Gautam Hari Singhania has been appointed as the manager chairman of Raymond Life-style, following shareholder approval by means of a Postal Poll on December 4, 2024.
In accordance with the corporate’s submitting with SEBI, 86.85% of votes supported the decision, whereas 13.15% opposed it. This marks a major milestone for Raymond Life-style because it gears up for its centenary 12 months, specializing in driving progress and enhancing operational effectivity.
Sunil Kataria has been named the managing director of the corporate. He beforehand served because the chief govt officer of Raymond Life-style (India & Worldwide) since March 2022. Previous to this function, he was the CEO of India and South Asia at Godrej Shopper Merchandise (GCPL) from 2015, the place he performed a key function in scaling up and remodeling the enterprise. Kataria has additionally held management positions in retail and telecom, overseeing massive and sophisticated operations.
He started his profession at Marico, spending over a decade in gross sales and advertising. With intensive expertise throughout the FMCG and shopper providers sectors, Kataria brings experience in advertising, gross sales, enterprise planning, technique, and group management.
Singhania’s appointment is a key a part of Raymond Life-style’s technique to capitalise on his huge business expertise and management to drive future progress. The decision formalises his function for a five-year time period, geared toward enhancing operational effectivity and positioning the corporate for continued success.
Regardless of shareholder approval, Singhania’s appointment has confronted criticism from company governance watchdogs, with considerations raised about transparency and reputational dangers. The proposal encountered important opposition from governance advisory corporations Empowerment Companies (SES) and Institutional Investor Advisory Companies India (IiAS), in accordance with media stories. These corporations had urged shareholders to reject the decision, citing governance considerations and potential reputational dangers surrounding the choice.
SES, a company governance advisory agency, raised a number of considerations about Singhania’s appointment, noting that his function was publicly introduced earlier than receiving formal board approval, which raised questions concerning the firm’s decision-making course of. The agency additionally questioned Singhania’s means to handle full-time govt roles at each Raymond and Raymond Life-style, arguing that no particular person ought to maintain a number of full-time positions until the companies are carefully aligned.
IiAS, one other outstanding advisory agency, criticised Singhania’s proposed pay construction for its lack of transparency. The absence of a cap on his remuneration and performance-linked incentives, together with the dearth of malus or clawback provisions for underperformance, led IiAS to explain the compensation bundle as “open-ended” and missing important safeguards, in accordance with media stories.
Singhania has been main Raymond as chairman and managing director since September 1990. A commerce graduate from the College of Mumbai, Singhania brings over three a long time of experience in business, enterprise, and company administration. He has performed a key function in coverage planning, imaginative and prescient and technique improvement, and overseeing the long-term progress of the Group alongside the Board of Administrators.
Written with the View : afaqs