It’s reshuffle at India Inc once again. Big corporate houses are moving their high-performing managing directors to those companies in their group that requires better focus and dynamic leadership.
Two weeks ago, the Tatas shifted Prasad Menon— the Managing Director of Tata Chemicals—to take charge of Tata Power which had remained headless since Firdaus Vandrevala quit to join Motorola in November 2005.
Menon has been picked for the new assignment due to his stellar track record. Over the last five years,
Menon transformed Tata Chemicals into a global company through some high-profile acquisitions. “Menon got his act right at Tata Chemicals. He will have to take Tata Power to the next level,” said a source at Bombay House, the Tata Group’s corporate headquarters in South Mumbai. Homi Khusrokhan, former Tata Tea MD, is replacing Menon at Tata Chemicals.
The Aditya Birla group has also reshuffled the portfolios of CEOs six years after group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla brought in a lot of new faces to instill more dynamism and professionalism across group companies.
Sanjeev Aga, who has been heading the metal-to-software company Aditya Birla Nuvo, has recently moved on to a new role. Aga, who joined the Birlas after a long stint at VIP, is the new MD of Idea Cellular—the telecom company of the Aditya Birla group.
“Aga was involved in Idea right from the beginning. That is why the group chairman has chosen him to head the telecom venture,” said a source close to the Aditya Birla group. Aga will have to set the stage for Idea’s initial public offer and raise funds for further expansion. “Idea requires lot of focus right now. The group is planning to pump in additional money for expansion,” said the source. Vikram Mehmi, who has been the CEO of Idea, will be relocated within the group.
{{/usCountry}}“Aga was involved in Idea right from the beginning. That is why the group chairman has chosen him to head the telecom venture,” said a source close to the Aditya Birla group. Aga will have to set the stage for Idea’s initial public offer and raise funds for further expansion. “Idea requires lot of focus right now. The group is planning to pump in additional money for expansion,” said the source. Vikram Mehmi, who has been the CEO of Idea, will be relocated within the group.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Bharat K Singh, who was the key strategist at the Aditya Birla group, is the new MD of Aditya Birla Nuvo. Saurabh Misra, who played a major role when the group took over construction major Larsen & Toubro’s cement business in 2004, is the new MD of Ultratech Cement. Sumant Sinha, the son of former finance minister Yashwant Sinha, may also see a change in role. Sinha who joined the group six years back as Chief Finance Officer may head the group’s retail business.
Sinha is now heading a core team which is mainly looking at the business model for the proposed retail business. ADAG group, led by Anil Ambani, also saw some high profile appointments last week.