Y C Deveshwar, a doyen Of Indian Corporate Sector, Is No More

YOGESH Chandra Deveshwar, longest serving corporate chief of the multi -business house India Tobacco Company Limited, passed away in Gurugram on Saturday morning after brief illness, He was 72. He is survived by wife Bharati and children Gaurav and Garima. He had stepped down from executive role in 2017 but remained as a chairman in non-executive capacity, spearheaded the diversification of ITC to an FMCG company. Recalling   his qualities of head and heart, Sanjiv Puri, his successor as CEO and MD of the company, said in a statement   “We deeply mourn the passing away of Y C Deveshwar. In this hour of profound grief and sorrow, we recall with respect and pride the legendary stewardship he provided to ITC over two decades as its Chairman. He had led ITC’s strategic thrust to create an exemplary Indian enterprise dedicated to serving national priorities,” he said. Deveshwar passionately championed the cause for sustainable and inclusive growth and the transformative role businesses could play in creating larger societal value. This vision drove ITC to pursue business models that today supports over 6 million livelihoods, many amongst the weakest in society,” he added. Deveshwar, an aluminous of the Indian Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering and Harvard Business School, Massachusetts, was recipient of a diploma AMP Hoteliering from Cornell University in the United States and did a course on advanced training in the field of services. In 1968, He had joined the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) as a management trainee.In 1972, he was made advisor MBO to corporate headquarters in Kolkata. In 1974, the ITC’s packaging and printing plant in Chennai in the factory took over as manager. In 1984, he was made a director and chief executive since 1996 and has served as president of ITC Foods. ITC, led by YC Deveshwar reshaping sustainability efforts, innovative business model took etiquette. In 2004, according to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative ITC to present its Sustainability Report became the first Indian organization. Under Deveshwar, ITC ‘World Business Award’ United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was jointly won by, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), said Sanjiv Puri. Under his leadership, ITC was successful in averting takeover threat from its largest shareholder BAT and it made a successful diversification in the FMCG category. Under him, ITC’s revenues grew from Rs 5,200 crore to over Rs 51,500 crore and generated shareholder returns of 23.3% compounded annually.  Padma award recipient,  Deveshwar  also headed  CII –Confederation of Indian Industry- and was also on the  Board  of  Governors  of  The Indian School of Business and  the Indian Institute of Management.