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Godrej: As soon as the name of Godrej is heard, the picture of safe and cupboard starts forming in the mind, but this brand does not make only this. From home locks (lock ) to luxury flats, from food to soap, Godrej has spread across many sectors. The company which saw the first dawn of independence from slave India has been divided today after 127 years. The company is going to be divided into two parts. With this, the long standing dispute over distribution of Godrej has come to an end. As soon as the news of this partition came, questions started rising in people’s minds that why did this situation happen to the Godrej family, one of the oldest and largest corporate houses of the country? After partition, what will be in whose hands now, who will get the responsibility?
Why is there division in Godrej family?
Godrej is splitting into two parts. On one side are Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir Godrej, while on the other side are his cousins Jamshed Godrej and Smita Godrej Krishna. Adi is the Chairman of Godrej Group while Nadir is the Chairman of Godrej Industries and Godrej Agrovet. While his cousin Jamshed is the chairman of non-listed Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company. His sister Smita Krishna and Rishad Godrej also have stake in Godrej & Boyce. This division is being done to re-structure the ownership of its shareholding in Godrej companies. The split was undertaken to better determine ownership of the company, while acknowledging the differing viewpoints of the Godrej family members.
Who got what after the division of Godrej?
With this split, Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir Godrej have got ownership of 5 listed companies of Godrej Group – Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Industries, Godrej Agrovet and Astec Lifesciences, while Jamshed and his sister Smita have got ownership of unlisted companies and land bank. Got ownership of. After partition, important responsibilities will now be in the hands of the new generation. After the split, the responsibility of engineering, home appliances, furniture, security products, systems for aerospace, industrial logistics and infrastructural development working under Godrej & Boyce will be in the hands of Jamshed Godrej and his sister.
Entry of new generation in Godrej
Preparations are being made to hand over responsibilities to the new generation in the group. Adi Godrej’s son Pirojsha Godrej will be the new face of Godrej Industries Group. After assuming the responsibility of Vice Chairman of the company, he will replace Nadir Godrej in the year 2026. Presently he is handling the responsibility of Godrej Real Estate Business. Now Nairika Holkar will also take a big responsibility in the company. Nairika Holkar is the niece of Jamshed Godrej and daughter of Smita Krishna.
How was Godrej started?
In 1897, lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Ardeshir Godrej started the company. Along with his brother, he used to make locks, keys and medical devices by hand. Started with surgical blades, but in those days incidents of theft started increasing. Ardeshir got the idea of making a lock. This idea became a hit. In the year 1911, King George V ordered Ardeshir to make strong safes to keep his valuables. After this the company gradually expanded into many sectors.
Godrej Family Tree
Since Ardeshir had no children, his younger brother Pirojsha inherited the Godrej Group. Pirojsha had four children. Sohrab, Dosa, Burjor and Naval. Father handed over the responsibility of Godrej to Burjor and Naval. Burjor has sons Adi Godrej and Nadir Godrej, while Naval has son Jamshed Godrej and daughter Smita Krishna. Sohrab had no children. Dosa has a son Rashid. Moving towards the next i.e. fourth generation of the Godrej family, Adi Godrej has three children, Tanya, Nisaba and Pirojsha. Nadir has three children. Jamshed Godrej has two children, Raika and Navroz, while Smita has Prayer and Nairika. Rishad Godrej does not have any children.
How big is the business of Godrej Group?
The business of Godrej Group can be estimated from the fact that they have five companies listed in the stock market, whose market capitalization is Rs 2.4 lakh crore. The flagship of the company is Godrej Industries whose market cap is Rs 32,344 crore. Apart from this, the company also has many non-listed companies. There are also Godrej Agrovet, Godrej Properties and Astec Life Sciences.
