Kolkata :
Deepak Khaitan, the vice-chairman of Williamson Magor Group and the eldest son of B M Khaitan, passed away at his Kolkata residence on Monday morning. He was 60 and is survived by his wife Yashodhara, son Amritansu, daughter Nitya and grand daughters. Khaitan was suffering from cancer for over 8 years.
B M Khaitan Group includes companies like Eveready Industries, Mcleod Russel and Mcnally Bharat Engineering among others. Khaitan was the vice-chairman of Eveready and chairman of Mcnally Bharat. An MBA from Geneva, Khaitan served as the managing director of Eveready Industries until August 10, 2011. He had over 30 years of experience in business enterprises in India.
Khaitan had in-depth knowledge of tea, batteries and engineering industries. He became the chairman of McNally Sayaji Engineering Ltd on June 11, 2009 and was also the non-executive chairman of Kilburn Engineering Limited. He was the executive chairman at McNally Bharat Engineering Co Ltd and also served as chairman of its board till August 12, 2011.
Khaitan was involved in developmental matters of Eveready and Mcnally till 2012. A close associate of Khaitan said that he was instrumental in making Williamson Magor Group the largest bulk tea producer in the country.
Between 2004 and 2007, the group had three to four major acquisitions where he played an active role. The acquisitions include Williamson Tea Assam from its owners in UK, Doomdooma Tea from Unilever (then Hindustan Lever) and Moran Tea. In July 2005, McLeod Russel acquired Borelli Tea Holdings from the Magor family based in England and took over the 17 tea estates of its Indian subsidiary Williamson Tea Assam Ltd. McLeod Russel also acquired two more quality tea companies in Assam — Doomdooma Tea Company and Moran Tea Company India Limited. All three were then merged with McLeod Russel India Limited, making the group the largest tea producing company in the world. Khaitan also had a role in the acquisition of Eveready from Union Carbide in 1994.
Indian Chamber of Commerce, where Khaitan was president in 1992, condoled his death. “During his tenure, ICC achieved new heights of excellence through a process of interaction and consultation with international and Indian experts on economy, business and management,” said ICC director general Rajeev Singh.
Nazeeb Arif, who worked with Khaitan as ICC secretary-general, said, “I will always remember him for his courage of conviction, his extremely forthright and honest views, thorough professionalism and deep commitment.”
MCC Chamber released a statement after Khaitan’s death. “We at the MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry are shocked at his sudden demise and pay our respectful homage to his immortal soul,” the statement said. .
“The death of such an industrial doyen from Bengal is really sad,” said P Roy, director general of Bengal Chamber of Commerce.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / March 10th, 2015