Godrej: Welcome aboard

Calcutta, Sept. 3: Jamshyd Godrej, chairman and managing director of Godrej Boyce Manufacturing Company, is joining the board of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL).

Coming close on the heels of the inclusion of former Cabinet secretary and ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra on the Haldia Petro board, this is another step towards strengthening the board of the beleaguered petrochem company by building a core of independent directors. Representatives of the promoters and financial institutions so far peopled the HPL board.

The move to induct independent directors of national repute has been welcomed by the banks and the financial institutions.

A top-level official of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) said, “With the induction of Godrej and Naresh Chandra we are feeling more confident about the company. The company management appears to be giving more importance to corporate governance. They are also keen on making the company financially strong. We are also hoping to restructure the loans of the company.”

HPL officials credited chairman Tarun Das as being instrumental in bringing these people on the board. “These directors will be able to lobby for the company which is currently facing a financial crisis,” they said.

Jamshyd Godrej, an IIT graduate and an MBA from the Institute of Technology, Chicago, had been the past president of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He was the chairman of CII (western region) in 1989 and became the CII vice-president in 1992. At present, he is the chairman of the chamber’s manufacturing council. His company is the market leader in consumer products, office equipment and other consumer durables.