Manjushree Khaitan:

Manjushree Khaitan, the chairperson of Kesoram Industries Limited and the daughter of the group’s patriarch, Basant Kumar Birla, passed away on Thursday at Birla Park in Kolkata after a prolonged illness. She was 69 years old.

M. Khaitan joined the Kesoram board in month of October 1998. However, Basant Kumar’s succession plan for Kesoram became evident in 2013 when M. Khaitan was named executive vice-chairman. Following her father’s death in July 2019, she assumed the position of non-executive chairperson.

Kesoram Industries Limited has majorly two primary businesses — tyre and cement. M. Khaitan implemented several restructuring measures to stabilize the company and reduce its debt. Last year, Kesoram Industries Limited opted to demerge its cement division and entered discussions with UltraTech Cement, managed by her nephew Kumar Mangalam Birla, to transfer the business in an all-stock deal. Regulatory approvals are still pending.

The tyre business was separated a few years ago and subsequently acquired by Himadri Speciality Chemical and Dalmia Bharat Refractories through a corporate insolvency resolution process.

M Khaitan dedicated her life into the realm of education beyond the boardroom.Her four-decade-long involvement with the Ashok Hall Group of schools is a proof to her commitment to nurturing young minds, particularly focusing on empowering girls from underprivileged backgrounds, according to group officials.

Her untimely demise is an irreplaceable loss for Kesoram Industries Limited and its subsidiaries, which had recently started to show significant progress.

As a philanthropist, she was always personally invested in supporting of society. She was also a passionate art enthusiast, aiding numerous artists through her active engagement with the Birla Academy of Fine Arts.

In 2023, the daughter of Manjushree Khaitan and co-chairperson of Mangalam Cement, Vidula Jalan, had passed away.