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Kolkata-based diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd on Monday named Sanjiv Puri Chief Operating Officer.
Puri, 53, is now Director-in-Charge of FMCG, paperboards, paper and packaging businesses — contributing 90 per cent of turnover and profit before tax.
His elevation is widely viewed as a part of ITC Chairman and CEO YC Deveshwar’s succession plan.
Deveshwar (69), the longest serving Chairman of the company, is set to relinquish his executive role – after 21 years – in February 2017.
He will continue as non-executive chairman for three years.
In a filing with the stock exchanges, on Monday, the company said: “The board of directors at the meeting held on July 22, 2016, redesignated Sanjiv Puri, Wholetime Director, also as Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect.”
Speculation around Puri’s elevation had been doing the rounds for some time now.
Sources say Deveshwar has spent considerable time in identifying and mentoring future leaders. Apart from Puri, two other names doing the rounds as prospective leaders were Nakul Anand, Director in-Charge of ITC hotels and CFO Rajiv Tandon.
For Puri, an IIT Kanpur alumnus who joined ITC in 1986, the first major break came in 2001, when he was asked to head Surya Nepal, a joint venture subsidiary of ITC in Nepal.
From a cigarette company, Surya Nepal diversified into apparel and soon became the largest private sector company in the Himalayan country.
From May 2006 to August 2009, he headed ITC’s wholly-owned subsidiary ITC Infotech.
His leadership saw the company make its mark in overseas markets such as the US and the UK.
Between 2009 and 2014, he oversaw operations of the tobacco division that alone contributes 80 per cent of the profits.
In 2014, Puri was elevated to President of the entire FMCG business, including cigarette and the widening portfolio of other FMCG products.
The position was carved out for him.
The move triggered speculation, if Puri was groomed to play a bigger role in the organisation.
Finally, in November 2015, Puri was elevated to the board.
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