Siva Group to see generational shift at the helm

In his new role, chief Chinnakannan Sivasankaran's son Saravana is likely to manage 60% of the group's revenues

Saravana Sivasankaran, son of Siva Group chief Chinnakannan Sivasankaran, is understood to be close to taking charge of a major share of the group's operations.

The group's chief executive, V Srinivasan, is set to exit, after 16 years at the helm.

Armed with a management degree from Harvard Business School, as well as one in computer science engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, Saravana, 30, has been Siva Group's chief operating officer for seven years. During this period, he has looked after the group's shipping and commodity trading businesses, operations of which are largely driven from Singapore.

He is likely to manage 60 per cent of the group's annual revenues of about $1 billion. He is likely to be involved in the group's expansive real estate business, though his father will oversee it for the time being.

After Srinivasan's exit, Saravana's management team will include group chief financial officer Sanjeev Bafna.

Sources said Siva Group was undertaking development of as much as five million sq ft across various cities in India. This will lead to cash inflow of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore through four years.

According to information available with Business Standard, Srinivasan is expected to exit the company by the end of November, after which Siva Group is expected to decide on appointing Saravana as chief executive.

Chinnakannan Sivasankaran declined to comment on the group's succession plans, saying he couldn't discuss such issues with the media due to an ongoing legal battle with a foreign business house.

Srinivasan spearheaded several of the group's business ventures, including that in the telecommunications segment. He was the key to diversifying the group into several sectors such as palm oil, wind energy and commodities trading.

However, the group has had to weather many difficulties, as many of its diversifications, including ambitious forays into sectors such as such as bottled water from glaciers and wind energy, failed to deliver, owing to which it suffered severe losses.

Siva Group's move to assign charge of a significant part of the group to the next generation comes at a time when it is in the throes of a legal battle with Bahrain Telecom, which involves a sum of $212 million. Despite the fact that Sivasankaran has been declared bankrupt by a court in Seychelles, Bahrain Telecom has said it will pursue the case and seek $212 million from Sivasankaran, its former partner, for a failed mobile telecom venture in India.