Anil Agarwal to be chairman emeritus of Sesa Sterlite

In a major overhaul of its board, Vedanta group firm Sesa Sterlite said on Monday that its non-executive chairman Anil Agarwal will now become chairman emeritus and also play the role of chief mentor.

 

His brother and the company's executive vice chairman Navin Agarwal will take over as chairman, while Tom Albanese, former head of Rio Tinto, will be the CEO, Sesa Sterlite said in a statement. 

 

The changes will take effect from April 1.

 

Mr Albanese, 56, has already been appointed the CEO of Vedanta Resources Plc - the group's parent firm - from April 1. 

 

He succeeds M S Mehta, who retires on Monday, March 31, at both the companies.

 

For many years, a single person - including Mr Mehta - has been the CEO of Vedanta group's two most prominent companies - Vedanta Resources and Sesa Sterlite (formerly Sterlite Industries).

 

"Navin Agarwal, currently Executive Vice Chairman, is appointed the Chairman of the Board. Anil Agarwal, Non-Executive Chairman, will now be the Chairman Emeritus of Sesa Sterlite, and will continue to provide his vision to the Group, and play the role of chief mentor," the company said.

 

The announcement has already triggered a buzz in industry circles whether Anil Agarwal is considering to become non-executive chairman of Vedanta Resources as well.

 

In November 2012, he had said that he wanted to hand over the reins of his $15-billion Vedanta group to a professional CEO over the next 3-4 years and would like to take the mentoring role as non-executive chairman thereafter.

 

Sesa Sterlite has also appointed two independent directors - Lalita Gupte and Naresh Chandra - and two full-time directors - Tarun Jain and D D Jalan - on its board.

 

Executive director (iron ore business) P K Mukherjee and independent director Kuldip Kaura have stepped down from the board, it said.

 

"With these appointments, we believe Sesa Sterlite has a well-rounded Board, with members bringing   wealth of experience and diverse expertise covering strategy and operations for global businesses,

international capital markets, public policy, law and corporate governance," Anil Agarwal said.

 

"I am certain that this will be invaluable as we continue to execute our strategy to deliver long term value for all stakeholders."

 

He also thanked outgoing members of Sesa Sterlite's board for their valuable contributions and leadership provided to the businesses over the years. 

 

Among the new members of the Sesa Sterlite board, Naresh Chandra is an ex-Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, while Lalita Gupte, a former joint managing director of ICICI Bank, currently heads ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Ltd.

 

D D Jalan has been the chief financial officer of the company, while Tarun Jain is a very old associate and is a key official of the group.