Urvi Piramal on comeback trail

Ashok Piramal group comes to the fore.

A new corporate group is taking shape in the country. About a month after separating from the Ajay Piramal-controlled Piramal Enterprises, Ashok Piramal group is eking out a new identity for itself and setting up a multi-layered management structure.

The Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) diversified group, with interests in real estate, retail, textiles and engineering, has named itself after the founder Ashok Piramal, who died of heart attack 22 years ago.

Ashok's wife, Urvi, is the chairperson of the new entity, supported by an apex board comprising her three sons: Harsh, looking after textile and automotive; Rajeev (real estate) and Nandan (Piramyd Retail). All the three will be executive vice-chairmen.

The board also includes executive director Mahesh Gupta and group director, Jaidev Modi, who is Urvi's brother, and the managing directors of Peninsula Land, Piramyd Retail and Morarjee Textiles.

Other important office bearers are group's chief financial officer, V Hariharan, human resources head, Anil Noronha, treasurer Hardik Dhebar, and legal and secretarial head, M V Balajee.

These professionals and CEOs will be in charge of the group's day-to-day affairs.

The group will unveil its corporate logo this month.

Urvi Piramal said the theme of the logo -- which will depict seeds of the Ashoka tree- will be youth. For a group that has just begun to take shape, it could not be any other.

Urvi and Harsh stepped down from the board of Ajay Piramal group's flagship, Nicholas Piramal, last month.

That marked the culmination of an 18-month process to separate ownership and management from Piramal Enterprises. The three sons of Gopikrishna Piramal -- Ashok, Dilip and Ajay -- ran the businesses jointly after the father's death until Dilip ventured out on his own with VIP Industries and Blowplast in 1982-83. In 1984, Ashok died and Ajay became the chairman of Piramal Enterprises at the age of 29.

In 1988, Ajay acquired Nicholas Piramal, the pharmaceutical company.

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