Kumarmangalam not to join Kesoram board immediately: Birla

Kumarmangalam Birla, who heads the sprawling Aditya Birla Group, will not immediately join the board of Kesoram Industries , the patriarch of the Birla clan, BK Birla, said.

 "He is not prepared to join the Kesoram board at the moment," Birla told reporters when asked why Kumarmangalam was still not inducted on the company's board, even though he is next in line to take control of the cement-cum-tyre firm as its chairman.

Birla, the Kesoram Industries Chairman, said, "Kumarmangalam is an extremely busy person and hardly finds any time to come to Kolkata as he is heading several companies. As of now, he has no plans to join Kesoram board."

Birla's daughter, Manjushree Khaitan, has already joined the company board as a director. She was tipped to become the vice-chairman. When asked whether Kumarmangalam would be able to accept Kesoram's responsibility when the time came, Manjushree said, "Yes, he will."

Earlier, Birla said the day-to-day affairs of the company would be looked after B Y Manjushree under Kumarmangalam's guidance. The company does not have any plan to demerge its cement and tyre businesses.