In 2023 India Inc. learnt hard lessons on families, friends and partners
From Bharat Forge to Indigo to the Raymond Group to Religare Enterprises, several big businesses got embroiled in disputes in 2023, underlining the need for a clear succession plan, firewalling companies from relationship troubles and better stakeholder scrutiny. The year 2023 highlighted that as India's corporate sector matures and women in top roles assert themselves more, it needs to devise better ways to face a new future.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteNorthwestern UniversityKellogg Marketing Leadership Development ProgramVisitUniversity of Western AustraliaUWA Global MBAVisitIIM LucknowIIML Chief Marketing Officer ProgrammeVisitA sibling dispute
A common story of India Inc. is old family arrangements, often letters or other documents without proper legal backing, that are later disputed by next generations. Most of the businesses in India are family-owned, ranging from small enterprises to conglomerates such as the Tatas. Family-owned firms have contributed the most to India's business sector and large corporates can find much to learn from the success of family-owned businesses in India.
But, down the line, many of them run into disputes between family members that end up in courts. One such dispute arose this year between siblings. After their mother died In February this year, a dispute broke out between Sugandha Hiremath and Baba Kalyani, the siblings belonging to one of India's well-known business families. Hiremath, the non-executive director of pharma and chemicals company Hikal, has accused her brother Kalyani, CMD of Bharat Forge, of trying to “marginalise and oust” her and her husband from Hikal. The Hiremaths own about 35% in Hikal while
