Board of Directors

y c deveshwar

Y C Deveshwar (65), an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi 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. He is also the Chairman of ITC’s wholly owned subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited, and its subsidiaries in the UK and USA. 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.

In 2011, Deveshwar was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, by the Government of India in recognition of his distinguished service of a high order to the Nation. Amongst several other awards and recognition during his distinguished career, Deveshwar has been honoured with the Global Leadership Award 2010 by the U.S.- India Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce, the SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award 2007 conferred at the International Sustainability Leadership Symposium, the Business Person of the Year Award 2006 by the UK Trade & Investment by His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. In January 2006, he was inducted to the prestigious Hall of Pride at the Indian Science Congress. He was also named the Manager Entrepreneur of the Year 2001 by Ernst & Young.

nakul anand

Nakul Anand (55) was appointed a Director on the Board of ITC effective January 3, 2011. He holds responsibility of the Hospitality, Travel & Tourism businesses of ITC. An Economics Honours graduate from Delhi University with an AMP degree from Bond University, Australia, he joined ITC Hotels' Management Training Programme in 1978 and also served as the Managing Director of erstwhile ITC Hotels Limited during the period 2003-05. In a career that spans over three decades, he has been acknowledged for his vision and commitment.

Anand is widely recognised for excellent people management and team-building abilities besides infusing the spirit of action and a result oriented work culture. He is a firm believer in value-based strategies and has created a unique quality control model of Operational Excellence and also introduced Six Sigma quality standards. Anand has initiated some very innovative concepts in hoteliering making ITC's hotel business synonymous with the best in the world.

Anand is the Chairman of the National Council of Tourism of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

p v dhobale

P. V. Dhobale (56) was appointed a Director on the Board of ITC effective January 3, 2011. He holds responsibility for Paperboards & Specialty Papers and Packaging businesses of ITC and also represents the Finance and IT functions on the Board. A Chemical Engineer from IIT, Mumbai, he joined the erstwhile ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited (ITC Bhadrachalam) as a Management Trainee in 1977 and became its Managing Director in 2000. Following the amalgamation of ITC Bhadrachalam with ITC in March 2002, and subsequent merger of Bhadrachalam Paperboards Division with Tribeni Tissues Division, Dhobale took charge of the Paperboards & Specialty Papers Business as its Divisional Chief Executive.

Dhobale is credited with the successful turnaround of ITC Bhadrachalam in 2001, and exponential growth thereafter. He spearheaded the growth involving capital infusion of over US$ 500 million through brownfield organic growth as well as acquisitions. Under his leadership, ITC’s Bhadrachalam Mill has emerged as the largest single-location paper mill in the country producing more than 400,000 tonnes of papers & boards. Under his stewardship, and in line with ITC’s sustainability strategy, 110,000 hectares of plantations were developed, the pioneering ECF and Ozone Bleaching Technology were introduced, ITC became a member of the Global Forest and Trade Network and successfully implemented a number of ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ Projects.

Dhobale is an active member of several industry bodies. He is the past President of Indian Paper Manufacturers Association, past Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Chairman, Energy Efficiency Council of CII - Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad. Dhobale is also the Founder President of Indian School of Business - Centre for Executive Education Alumni Association, Hyderabad Chapter. Amongst others, he is a Member of the Development Council for Pulp, Paper & Allied Industries, the Council of Association of Central Pulp & Paper Research Institute, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (India) - A.P. State Committee.

kurush n grant

Kurush N Grant (54) was appointed a Director on the Board of ITC on March 20, 2010. He oversees ITC's FMCG businesses - Cigarettes, Foods, Personal Care, Lifestyle Retailing, Education and Stationery Products, Matches and Agarbattis. After completing his MBA in 1979, he worked with DCM as a Management Trainee before joining ITC in 1980 in the Marketing function.  During his tenure in the Company, he has handled a wide range of responsibilities in Sales, Brand Management and Product Development. He was Executive Vice President, Marketing of the Tobacco Division before becoming Divisional Chief Executive in 1999.

He has been involved in the incubation and development of ITC's new initiatives in the FMCG sector. He is a Director on the Boards of King Maker Marketing Inc., USA and Surya Nepal Private Limited, Nepal. He is also the Non Executive Chairman of Wimco Ltd. He is the immediate past Chairman, CII Eastern Region, and is also a Member of the Executive Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. He is the Vice Chairman of the Indian Society of Advertisers. He has been a past Chairman of the National Readership Studies Council, as well as the Audit Bureau of Circulations, India.

anil baijal

Anil Baijal (65) joined the ITC Board as a Non-Executive Independent Director on January 22, 2010. Prior to this, he represented the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India on the ITC Board from July 2007 to August 2009.

Baijal joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1969 from the Union Territories Cadre. In a career spanning over 37 years, Mr. Baijal has held various important responsibilities including that of the Union Home Secretary, Chairman & Managing Director, Indian Airlines, Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharti Corporation, Vice-Chairman, Delhi Development Authority, Development Commissioner, Goa, and Counselor in-charge of the Indian Aid Programme in Nepal. He retired in October 2006 as Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. He piloted the flagship programme - Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission - for improving infrastructure and basic services in the country.

Currently, he is a Senior Advisor to the Infrastructure Development & Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC) and Chairman of IDFC Foundation. In addition, he is the Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Airlines.

He is also on the Boards of DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Limited, Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation of India Limited (MMTC) and International Travel House Limited.

shilabhadra banerjee

Shilabhadra Banerjee (63) joined the ITC Board as a representative of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) on February 4, 2010.

Banerjee, a Masters in History from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, began his career in the Indian Administrative Services in 1971 from the Andhra Pradesh Cadre. In a career spanning over 37 years, he has held several eminent positions including that of Joint Secretary in the Ministries of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Urban Development. Banerjee was Director General (Acquisition) in the Ministry of Defence and retired as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism in October 2008. Banerjee spearheaded the infrastructure upgradation at important tourist destinations in India and played a key role in articulating India's response to climate change issues relating to the tourism sector.

He received a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration from the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi in 1992 and an M. Phil degree in Social Sciences from the University of Panjab the same year. Banerjee has been a Visiting Fellow at the Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, U.K. and the National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi. He is currently a Director of IFCI Limited.

aV girija kumar

A V Girija Kumar (51) joined the ITC Board as a representative of the General Insurers’ (Public Sector) Association of India on March 19, 2010. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University.

In a career spanning over 28 years, Girija Kumar was with New India Assurance Co. Limited (New India). In New India, he worked at many centres across India, holding various positions including that of Divisional Manager, Senior Divisional Manager and Regional Chief before moving to the Corporate Office in Mumbai, as Deputy General Manager overseeing Techno-marketing, Foreign Business Development and Investments.

On secondment, he was posted as General Manager (Non-Life), Saudi Indian Company for Cooperative Insurance in Saudi Arabia. His responsibilities included facilitating an IPO to raise capital and completing the legal formation of the company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He joined National Insurance Company Limited (NIC) as a General Manager in 2009. He is currently a Director of NIC.

s h khan

S H Khan (73) joined the ITC Board as a Non-Executive Independent Director on October 30, 2006. Khan is the former Chairman and Managing Director of Industrial Development Bank of India. He holds a Master’s Degree in Commerce and is a university Gold Medalist. He is an alumnus of International Management Development Institute, Lausanne.

He started his professional career with RBI and after serving it for a few years moved over to IDBI in 1966. He served IDBI in various capacities for over three decades and retired as its Chairman and Managing Director in 1998. During his tenure as Chairman, IDBI made impressive growth in its operations and profits. He was instrumental in expanding its activities to several new areas like commercial banking, asset management and stock broking. He played an important role in the promotion of two premier capital market institutions viz., NSE and NSDL and guided their operations for 5 years as their first Chairman. He was also involved in the promotion of the rating agency, CARE and served as its Chairman for 10 years. Khan in his capacity as IDBI Chairman has served on the Boards of a number of important institutions such as UTI, LIC, GIC, IFCI, Exim Bank, Deposit Insurance Corporation, Indian Airlines and Air India. Currently he serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of several companies including Bajaj Auto Ltd, Infrastructure Development Finance Company and Apollo Health Street Limited.

s b mathur

S B Mathur (67) has been on the ITC Board since July 29 2005, first as a representative of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and then in his individual capacity.

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Mathur retired from Life Insurance Corporation of India in October 2004 as its Chairman. Subsequently, the Government of India appointed him the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) in December 2004, up to December 2007.

Mathur took over as Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India at a time when the insurance sector had just opened up. Under his leadership, LIC successfully rose to the challenges of a competitive environment by enhancing product offerings.

He joined Life Insurance Corporation of India in 1967 as a Direct recruit officer and rose to the rank of Chairman. He held various positions in LIC including Senior Divisional Manager of Gwalior division, Chief of Corporate Planning, General Manager of LIC (International) E.C., Zonal Manager in charge of Western Zone and Executive Director.

Mathur is currently Non Executive Chairman of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. He is a Director on the Boards of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, DCM Shriram Industries Limited and Havells India Limited among others.

d k mehrotra

D K Mehrotra (59) has been on the ITC Board since May 26, 2006 first as a representative of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) and then as a representative of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). He is currently the Managing Director of LIC. He joined LIC as a Direct Recruit Officer in 1977.

Mehrotra is an Honours Graduate in Science from the Patna University. In an illustrious career spanning 30 years, Mehrotra has held various important positions spanning three Zones and the Corporate Office of LIC. He was Executive Director (International Operations) before being appointed Managing Director.

Mehrotra has attended several important knowledge forums in India and abroad. He is associated with the apex training institutes of insurance in India, like the National Insurance Academy and the Insurance Institute of India. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of India Advantage Funds I & II of the ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Limited. He is a Director on the Boards of ACC Limited and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, among others.

h g powell

H G Powell (67) joined the ITC Board as a representative of BAT on May 7, 2008. Powell's career spanning almost 40 years began in 1963 when he joined Unilever in its Management Development Scheme. He trained with Lever Brothers for 5 years in the Marketing and Sales functions. In 1968, he joined Warner-Lambert Inc. as Brand Manager and became General Manager, Consumer Products, in 1975. A year later, he joined Standard Brands in Canada and assumed charge as President of Lowney's Confectionery. Two years later, Powell joined Jacobs Suchard as President of Nabob Foods. He later shifted to Germany to head Jacobs Suchard's coffee and chocolate unit.

In 1984, he joined John Labatt Ltd in Canada and was President of a number of its businesses, including McGavin's Bakeries, Everfresh Juice Company in Chicago, Ontario Breweries and Labatt Brewing Company. In 1995, he took over as Chief Executive Officer of Interbrew Americas and then of Interbrew SA in 1999. Powell retired from Interbrew SA in 2002.

Since July 2004, he is on the Board of Directors of Reynolds American Inc.

p b ramanujam

P B Ramanujam (67) has been on the Board of ITC since October 30, 1998, first as a representative of the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) and its erstwhile subsidiaries and then in his individual capacity as a Non-Executive Independent Director. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Ramanujam has held several responsibilities in GIC covering finance, accounts, investments, reinsurance, information technology etc. He was General Manager and Director with the National Insurance Company Limited, and the Managing Director of GIC till July 31, 2004.

Ramanujam has served as a faculty member at the National Insurance Academy, Pune. He was also the Chairman of the Committee appointed by the interim Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) for prescribing norms, rules and regulations in the area of finance. He has also been a member of three other IRA Committees on technical issues, investment matters and insurance regulatory information system. He was a member of FICCI’s Reinsurance Sub-Committee, the Insurance Tariff Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Finance of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Currently he is a member of IRDA’s Reinsurance Advisory Committee and the Committee to suggest regulatory changes with regard to capital structure, IPOs, mergers & acquisitions etc. of insurance companies. He is also a member of the Educational Advisory Council of the School of Management, SRM University, Tamil Nadu.

anthony ruys

Anthony Ruys (64) joined the ITC Board as a representative of BAT on January 20, 2009. He holds a degree in commercial law from the University of Utrecht and a Master's degree (AMP 104) from the Harvard Business School.

Ruys commenced his career with Unilever in 1974. During his long tenure with Unilever, he served at various senior positions, including that of marketing director and chairman of various subsidiary companies in the Netherlands, Colombia and Italy. In 1993, he joined Heineken as a member of its Executive Board, became Vice-Chairman in 1996 & Chairman in 2002 and remained in that position till 2005. In March 2006, he was appointed to the Board of BAT as a Non-Executive Director. Currently, Ruys is also on the Boards of Lottomatica SpA, Schiphol Group NV, Janivo Holdings BV, besides serving as Chairman on the Board of Trustees of Rijksmuseum, Aids Foundation and Madurodam (Miniature City).

basudeb sen

Basudeb Sen (63) has been on the Board of ITC since March 23,1995, first as a nominee and then as a representative of the Unit Trust of India (UTI), and from July 28, 2000 in his individual capacity as a Non-Executive Independent Director. Sen has over 32 years of management experience in different areas of commercial banking, coal mining, development banking and investment management. He is an M.A. in Economics from the University of Calcutta and a Ph.D. from the Indian Statistical Institute, besides being an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.

Sen has been associated with management education as director / visiting faculty of various business schools and as course director in executive development programmes. He has contributed several articles in academic/ professional journals and financial papers on a wide range of issues related to management, economics, banking, financial markets and energy.

He has served as Chairman and Managing Director of the Industrial Investment Bank of India Limited and Executive Director of UTI. His special interest / expertise areas include corporate governance, sustainability, strategic planning, risk management system, investment portfolio management and fund marketing & credit / project appraisal.

Sen has served as Chairman and / or Member of various working groups / committees set up by SEBI, RBI and Indian financial institutions and industry associations on issues such as consortium lending, corporate governance, institutional disinvestment, overseas investment by mutual funds, money markets and corporate debt restructuring. He has been / is on the Boards of several companies in sectors like infrastructure, engineering, petrochemicals, electronics and financial services.

He is the Director on the Boards of South Asian Petrochem Ltd and SREI Venture Capital Limited, among others.

k vaidyanath

K Vaidyanath (62) was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of ITC with effect from January 3, 2011. Prior to this, he was an Executive Director on the ITC Board for 10 years since January 2001 responsible for the Company's Finance, IT, Internal Audit and Corporate Communication functions, its investment subsidiary, its Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging and Information Technology businesses.

Before his elevation to the Board as an Executive Director, he was the Company's Chief Financial Officer. An MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, in his 35-year tenure with ITC, Vaidyanath, has held various positions in the Company's Finance function. He has been a recipient of the 'Best CFO' award from Business Today and the 'Best CFO in the FMCG category' award from CNBC-TV18.

b vijayaraghavan

B Vijayaraghavan (77) joined the ITC Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director on November 25, 1996. Vijayaraghavan was in the Indian Administrative Service from 1957 to 1993, when he retired in the rank of Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu. He has served as Secretary to the Tamil Nadu Government in the Public Works, Forests & Fisheries, Prohibition and Excise and Home departments. He has been the Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Member - Board of Revenue and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Tamil Nadu, Chairman and President, Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited, Chairman and Managing Director - State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu and Vigilance Commissioner and Commissioner for Administrative Reforms, Tamil Nadu. During this period, he had also chaired various government committees concerning forests, wildlife, environment and reform of sales tax laws and administration.

After his retirement from Government service, Vijayaraghavan was a Member of the Syndicates of Alagappa University and Bharathidasan University, Member of the Governing Council, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History and Member of the Committee for Economic Reforms, Jammu and Kashmir and a Trustee of the Indian Bank Mutual Fund and arbitrator for disputes between the public sector coal companies and the State Electricity Boards of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Vijayaraghavan is currently Chairman, Chennai Snake Park Trust.