A quarter century’s effort by one of India’s best known billionaires to make a go of the telecoms business has come to naught, leaving him to play catch-up with more nimble-footed peers.
Kumar Mangalam Birla has finally thrown in the towel. It’s as close as it gets to an admission of defeat in the fight to save Vodafone Idea. A fight he’s been fighting for many years now.
On 4 August, the board of directors of Vodafone Idea accepted his request to step down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman and elected current non-executive director Himanshu Kapania as the non-executive chairman.
India loves its homegrown billionaires. The names Tata, Birla and Ambani are often used by people to emphasize the importance of prudent business decisions that led to these families amassing wealth …
Surendar helps lead the newsroom at The Morning Context as executive editor. Over the years, Surendar has worked in industries from pharmaceuticals to diamonds, as well as a stint as an equity analyst. In his long career as a business journalist, he has led teams at The Times of India, India Today and Fortune India. He was part of the founding team at Forbes India and interned at and published in The Times, London.
Executive Editor
surendar@mailtmc.com
Mumbai