ITC Limited :: Leadership

P B Ramanujam (68) has been on the Board of ITC since October 30, 1998, first as a representative of GIC and its erstwhile subsidiaries and then in his individual capacity as a Non-Executive Independent Director. A qualified Chartered Accountant, Ramanujam has held several responsibilities in GIC covering finance, accounts, investments, reinsurance, information technology etc. He was General Manager and Director with the National Insurance Company Limited, and the Managing Director of GIC till July 31, 2004.

Ramanujam has served as a faculty member at the National Insurance Academy, Pune. He was also the Chairman of the Committee appointed by the interim Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) for prescribing norms, rules and regulations in the area of finance. He has also been a member of three other IRA Committees on technical issues, investment matters and insurance regulatory information system. He was a member of FICCI's Reinsurance Sub-Committee, the Insurance Tariff Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Finance of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Currently he is a member of IRDA's Reinsurance Advisory Committee and the Committee to suggest regulatory changes with regard to capital structure, IPOs, mergers & acquisitions etc. of insurance companies.

S. S. H. Rehman (69) was appointed as an Additional Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of ITC effective July 27, 2012. His illustrious career began with a tenure in the Indian Army after he graduated from the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. He moved to the hospitality industry in 1975 and joined ITC in 1979, beginning a three decade association with the Company.

Rehman was appointed Managing Director of erstwhile ITC Hotels Limited in 1994. Subsequently, he joined the Board of ITC as an Executive Director in 1997, and over the next 12 years was responsible for several businesses - Hotels, Travel & Tourism and Foods. During this period, he ably led ITC's Hotels business in consolidating its position as one of India's leading hospitality chains.

Rehman was the Founder President of the Hotel Association of India, and a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council, Experience India / Incredible India and has headed several industry associations including tourism committees of FICCI, ASSOCHAM and CII. Rehman has been a recipient of several awards and honours, recognising his vast contribution to Indian hospitality industry. Rehman is a Non-Executive Director of Max Healthcare Institute Limited.

Anthony Ruys (65) joined the ITC Board as a representative of BAT on January 20, 2009. He holds a degree in commercial law from the University of Utrecht and a Master's degree from the Harvard Business School.

Ruys commenced his career with Unilever in 1974. During his long tenure with Unilever, he served at various senior positions, including that of marketing director and chairman of various subsidiary companies in Netherlands, Colombia and Italy. In 1993, he joined Heineken as a member of its Executive Board, became Vice-Chairman in 1996 & Chairman in 2002 and remained in that position till 2005. In March 2006, he was appointed to the Board of BAT as a Non-Executive Director. Currently, Ruys also serves as Chairman on the Board of Trustees of Aids Foundation and Madurodam (Miniature City).

Meera Shankar (62) was appointed as an Additional Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of ITC effective September 6, 2012. A Post Graduate in English Literature, she joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973 and had an illustrious career spanning 38 years. She served in the Prime Minister's Office for six years, from 1985 to 1991 working on foreign policy and security matters. Thereafter, she led the Commercial Wing in the Indian Embassy in Washington as Minister (Commerce) till 1995. She returned as Director General of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations overseeing India's cultural diplomacy. She has had extensive experience in South Asia having worked on Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives as Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Later, as Joint Secretary she headed divisions dealing with neighbours, Nepal and Bhutan, and the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC). As Additional Secretary, she handled the UN and international security issues.

K. Vaidyanath (63) was appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of ITC effective January 3, 2011. Prior to this appointment, he was an Executive Director on the ITC Board for 10 years from January 2001, responsible for the Company's Finance, IT, Internal Audit and Corporate Communication functions, its investment subsidiary, its Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging and Information Technology businesses.

Before his elevation to the Board as an Executive Director, he was the Company's Chief Financial Officer. An MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, in his 35-year tenure with ITC, Vaidyanath held various positions in the Company's Finance function. He has been a recipient of the 'Best CFO' Award from Business Today and the 'Best CFO in the FMCG category' Award from CNBC-TV18.