Hindujas step down from Gokaldas

The founding members of India’s largest apparel exporter Gokaldas Exports have finally stepped down, by relinquishing their executive positions.

The move, which comes into effect from on Friday, sees the exit of the three brothers — Madanlal Hinduja, Rajendra Hinduja and Dinesh J Hinduja — from their executive positions in the company which their father Jhamandas H Hinduja started in 1963.

US-based private equity major Blackstone Group now takes complete management control of the company and has appointed its nominee director Gautam Chakravarti as CEO, while Richard B Saldanha has been appointed as an additional director on the its board.

In August 2007, the Hindujas had sold around 51 per cent stake held by them to Blackstone for around Rs 530 crore. Blackstone now owns a little over 68 per cent in the company.

While Madanlal Hinduja, who was the chairman of the company, stepped down early this year, Rajendra Hinduja, the MD, and Dinesh Hinduja, the executive director, relinquished their positions by the end of March.

In a statement on Friday, Gokaldas Exports said Rajendra Hinduja and Dinesh Hinduja retired from the board of the company and the exit is pursuant to the earlier agreement between Blackstone Group and the promoters of the company. Both will continue their association with the company as mentors and will help the management to achieve the organisation’s long-term objective.

The promoter family holds around 20 per cent in this publicly held apparel exporter, which counts Nike, Adidas, Levis, Esprit among its major customers. Gokaldas Exports employs around 45,000 people across its 40 manufacturing units and has a capacity to churn out a little more than 25 million units per annum.