board meeting on Monday, and the appointment is with immediate effect.

The appointment was made more than a year after the coffee baron was found dead in a river near Mangaluru in an apparent suicide.

After the demise of Siddhartha, the company had named independent board member SV Ranganath as interim chairman.

Independent directors

Today, the company also appointed CH Vasudhara Devi, Giri Devanur and Mohan Raghavendra Kondi as independent directors of the company from December 31, 2020 till December 30, 2025 subject to the approval of shareholders.

Bengaluru-based Cafe Coffee Day runs hundreds of coffee shops across India.

Siddhartha, 59, was widely recognised for having brought the coffee shop culture to a largely tea-loving country, while also being hailed as one of India's early venture capital investors.

His death plunged the company into an uncertain future, and saw Coffee Day Enterprises shares crash as news of his death unfolded, before eventually being suspended from trading since February 3, 2020.