Re-jig of roles

In a surprise development, Jeh (Jehangir) Wadia, the younger of Nusli Wadia’s two sons, replaces his older sibling Ness as the joint managing director (MD) of the Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company Limited, the flagship company of the Wadia Group. Ness has now been appointed MD of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited, a Group company with interests in tea and coffee plantations, laminates and weighing products, springs, dental, ophthalmic and orthopedic products and auto electrical components. Jeh will step down as deputy MD of Bombay Burmah, but will continue to be on the company’s board as additional director. Ness has been made an additional director of Bombay Dyeing. The appointments came into effect from April 1, 2011.

Various speculative interpretations have been made in the media regarding the new posts — precursor to a succession plan, prelude to a family split and division of assets, replacement for non-performance, etc. "This is an effort to revitalize the Group that had really missed many opportunities post liberalization, be it Bombay Dyeing or Bombay Burmah,” Rishikesha T. Krishnan, professor of corporate strategy at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, is quoted in Mint, March 31, 2011. "This is another attempt by the Wadia Group to energize the team for transformation by shaking up, aimed at getting new thinking and dynamism within the Group.”

Nusli Wadia: revamping management

Ness, who will be 41 this May, had initially joined Bombay Dyeing as a management trainee in 1993. He has held the post of joint MD since August 2001. Renowned for its cotton textiles, Bombay Dyeing has faced increasing competition, and despite realizing substantial monetary gains from its real estate assets, has struggled to surmount the stresses.

Ness has also been in the limelight as co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, one of the franchisees in IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket. Profiled in a front page interview in the Bombay Times, April 20, 2011, Ness spoke about the year 2010 for the team: "Disastrous and full of struggles, legally speaking (laughs). Court cases were there as was the team’s debacle in the tournament… It drove all of us crazy and had it continued, we would have all been in a mental asylum. Finally it turned positive as the court granted us relief.” (The High Court order allowing them to bid for players in the auction for the fourth edition of the IPL came just about an hour before the deadline to retain players expired. They had also to furnish in a very short time a Rs 100 crore bank guarantee before the auction.) Asked about whether he was still considering selling his stake in the team, Ness replied: "… have you gone nuts? Having struggled so much, if I think of selling the team now, it will be an act of cowardice. The team’s like my baby…” Quizzed about his marriage plans, the eligible bachelor remarked: "Don’t worry. I will tell you myself. Nothing’s happening on that front right now.”

Jeh and Ness Wadia: switching roles

The low cost airline GoAir, regarded as Jeh’s baby, has also seen much turbulence. Functioning as GoAir’s MD since it launched operations in 2005, Jeh is in the midst of an expansion plan, reports The Economic Times, April 7. The brothers are on the boards of almost all the Group companies, including Britannia Industries. "Unlike other business groups like Bajaj, Reliance and S. Kumar, where the assets have been split among family members, at Wadias there has been no such division,” notes The Times of India, March 30, 2011. The Group has a joint MD structure in most companies — one from the family and one professional, the paper adds. At Bombay Dyeing, Jeh has Durgesh Mehta as joint MD and chief financial officer. Ness has Ashok Panjwani as joint MD at Bombay Burmah.