Jeh Wadia leaves boards of Bombay Burmah, Britannia
MUMBAI: Jehangir Wadia, the younger son of Wadia Group patriarch Nusli Wadia, has quit the boards of Britannia Industries Ltd and Bombay Burmah Trading Corp., severing formal ties with all listed businesses of the $15 billion Wadia Group.
In March, he stepped down as managing director at family controlled airline Go First (then Go Airlines) and Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
The departure of the 48-yearold business executive once presumed to be Nusli Wadia’s successor from all the marquee publicly traded companies of the group is unexplained. Jeh Wadia, as well as a spokesperson for Wadia Group and Nusli Wadia, did not respond to questions from Mint.
In its latest annual report released last week, Britannia said Jeh did not offer himself for reappointment to the board
“Mr. Jehangir N. Wadia, nonexecutive director, who retires by rotation at the ensuing AGM (annual general meeting) in terms of Section 152 of the Companies Act, 2013, has not offered himself for reappointment. The board of directors at their meeting held on July 30, 2021, resolved not to fill the resulting vacancy, and the same is placed before the members at the ensuing AGM for their approval,” the annual report said.
The latest annual report of Bombay Burmah carries an identical notice, and the resolution will be brought before its shareholders at its annual meeting.
Bombay Burmah was the company Jeh joined when he entered the family business in July 2001. He was inducted into the board of Britannia in September 2005. National Peroxide is the fourth listed firm of the Wadia Group, but Jeh was also not on the board of the specialty chemical firm.
While neither Wadia nor the group has commented on the development, two people aware of developments said the departure is connected to differences with father, Nusli Wadia.
Signs of strain in familial ties came in May, when Go First, in its draft share sale documents ahead of an initial public offering, said it was exploring legal action against Jeh Wadia, who was the company’s managing director till March, over ownership of the Go Air brand name and other such assets. Jeh Wadia owns the Go Air brand name through a privately held firm, and the company’s IPO prospectus said he has made ownership claims over the brand and related trademarks.
When Jeh Wadia quit Go Air and Bombay Dyeing in March, the group said it was part of a move to hand over control to professional executives.
Bombay Dyeing made an identical statement in a regulatory filing.