Promoters Resign, Promote Kin To Keep It All In The Family

Promoters are resigning as chairmen and managing directors (CMDs), stepping down from the board of directors, only to work as executives in their companies.

To wit: Vinay Bharat Ram has resigned as the chairman & managing director of DCM Ltd, stepped down from the DCM board of directors, and become the chief executive officer of the company.

In his place, his wife, Panna Bharat Ram, has been appointed the managing director of the company, while Ishwar Dayal, an independent director on the DCM board, has become the chairman of the company.

This is the second time that such a development has taken place in a company of the erstwhile DCM group.

Earlier this week, Siddharth Shriram, Vinay Bharat Ram's cousin and Lala Charat Ram's younger son, stepped down as the chairman and managing director of his flagship, Siel Ltd, to become the company's president.

Siddharth Shriram's son, Krishna Shriram, is tipped to take over as the chairman of Siel Ltd. And earlier in the month, Bhupendra Kumar Modi stepped down as the chairman and CEO of ModiCorp Ltd (subsequently renamed SpiceCorp Ltd).

His wife, Veena, was appointed chairman of Modicorp, while his son, Dilip, was appointed CEO. In accordance with the change, Modi has also moved out of the Modicorp board of directors. In his place, Veena Modi has joined the board. But unlike the Shriram cousins, Modi does not have an executive role in SpiceCorp.

DCM executives say that this is being done to up the standards of corporate governance in the company. Thus, not only Vinay Bharat Ram but also his brother Vivek Bharat Ram, and his son Sumant Bharat Ram have also stepped down from the board.

However, Panna Bharat Ram has been co-opted on the DCM board. At the moment, there is one promoter director, Panna Bharat Ram, and six independent directors on the DCM board. Earlier, there were three promoter directors and seven independent directors on the board of directors Vinay Bharat Ram is the eldest son of Bharat Ram. DCM Ltd (its name was changed from Delhi Cloth Mills Ltd to DCM Ltd in the mid-1980s when London-based Non-resident Indian Swraj Paul mounted a takeover bid on the company) has interests in textiles, real estate, engineering and information technology.