Mr YC Deveshwar, who was one of India’s longest-serving corporate chiefs with over 20 years at the helm as the executive chairman and CEO at ITC, passed away on Saturday at the age of 72.
ITC confirmed the news of his death.
Deveshwar was suffering from a long bout of illness in recent year. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.
He was born on February 4, 1947 in Lahore and did his studies at IIT, Delhi followed by a management course at the Harvard University.
He joined ITC in 1968, as per the company’s website, and was the architect of ITC’s bold transformation from a tobacco company. He helped ITC battle British American Tobacco to ensure ITC remains an Indian company.
Deveshwar led state-owned carrier Air India as the chairman and managing director between 1991 and 1994 and was also a director on the central board of the Reserve Bank of India.
He stepped down as chief executive of ITC Ltd, which is India’s largest cigarette maker, in 2017 and was serving as a non-executive chairman.