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Top energy, commodity, infra companies see senior management churn

Talent firms and industry executives list evolving strategies, business growth as contributing to attrition at senior management level

resignation
Amritha Pillay Mumbai
3 min read Last Updated : Oct 09 2024 | 11:30 PM IST
During the last one month, at least six senior executives working at top companies in the energy, commodity and capital goods spaces have tendered their resignations, disclosures show.

Talent firms agree that this is part of a larger rising trend of attrition at senior levels.

Vedanta, Shree Cement, Adani Green Energy, Kalpataru Projects International and Sterling & Wilson Renewables reported one or more senior management exits to the stock exchanges in the last one month.

These exits involved personnel heading important functions such as finance, supply-chain, business divisions, strategy and logistics (see chart).

Meanwhile, at least three other companies — KEC International, JSW Energy and Tata Power — have appointed senior management personnel in the same time period.


In one instance, JSW Energy’s executive vice-president – corporate affairs’ last assignment was with Shree Cement.

These exits and appointments, according to Viswanath PS, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Randstad India, a talent company, indicate a larger trend observed over the past year.

There has been an uptick of around 15-20 per cent in senior management attrition in FY24 compared to FY23, across sectors.

An email query sent to Adani Green Energy, Kalpataru Projects International and Sterling & Wilson Renewables remained unanswered. Concerned executives at Shree Cement declined to comment.

A spokesperson for Vedanta said, “While we are sad to see John Slaven go. We respect his decision which is solely for personal reasons and his desire to be closer to his family in the US.” Slaven, until recently, was aluminium business CEO for Vedanta, and had joined the company in October last year.

Most of these resignations disclosed to BSE have listed personal or other career interests as the reason for exit.

Maya Nair, executive director for Elixir Consulting, said, “With the steady growth in the energy space of about seven per cent compared to the previous year, there has been an increase in the talent churn averaging about 13 per cent in large conglomerates.”

An industry executive from the capital goods space agrees growth in the sector has led to increased opportunities and, hence, churn.

She added, “The recent churn in the roles of chief HR officers, has been the highest among CXO roles followed by sales head roles.”

Vishwanath attributes the churn to a need of leaders that align with new strategic goals.

“As companies deal with the existing macroeconomic situation, they are looking to realign their strategic goals and seek leaders who can navigate these challenges effectively. Consequently, there is a greater push for leadership realignment to bring in fresh perspectives or specialised skills,” he added,

He said, “Another critical element driving this trend is the rapid integration of technology and artificial intelligence (AI).”

The rise in senior management churn resonates with the high attrition level at some of India’s leading energy and infrastructure conglomerates. 

Flagship entities of Adani, Vedanta, Aditya Birla Group and Larsen & Toubro have reported double-digit turnover rate for their permanent employees in FY24. 

Topics :Indian companiesTop ManagementVedanta