The Chairman & promoter of the Raymond Group, Gautam Hari Singhania, recently said that he will step down as the chairman from all the group companies and will completely dissociate himself from all day-to-day functioning of the companies.
He says he has already moved out of the Chairman’s position for FMCG entities & Raymond apparel which handles the branded apparel business. Next in line are two engineering firms – JK Files and Ring Plus Aqua, for which he is already on the lookout for a professional chairman and also may move out of the position from the flagship entity, Raymond Ltd.
This is to, as he says, build an organization which can run independently and competitively without the involvement of a promoter.
“At Raymond, I am not sure how long I will be the Chairman. I have something in mind that I don’t want to talk about now. As of now, I am no longer the Chairman for any other group companies which are significant.” he said.
Gautam says that he is creating an environment of independent governance for each company & will ensure that the promoter family is always away from the day to day functioning of them.
“My children are very young. I have a responsibility towards my family, employees, stakeholders, banks, institutions & customers and, tomorrow morning if I die, God forbid, there are identified people who will take charge of everything.” the 53-year-old said.
He also told ET on Tuesday in Kolkata that he would rather focus on strategy, new product development, budget, set targets and handle Public Communication for the business.
Vijaypat Singhania, father to the current Raymond Ltd. Chairman, Gautam Singhania, was removed from the chairman post at Raymond Group last October. Vijaypat, after gifting his son Gautam his 37% stake worth Rs 1,000 crore, is now living as a poor man.
Gautam said that he has offered his father several times to come and stay with him. “My father is 81 years old and if I am not going to take care of him, then who will?”
“Several people tried to intervene and convince him to stay with me, but they failed,” added Gautam.
