Manjushree Khaitan takes charge of Kesoram Industries

KOLKATA: Manjushree Khaitan, younger daughter of Late Basant Kumar (BK) Birla, is taking over as the chairman of B K Birla group flagship Kesoram Industries. Khaitan has been the executive vice chairperson of the company since 2013, while Basant Babu was the non-executive chairman.
Following the demise of the Birla family patriarch on July 3, there was a speculation about the chairmanship of various B K Birla group firms as BK remained at the helm of all the group entities till the last day of his life. Kesoram was among the first to announce the name of the new chairman on Friday. On July 5, TOI had written that Khaitan would be the head of Kesoram, while Kumar Mangalam, BK’s grandson, could be the chairman of Century Textiles.
B K Birla though was among the few industrialists in India who kept the succession plan ready during his lifetime, but a few pieces in the succession jigsaw were to be resolved following his demise. By 2010, BK had almost divided his Rs 16,000 crore business empire among grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla, two daughters — Jayshree Mohta and Manjushree Khaitan — and granddaughters, mostly Vidula Jalan.
Kesoram Industries on Friday has informed stock exchanges that the board has redesignated executive vice chairperson Manjushree Khaitan as the chairman of the company. Khaitan will now have non-executive role in Kesoram. “Mrs Khaitan has, with immediate effect also relinquished her position as executive vice chairperson and will continue in the board as a non-executive director,” the company has said in its filing to stock exchanges.
Recently, Kumar had written to capital market regulator Sebi for re-classification of his name as ‘public shareholder’ from ‘promoter shareholder’ in Kesoram Industries.
Sources close to the development said that C K Jain, the wholetime director, will play the executive role at Kesoram from now. “Currently, there may not be any managing director (MD). As per regulation, a company can have an MD or a wholetime director,” a company law expert opined. Khaitan was associated with Kesoram as director since 1998. In the last six years, she had played an executive role.
One of the granddaughters of B K Birla — Vidula who is the daughter of Khaitan — is managing Mangalam Cement. Mangalam Timber was merged with Mangalam Cement earlier. KM Birla would inherit Century Textiles and Industries and Century Enka. He is already on the board of Century Textiles.
Earlier, there was a speculation that Mangalam Cement would go to Kumar, but B K himself has later given it to Vidula in 2009 as Kumar reportedly was not willing to take the rein. Besides Kumar, Rajashree Birla, mother of Kumar, is also on the board of Century Textiles & Industries. In case of Century Enka, Kumar is not on the board but Rajashree has been inducted into it. A few years back, Century Enka has also shifted its registered office from Kolkata to Mumbai, the current base of K M Birla, the chairman of A V Birla group.