Godrej Jr to be executive chairman of Properties

Mumbai: In a major top-level change at

Godrej Properties

, chairman Adi Godrej will assume the role of chairman emeritus, making way for son

Pirojsha Godrej

, who is MD & CEO of the company, to take over as executive chairman from April 1. Mohit Malhotra, an executive director at Godrej Properties, will be the new MD and CEO.

This is the first time the patriarch has moved to a chairman emeritus position in a significant group company. Adi Godrej, who will be 74 this year, continues to be chairman of

Godrej Consumer Products

(

GCPL

) and Godrej Industries. The move makes Pirojsha, 36, the first among the next generation of Godrejs to take over as chairman of a publicly listed group firm.

Considering that the senior members of the Godrej family — Adi Godrej, Jamshyd Godrej (67) and Nadir Godrej (65) — have been leading the 120-year-old Group for four decades, there has been speculation on how the succession will play out. Pirojsha’s appointment as chairman of Godrej Properties has triggered a fresh round of speculation as to whether he is being groomed to take on a significant role within the $4.5 billion Godrej Group. , which has diversified interested in consumer products, appliances, chemicals, agri inputs, locks, aerospace and properties.

A few days ago, Pirojsha, who is named after one of the founders of the Godrej Group, was nominated as director on the board of GCPL, a flagship company of the Group. Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej Group, however, denied any such speculation. “The change is only happening at Godrej Properties. I continue to be chairman at GCPL and Godrej Industries,” Godrej told TOI.Adi Godrej’s elder daughter Tanya Dubash (48), who is executive director & chief brand officer at the Godrej Group, also heads Godrej Nature’s Basket, an unlisted firm. His second daughter, Nisa Godrej (38), on the other hand, oversees innovation, strategy and HR for Godrej Industries and its associate companies. At Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company, which is chaired by Jamshyd Godrej, his son Navroze Godrej has been bringing about a major change in design thinking and is also on the board of the company.

But for Pirojsha, in the years that he has led Godrej Properties, the company has become one of the fastest growing real estate developers in India. In 2016, Godrej Properties emerged as India’s largest publicly listed real estate developer by sales. Within eight years of his joining Godrej Properties in 2004, he was elevated as MD and CEO. This made him the first among the current generation of Godrejs to take on P&L (profit and loss) responsibility of a listed company in the group.

In a statement, Adi Godrej, said: “There will be many exciting opportunities in the Indian real estate space in the coming decades and the leadership team at Godrej Properties is well placed to capture these opportunities and successfully build an outstanding company.”

With an objective of establishing the company as the country’s leading real estate developer, Pirojsha Godrej, said: “I’d like to thank my father for his foresight in establishing Godrej Properties and for his inspirational leadership that has helped the company grow to this stage. I look forward to his continued guidance.”

Pirojsha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Godrej Prop elevates Pirojsha as chief, Adi Godrej to be Chairman Emeritus