MUMBAI: Dabur India’s board on Friday approved the elevation of Amit Burman as chairman, and his second cousin Mohit vice-chairman, in line with the promoter family’s succession plan to get the next generation to spearhead one of the nation’s oldest consumer goods companies.
Son of the late GC Burman, Amit succeeds Anand Burman, who has stepped down as director and chairman after a 12-year tenure. Amit had thus far been serving as the vice-chairman.
Both Amit and Mohit have invested in sports properties. While Amit has placed his bets on poker (Poker Sports League) and indigenous Indian team sport kho kho (Ultimate Kho Kho), Mohit is a co-owner of Indian Premier League franchise Kings XI Punjab.
Amit, a fifth-generation member of the founder family, is the youngest chairman at Dabur, which clocks annual revenues of more than Rs 85 billion. Amit was being groomed for the post for the past two years, PTI quotes a company spokesperson as having said.
Amit has been credited with leading Dabur’s foray in the packaged food sector with the launch of it fruit juice brand ‘Real’, as well as other key strategic decisions.
In 1997 he set up Dabur Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dabur India that was merged with the parent ten years later. He also runs an independent food retailing venture Lite Bite Foods, which includes the Punjab Grill, Asia 7 and Street Foods brands of restaurants with more than 100 outlets, including in markets like the US.
Mohit, currently managing director of London Stock Exchange-listed Elephant Capital, has led the Dabur Family Office’s investments in multiple financial services including life insurance, general insurance and asset management, retail and sports. Besides IPL team Kings XI Punjab, his investments include Aviva Life Insurance and Universal Simon General Insurance.
Set up in 1884 by physician SK Burman to sell natural medicines, Dabur now makes a range of packaged brands including Vatika shampoo, Fem skincare, Red toothpaste, Odonil air fresheners, Real juice and Hommade cooking pastes. The company had in January named Mohit Malhotra its chief executive, succeeding Sunil Duggal who resigned also from the board on Friday.
