On 11 May India lost one of its jewels who steered a tobacco company to become a world famous Indian conglomerate ITC Limited. Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, the chairman of ITC Limited, breathed his last, aged 72, on 11 May after losing his battle with cancer. But what he has left from his incredible journey in the Indian business circle is a rich legacy of business acumen and leadership that will inspire countless in umpteen ways forever.
Deveshwar was the stalwart who changed the face of ITC Limited from being a cigarette manufacturer to a multinational conglomerate with interests in multifarious sectors; and every sector being replete with the brand value called ITC, be it hospitality, FMCG, agri business or IT.
Born in 1947 in Lahore, British India, Deveshwar graduated in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1968. Later, he received an Advanced Management Program diploma from Harvard Business School, Massachusetts; he also did a course on advanced training in Hoteliering and Services from Cornell University in the USA.
In 1968, Deveshwar joined ITC Limited, then known as Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited, as a management pupil, and by dint of hard work and mettle, quickly rose through the ranks: in 1972, he was made the MBO advisor to the corporate headquarters in Kolkata; two years later, he became the factory manager of the packaging and printing plant in Chennai; in 1984, only sixteen years after he first joined ITC, he was made one of the directors of the company. Subsequently, he was appointed the chief executive and chairman of ITC in 1996. He was the longest-serving chairman of the company, and also the longest-serving CEO in India.
Deveswar also held stints as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, a member of the board of Indian Airlines, a director on the central board of the Reserve Bank of India, and a member of the National Foundation for Corporate Governance.
During Deveshwar’s term, ITC grew from a `5,000 crore company to a `27,000 company, its profit growing from `260 crore to `4,000 crore. The value of ITC grew from `5,500 crore in 1996 to `1,14,000 crore in 2010.
Deveshwar successfully decreased ITC’s reliance on tobacco sales by rejuvenating its hotel business (which was once on the verge of collapsing), diversifying the FMCG business to other areas such as education and stationery, information technology, packaged food and personal care. He also extended the Wills brand to other areas such as lifestyle retailing.
Away from corporate focus of toplines and bottomlines, Deveshwar dreamt of making ITC a company known for its focus on sustainability, creating value, and supporting livelihoods of many.
His visionary decision to focus non-tobacco segment stood ITC in good stead and today the segment constitutes 59 per cent of its total revenue.
In 2000, ITC undertook a unique initiative known as e-Choupal, a path breaking initiative taken by Deveshawr, which originally linked farmers in Madhya Pradesh online to procure crops. E-Choupal now extends to 10 states covering over 4 million farmers.
Deveshwar took renewed efforts to sustain the ITC, nullifying the chances of a takeover from its largest shareholder BAT. In 2004, ITC became the first Indian organization to submit its sustainability report as per the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative.
Y.C. Deveshwar won several awards and accolades in his lifetime, including ‘The Best Hotelier of the Year’ award in 1986, Lakshya Business Visionary Award in 2006 and SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award in 2007. In 2011, the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India, was conferred on him. In 2013, the Harvard Business Review ranked him as the best-performing CEO in India, and the seventh-best in the world.
‘Yogi’, as he was fondly called by his peers in the business circle, Y C Deveshwar was a true sage of the Indian economy who will always be remembered for his sagacity in business and beyond.
