Leadership rejig may be on cards for Bajaj Auto, hints MD Rajiv Bajaj

Addressing shareholders at Bajaj Auto's 17th Annual General Meeting in Pune on Tuesday, Rajiv Bajaj highlighted that the automobile manufacturer needs a younger Managing Director

Automobile major Bajaj Auto could witness a change of guard after 17 years as CEO Rajiv Bajaj believes he has been here ‘long enough’.

During his address to the shareholders at the company’s 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Pune on Tuesday, Bajaj said the company needs a “younger MD”, the Financial Express reported.

“Every time I say something to you (shareholders), I start by saying, ‘my mind goes back 30 years’. So, it tells me that perhaps I have been here long enough.”

“So, just as these two companies (Chetak Technologies and Bajaj Auto Credit) have new MDs, Bajaj Auto (also) needs a new MD; a younger MD because I have been here 34 years. I am 58 and not so young anymore,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t go anywhere immediately.

In 2007, the firm had split into three entities, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Holdings and Bajaj Finserv, between Rajiv and his younger brother Sanjiv Bajaj. Their father Rahul Bajaj, helmed the company till 2021 and was then named as the chairman emeritus of the Bajaj Group. The noted industrialist passed away at the age of 83 years in 2022.

Bajaj family dispute

The latest development followed five years after the family-owned business had agreed upon an agreement in 2019 outlining formal procedures to deal with succession and ownership-related matters.

The third-generation family business members: Rahul Bajaj and his cousins Shekhar, Madhur and Niraj were part of this agreement. Notably, Rahul’s younger brother, Shishir Bajaj, had split with the family in 2008, marking a significant moment in the history of the Bajaj legacy. The multinational conglomerate has a journey that dates back to the 1930s.

At present, Shishir Bajaj leads the Bajaj Foundation - the group’s philanthropic arm. 

Members of the Bajaj family

The rest of the third-generation members lead different arms of the group and so do their following generation members. 

Rajiv’s uncle Shekhar Bajaj is the chairman of Bajaj Electricals. His only son, Anant, passed away in 2018, two months after being appointed as the Managing Director of the company. Niraj Bajaj succeeded Rahul Bajaj as the chairman of Bajaj Auto in May 2021. He has a son Nirav.