Calcutta, March 9: Deepak Khaitan, the non-executive vice-chairman of Williamson Magor Group, breathed his last this morning at his south Calcutta residence at upscale Queen's Park after a prolonged illness. 

Khaitan, who helped create the world's largest bulk tea producer, was 59 and is survived by wife Yashodhara, son Amritanshu, and daughter Nitya Bangur.

The eldest son of takeover tycoon and Williamson Magor patriarch Brij Mohan Khaitan, Deepak was always ready to embrace new ideas and deeply intolerant of sloth, complacency and archaic attitudes. 

Between 1982 and 1990, he had played a key role in the consolidation of the group that his father had created.

Khaitan had a huge appetite for risks - a trait that was most evident when he helped his father take over the tea estates of Williamson Magor in 2005. It helped turn group firm McLeod Russel into the largest tea producer in the world with a capacity of over 100 million kg.

In many ways it was also an emotional bet as B.M. Khaitan had started his career in tea with the Magors of the UK. Even though the Magors owned the company, the Khaitans managed the business in India before they split in 2001.Four years later, Deepak aided by brother Aditya, who now heads McLeod Russel, and his father, brought the estates within the family fold.

But this wasn't the only instance when Deepak Khaitan played a high stakes' game. He took a huge leap of faith when he decided to buy Union Carbide Corporation's stake in Union Carbide India and acquired Eveready, the dry cell battery brand. He not only expanded the business manifold but also introduced a range of new products to Eveready's portfolio.

Eveready went on to become a key player, grabbing a market share of over 50 per cent in dry cell batteries. It went on to expand its global footprint by acquiring a majority stake in French battery manufacturing firm Uniross SA.

Deepak Khaitan was an alumnus of St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, from where he secured a degree in commerce. He later went on to complete his MBA from the International Institute of Management, Geneva.

Prior to his stint in Switzerland, Khaitan had spent a few months at a tea estate to understand the finer nuances of the tea business, which remained a life-long passion. In 1980, he became the wholetime director of McNeil & Magor. 

He served as the president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in 1991-92, when India was taking its momentous steps towards liberalisation. Indian businesses - which had until then thrived on the so-called licence raj - suddenly found themselves confronting a situation where multinationals with deep pockets threatened to smash local monopolies. Khaitan tried to soothe those concerns and organised a series of interactions with Indian and foreign economists and other experts to help Indian businessmen understand the early challenges posed by what many termed "cowboy capitalism" - represented by large American corporations trying to muscle into local markets.

He was very vocal in expressing his concern that Bengal was unable to attract investments and suggested that the state government needed to hash out a credible policy on industrial resurgence and take proactive measures to frame incentivesthat would make businesses flourish.

Khaitan also had a passion for breeding racehorses that set the turf club on fire.

He was also very keen to blood the next generation of the Khaitan family. In August 2011, when he was just 56 years of age, he decided to step down from the post of executive vice-chairman and managing director of Eveready Industries Ltd (EIL) but stayed on as the non-executive vice-chairman. 

He was appointed executive chairman of McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd (MBE). Deepak said MBE needed focus and guidance and he intended to devote more time to it.

Son Amritanshu was inducted into the board as a wholetime director and went on to become the managing director of EIIL in 2014.

Condolences started pouring in on Monday soon after the news spread. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Delhi, tweeted: "Saddened to hear about the passing away of Deepak Khaitan. He loved Calcutta in a special way. My condolences to the family."

Several industry captains, including ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar, Apeejay Group chairman Karan Paul and Patton Group MD Sanjay Budhia, visited Khaitan's Queen's Park residence to pay their last respects.