Adi Godrej, chairman of Godrej Industries, is likely to take charge tomorrow as chairman of the governing board of the Indian School of Business (ISB). He will be replacing Rajat Gupta.
The governing board is also likely to request Analjit Singh, founder and chairman of Max India Limited, to take over as vice-chairman.
Godrej will be only the second chairman of the Hyderabad-based business school, founded 10 years ago. It has rapidly risen up the ladder of global B-school rankings.
ISB’s first board meeting after Gupta’s resignation is tomorrow, its 10th Graduation Day. The B-school has said the dean would make an important announcement.
Gupta, co-founder and chairman, announced his intention to quit after being accused of helping his friend and Galleon hedge fund chief, Raj Rajaratnam with insider information about Goldman Sachs, where he was a director. The case is open before the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Gupta’s resignation comes on the back of other high-profile exits made by persons holding positions in ISB. Anil Kumar, another co-founder, quit in January last year after pleading guilty in the same Galleon-related case. Earlier,
M Rammohan Rao had to quit as dean in the wake of the Satyam scandal. Rao was an independent director on the erstwhile Satyam board.
ISB still has on its board business luminaries like Rahul Bajaj, in addition to Godrej. The Godrej group is a consumer products conglomerate that makes locks, soaps, mosquito repellents, furniture and foods.
