Voltas CEO to retire, COO to take over

Air conditioning and engineering services provider Voltas said on Monday that its MD & CEO

Sanjay Johri

would retire and

Pradeep Bakshi

, who is currently the COO, would succeed him. Johri’s retirement is effective February 10, 2018. Voltas also added that CFO Anil George will be its new deputy MD. Both Bakshi and George were named to the board of Voltas in June.

Bakshi, 55, joined Voltas in 2001 from

Electrolux Kelvinator

where he last held the post of a senior manager. Since moving to the Tata Group company, he has held several senior positions, most notably as the head of air cooling products business. Bakshi transformed the business, boosting its revenues and profitability. The unit’s profit crossed Rs 500 crore in fiscal 2017, a growth of 30% compared to fiscal 2016. Under Bakshi, Voltas pioneered the concept of energy-efficient air conditioners in the country and the brand is the leader in room ACs with a 22% market share.

George, 60, moved to Voltas in 2010 from

Tata Services

where he was the VP (management development and HR). He is credited with enhancing Voltas’ return on capital and stock price. From Rs 120 five years ago, the company’s share price has risen to Rs 530 now.

The incumbent MD Johri, 64, shifted to Voltas from another Tata Group company, RDI Print and Publishing (Reader’s Digest), in 2004 and has been at the helm of the former since 2010. According to the Tata Group’s HR policy, executive directors retire at 65. Under Johri’s leadership, Voltas has emerged as a billion-dollar company.

Voltas chairman Noel Tata said, “The appointments of Bakshi and George mark the culmination of a formal succession process, in which Johri and the board were engaged for two years to groom the leadership team.”

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