India Inc's GenNext: After Mistry and Premji, it's Hiranandani

From Cyrus Mistry to Rishad Premji, young blood will be oozing through the leadership corridors of India Inc this year as the old gives way to the new.

Over the past few years, many Indian firms have handed the reins to their kin, paving the way for eventual succession.

[caption id=“attachment_270955” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Niranjan Hiranandani, head, Hiranandani Group”]  [/caption]

And the latest entrant in this younger workforce is India’s largest private realty player Hirananandi. According to a report in the Mint, “Niranjan Hiranandani’s 30-year-old son, Darshan Hiranandani, currently managing director of Hiranandani group, will take care of the group’s energy business, and Neha Hiranandani, 26, niece of Niranjan Hiranandani and the daughter of his brother, Surendra Hiranandani, is likely to take over the real estate projects.”

While Niranjan Hiranandani’s son has been a key asset in completing 23 Marina, one of the world’s tallest residential building in Dubai in 2011,his daughter Priya Vandrewala sold her business process outsourcing company for $100 million in 2005 when she was just 25.

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But the question of who will fit into my shoes once I retire is something India Inc’s old guard frets about constantly. Here are a couple of high-profile leadership changes that have taken place in corporate India:

Amruda, Aishwarya and Samyukta Nair, the grand-daughters of Captain Chittarath Poovakkatt Krishnan Nair, are all set to take over the reins of one of India’s luxury hotels - Hotel Leelaventure. They have joined the family business at a time when the company is going through a tough phase, reported the Economic Times in February.

Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group last year named 43-year-old Cyrus Mistry as successor to chairman Ratan Tata, who will hang up his boots in December, 2012.

Youngsters are being groomed at various other companies as well. For instance, Rishad Premji, the son of software czar Azim Premji, became chief strategy officer at Wipro in late 2011

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Similar instances of young blood taking on a leadership role were reflected in the cases of Alok Kirloskar at Kirloskar group and Shravin Mittal (son of Sunil Mittal) at Bharti Airtel, who is serving as senior executive at a group company.

Aditya Mittal, the son of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, has been serving as CFO at steel giant ArcelorMittal for quite some time.

At hospitality major Oberoi Group, Vikramjit Singh Oberoi is reportedly being groomed as a successor to his father P R S Oberoi, once the octogenarian hangs up his boot as chairman.

Currently, Vikram is serving as chief operating officer and joint managing director of the group’s flagship firm EIH Ltd, while his younger cousin Arjun Oberoi is chief planning officer and joint MD.

Soon after Vedanta group completed its acquisition of Cairn India, group chief Anil Agarwal’s daughter Priya Agarwal, 22, was named to the board of the acquired company.

Realty giant DLF has also seen a number of young members from the founder’s family joining the group in various positions.

For the newcomers, the pressure to carry on the business well or even better than their predecessors will be enormous. Challenges of culture, operating philosophy and investment style will be substantial in a changing India.