YOGESH CHANDER DEVESHWAR
Chairman
ITC Limited
Yogesh Chander Deveshwar is the Chairman of ITC Limited, one of India's largest multi-business conglomerates. He was appointed as a Director on the Board of the Company in 1984 and became the Chairman on 1 January 1996.
Education
Yogesh Chander Deveshwar was born on 4 February 1947. He received his Bachelor of Technology Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1968. He has an AMP Diploma from Harvard Business School, United States, and also did a course on advanced training in hoteliering and Services at Cornell University, United States.
Career
Y C Deveshwar joined ITC Limited in 1968. He was appointed as a Director on the Board of the Company in 1984 and became the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board on January 1, 1996. Between 1991 and 1994, he led Air India as Chairman and Managing Director.
Under his leadership, ITC’s Sustainability efforts were given shape through unique business models. ITC became the first Indian company to publish its Sustainability Report, 2004 in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative. For the efforts at creating sustainable livelihood opportunities, ITC also won the inaugural World Business Award instituted jointly by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the HRH Prince of Wales International Business Leader's Forum (IBLF). ITC’s ‘e-Choupal’, a digital infrastructure initiative to empower marginal farmers in India, is taught as a case study at the Harvard Business School. This initiative won the Development Gateway award at Beijing in September 2005 and the Stockholm Challenge Award in May 2006.
Deveshwar is the Past President of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Indian School of Business and the former Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He also serves on the National Executive Committees of some of India’s premier trade and industry bodies.
During his 15-year tenure at the helm, ITC has seen top-lines moving from Rs. 5,000 crore to nearly Rs. 27,000 crore in 2010 and profits from a level of Rs. 260 crore to over Rs. 4,000 crore. In terms of market capitalisation, ITC’s value moved from about Rs 5,500 crore in 1996 to over Rs. 1,14,000 crores by July 2010. Now the market capitalization stands at Rs. 136508.72 Crores.
Of course, this performance while excellent should be viewed in the context of the larger Indian economy which grew from a nominal GDP of $380 billion to the current $1.3 trillion over the last 15 years.
Many of the new initiatives taken by Devewshwar have faltered. An article by Rediff India, noted that both "the walk and talk" appear to be faltering from Y.C Deveshwar when it comes to e-choupals. In the new FMCG businesses, ITC under Deveshwar, has totted up losses of more than 2300 crores.Forbes mentioned the CEO of an Indian FMCG firm as expressing disbelief at the "kind of money ITC is putting up to buy market share in the personal care business".
Management Style
Deveshwar has a reputation for hard work. He is known for his level of preparedness for meetings.
Deveshwar is well known for his larger than life manner. Forbes mentioned his centralized style of managing and taking most decisions. It also noted the high power distance between Deveshwar and the rest of the board and senior management at ITC[4], the vast differential between the salary of the Chairman and other Directors(three times) and the fact that no Directors were appointed to the ITC board between 2000 and 2010, although Deveshwar was due to retire in this period.
Life after ITC
There has been much speculation in the media about Deveshwar’s continued stay at ITC's helm.Deveshwar has been Chairman at ITC for over 15 years-the longest serving Chairman in the history of the company.
Deveshwar has made it amply clear that he is looking for a longer innings in numerous media interviews.
In another interview to ET Now, he said: ``The plan for succession is always there. There are people in place and over a period of time when the time is right that would happen… that is one of the issues that every chief executive has to deal with and it will be dealt with… This is a subject with what we call a nominations committee of the Board and the Board of ITC. They are deeply concerned with these issues.
Honours and awards
Amongst several awards and recognitions during his distinguished career, Deveshwar has been honoured with the Global Leadership Award 2010 by the U.S. - India Business Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award 2007 conferred at the International Sustainability Leadership Symposium, Business Person of the Year Award 2006 by the UK Trade & Investment by His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and in January 2006, he was inducted to the prestigious Hall of Pride at the Indian Science Congress. He was also named then Manager Entrepreneur of the Year 2001 by Ernst & Young.