ITC’s tobacco division is now led by Devraj Lahiri, who contributed to new brand development and geographic expansion for ITC. Credit: ITC
Devraj Lahiri, former Tobacco Institute of India (TII) was appointed divisional chief executive for tobacco business, succeeding Sandeep Kaul. According to The Economic Times, this is the first time ITC appointed a lateral hire to lead its flagship cigarette business.
Lahiri initially joined ITC as chief operating officer of ITC’s tobacco business in December 2020 from rival VST Industries where he was managing director. His expertise includes business strategy, marketing, and regulatory affairs.
Sandeep Kaul is now a corporate management committee member for ITC overseeing businesses like tobacco, matches, and agarbatti incense sticks, and the start-up cell.
Lahiri will report to Kaul who will, in turn, report to chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri.
Kaul is an ITC veteran who started his career in the company in the cigarette business, then moved to the non-cigarette FMCG business during its incubation stage. He was the chief executive of the personal care business before becoming the chief executive of the cigarette business in 2016. His new role is also the first time ITC gave a dedicated charge of its start-up cell to a senior management executive now that the company started investing in several start-ups.