After RPG division, Goenka sons get separate HR heads
New Delhi   26-Oct-2010

Barely two months after RPG group chairman & patriarch Rama Prasad Goenka segregated the ownership of various group companies between sons Harsh and Sanjiv, the Goenkas have decided to bifurcate the group HR leadership function by appointing separate HR heads for the businesses each son now owns and controls.

They have hired ex-IOC HR director & management board member VC Agarwal as president (HR) to oversee the HRD function of all companies owned and controlled by RPG vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka.

Mr Agarwal, who joins on November 15, will be the group HR chief for all Sanjiv Goenka companies, including flagship CESC, Phillips Carbon Black Ltd, Spencer’s Retail, Saregama and coal mining arm, ICML. The respective HR heads of these companies will, in turn, report to him.

The group’s present HR boss, Arvind Agarwal, who is president & CEO (corporate development & HR) and RPG management board member, will henceforth oversee the HRD function of all Harsh Goenka companies, including Ceat, KEC International, Zensar Technologies and RPG Life Sciences.

Confirming the development, RPG Enterprises vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka told ET: “Mr VC Agarwal who just retired as IOC’s HR director, will join us next month as president (HR). He will be the overall HR head for all the Calcutta-based RPG entities, namely CESC, PCBL, Spencer’s, Saregama and Integrated Coal Mining Ltd. Mr Arvind Agarwal will oversee the HR function of all the companies controlled by my brother Harsh (Goenka).”

“This is the first major change in the leadership team after the RPG group’s asset restructuring exercise back in August. The HR function was a common spoke which needed to be split following the division of assets between the two sons. All HR heads of the Sanjiv Goenka companies will report to Mr Agarwal, who in turn, will report to-Sumantra Banerjee, who is CESC managing director and RPG management board member in charge of the group’s power and retail businesses,” said a senior group executive.

Mr Agarwal is likely to have his hands full from next month, especially since flagship CESC may be on the threshold of a major hiring exercise once the new thermal projects in Orissa, Jharkhand and Haldia get underway. The RPG power utility plans to pump in a whopping 36,000 crore to create 7,000 mw of greenfield thermal capacity over the next six-to-seven years. Another 1,000 crore will be pumped into the carbon black business through Phillips Carbon Black. This apart, Mr Goenka is also putting in place a robust growth blueprint for Spencer’s and Saregama — the entertainment arm of the RPG group.