L&T Chairman Emeritus AM Naik to step down from LTIM, LTTS boards; Subrahmanyan may become chairman

AM Naik stepped down as non-executive Chairman of Larsen & Toubro on September 30, 2023.

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Larsen & Toubro’s Chairman Emeritus AM Naik will step down as the non-executive chairman and member of the board of the conglomerate’s two listed technology companies– LTIMindtree Ltd (LTIM) and L&T Technology Services Ltd (LTTS).

Naik will retire at the conclusion of the companies’ annual general meeting on June 26. This marks his exit from the board of all the L&T group companies.

L&T’s Chairman & Managing Director SN Subrahmanyan, who is currently a vice chairman in both LTIM and LTTS, will be elevated as the chairman of both the subsidiaries, sources told Moneycontrol.

L&T declined to comment to an email query sent by Moneycontrol.

Naik (82) stepped down as the Non-Executive Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on September 30, 2023, passing on the baton to SN Subrahmanyan. Naik continued to be involved with the company as chairman of the employees’ trust, an advisor to the board, and chairman of the two information technology (IT) subsidiaries until now.

LTTS informed shareholders in a notice about Naik's retirement. While LTIM's notice to shareholders does not mention that he would be stepping down, sources in the know told Moneycontrol that it is likely to be considered in the AGM on June 26 as a 'special business'.

“In terms of Section 152 of the Act and the Articles of Association of the Company, Mr. Naik is liable to retire by rotation at the conclusion of the 12th AGM. Although eligible for re-appointment, Mr. Naik has conveyed his desire not to seek re-appointment, resulting in a vacancy on the Board and, the Board has resolved, subject to the approval of Members, that the vacancy in the Board so created shall not be filled up,” LTTS said in a notice to shareholders.

Infrastructure veteran Naik is credited for thwarting two well-storied attempts at hostile takeover of L&T. He led the creation of the Larsen & Toubro Employee Trust (LTET), the single largest shareholder of the company.

While Naik was instrumental in L&T’s many diversifications and even exit from some non-core businesses, he strategized L&T’s foray into IT services with the dual aim of tapping the opportunity in the sector and to protect the engineering talent of the company from moving out for IT roles. L&T’s most ambitious acquisition in the IT sector, the acquisition of Mindtree in 2019, while done under Naik’s leadership, was driven by Subrahmanyan.