Y C Deveshwar, noted industry leader and ITC Chairman, passes away

Y C Deveshwar (72), the noted industry leader and ITC Chairman, has passed away in Gurugram on May 11, 2019. He was India’s longest serving CEO and had received the India’s third-highest civilian award ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2011. Deveshwar took over as chairman of ITC group in 1996 when the company was going through its worst crisis. Under his leadership, ITC battled resistance from its largest shareholder BAT and it made a successful diversification in the FMCG category. He transformed the cigarette major into a diversified player with interests in FMCG, hospitality, IT and other sectors. In 2017, Deveshwar stepped down as chief executive of ITC Ltd, India’s largest cigarette maker . After that, he moved to the role of non executive chairman. He was also a director on the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). ITC Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal.