Lock, stock and barrel: Meet Jamshyd N Godrej, chairman and MD, G&B

Godrej speaks with Pavan Lall about future-proofing, why his companies are private and the reason he's a hands-off manager

It's a warm February afternoon, and I’m meeting Godrej & Boyce Chairman Jamshyd Godrej at his Vikhroli office in Mumbai. I've tried to draw him out to a restaurant or a nearby hotel but he's flipped the invitation back for lunch at his factory cafeteria. As I drive towards the building we are meeting at, I can’t help but notice the gigantic work sheds that house what look like missile and aeronautical fuselages. The Godrej brand might be best known for locks, almirahs and soaps but its other ventures are clearly not small.

It’s a set menu at the company