Roshni Nadar set to become chairperson of HCL Corp

Company mum on when she will take over from her father, founder Shiv Nadar

HCL Corporation, the holding company of $6.2 billion HCL Group, that includes the two listed IT companies, HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems, may see a change of guard at the helm. Roshni Nadar, 31, currently a director and CEO, and daughter of HCL Group founder Shiv Nadar is set to take over from her father, who is the current chairman of HCL Corporation. Though senior company executives did not indicate a time frame for the change of guard, they said the move was a “fait accompli”, as she is the only child of HCL Group founder.

However reacting to media reports on the issue HCL Corporation said in a statement that there are no immediate plans of change in the roles of incumbent chairman Shiv Nadar and his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra, currently a director and the CEO of the corporation.

Media reports had quoted billionaire Shiv Nadar, 67, that his daughter would succeed him as chairman of HCL Corporation. HCL Technologies is the fourth largest software services firm in the country, and HCL Infosystems is into IT hardware manufacturing.

Responding to a questionnaire from Business Standard on the proposed change of guard, a statement from HCL Corporation said: “There are no plans of change in their respective roles at present or in the near future”. 

Roshni, 31, was appointed as CEO of HCL Corporation and a trustee of the Shiv Nadir Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the group, in 2009. Shiv Nadar is both the chairman of the Foundation and the HCL Corporation. 

Over the last three years Roshni has been actively involved with the operations of VidyaGyan School project in Uttar Pradesh, a free school for bright kids from Bottom of Pyramid families. An MBA in social enterprise from Kellogg Graduate School, she worked briefly as a news producer in SkyNews and CNN, before joining the HCL Group. Responsible for strategic decisions for HCL Corporation, she has been overseeing the group’s brand communication, while also being active on treasury and finance side. However, she has not been directly involved in day-to-day operations of HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems, which are managed by a team of professionals, and a Board of Directors.

India Inc,’ has over the last three-four years seen daughters rise to the helm of affairs of several corporate houses. Among them are Adi Godrej’s two daughters, Tanya and Nisaba, are actively involved in the group affairs, as is Ashni, daughter of Kishore Biyani in the family business. Bisleri founder Ramesh Chauhan too is grooming his daughter Jayanti for a larger say in day-to-day operations, while at Parle Agro, his brother Prakash’s daughters Schauna and Nadia have been  active in the business for few years.

Interestingly, three of the leading IT companies in the world – Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Oracle – have women at the helm in executive position as president & CEO.