Adi Godrej to step down from GCPL board in Aug; remain as Chairman Emeritus

Veteran industrialist and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej will step down from the board of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) next month.

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 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.

He 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.

"Sameer Shah, GCPL's current Head of Finance and Investor Relations, will take over as the Chief Financial Officer of the company," it said.

In May this year, GCPL announced appointment of rival HUL's Executive Director Sudhir Sitapati as the company's new Managing Director and CEO.

His appointment would be effective from October 18, 2021. Then, Nisaba Godrej, who is currently the Chairperson and Managing Director, will serve as the company's Executive Chairperson.

GCPL, part of the more than 124 years-old Godrej group, is building its presence in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America across three categories home care, personal care and hair care.

It ranks among the largest household insecticide and hair care players in the emerging markets.