GMR Infra to get new MD in management rejig

GMR Infrastructure, the Bangalore-based publicly held company, has announced a restructuing of the management, effective October 1. B V Nageswara Rao will be managing director from that date, taking charge from Srinivas Bommidala, who would cease to be MD but continue on the board of directors.

Rao and Bommidala are also part of the core GMR Holding Board, the apex decision making body for the Group, which holds 71 per cent in GMR Infrastructure.

GMR Infra reported revenue of Rs 5,700 crore last year. It manages four international airports and is developing 13 power projects, with a capacity to generate close to 8,000 Mw, besides managing highways and having a growing presence in developing special economic zones.

 

The change at the helm of GMR Infra is part of a planned overhaul at the GMR Holding Board, expected to play out during the coming months. According to group officials, the management is taking steps aimed at allowing its future leaders to have a working knowledge of all its businesses.

GMR Group chairman G M Rao’s elder son, G B S Raju, now the chairman, corporate functions and international business, is expected to head the energy division. His younger brother, Kiran K Grandhi, now in charge of the Delhi, Hyderabad, Istanbul and Male airports, is tipped to focus on urban infrastru-cture and may cease to be chairman- airports. Bommidala, stepping down as MD of GMR Infra, is expected to take charge of airports.

B V N Rao, the to-be MD of GMR Infra, is an engineering graduate and has 13 years of experience in the banking sector, specifically in industrial finance and rehabilitation of sick industries. He is an expert in foreign exchange and international trade.

A senior official of GMR Infra said as part of the GMR family constitution, family members and close associates of group chairman G M Rao will take new responsibilities. “There is a broad transition from the first to second generation which will unfold and this is part of that step,” the senior official said.

G M Rao, the group chairman, recently told shareholders that with aggressive expansion lined up, it has to be backed with a strong leadership team and robust business processes. “Running seamlessly for the second successive year, our Talent Review process has enabled structured succession planning for key leadership positions and creation of a talent pipeline for the future. The outcome of Talent Review has led to focused investment in identification and development of future leaders,” he’d said.