Grasim Industries’ board welcomes Ananya and Aryaman
The board of Aditya Birla Group flagship Grasim Industries Ltd on Monday named Ananya Birla, 28, and Aryaman Vikram Birla, 25, children of billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, as directors.
“Ananya and Aryaman come with rich and varied experience straddling entrepreneurship and business building,” the company said in a statement.
Grasim, which makes viscose staple fibre, viscose filament yarn, and insulators and proposes to enter the paint industry, holds a 57% stake in India’s largest building materials maker UltraTech Cement Ltd. The siblings were recently appoi-nted as directors on the board of Aditya Birla Management Corp. Pvt. Ltd, the apex body that provides strategic direction to the Aditya Birla Group’s businesses, and fashion retailer Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.
The Grasim board also inducted corporate lawyer Yezdi Piroj Dandiwala as an independent director. Dandiwala is a partner at Mulla & Mulla and Craigie Blunt & Caroe, Advocates & Solicitors.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group, noted that the appointments were made as the company embarks on creating two new “growth engines”.
“The global scale built across diverse sectors like cement, fibre, and chemicals is a testament to the dynamism that defines the company. Grasim now is at a pivotal juncture as it is on the verge of creating two new high-growth engines—paints and B2B e-commerce for building materials,” Kumar Mangalam Birla said.
“This is, therefore, an appropriate moment for the board to induct Ananya and Aryaman as directors. Their business acumen and insights into new-age businesses and consumer behaviour will be valuable for Grasim as it embarks on a new growth journey,” he added.
Ananya Birla founded the microfinancier Svatantra Microfin Pvt. Ltd, which has assets under management of more than $1 billion and has grown at an annual average pace of 120% during 2015 to 2022. She is also the founder of the design-led home decor brand Ikai Asai.
