Harvard Business Review ranks ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar as the 7th Best Performing CEO in the World
December 23, 2012
Mr Y C Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC Limited has been ranked the 7th Best Performing CEO in the World in the global scorecard on "100 Best Performing CEOs in the World" published by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in its January-February 2013 edition. The ITC Chairman ranks first amongst the Indian CEOs featured in this HBR list. The 2013 global HBR CEO scorecard looked at how much total shareholder returns had changed over a time period from the CEO's 1st day in office to 31st August 2012 (adjusting for country and industry effects), as well as the overall increase in market capitalisation.
Harvard Business Review introduced this evaluation in 2010 and their endeavour was to implement a scorecard that would not only get people talking about long-term performance but also alter the way that boards, executives, consultants, and management scholars thought about and assessed CEOs. According to the Harvard Business Review, "we wanted this innovation to shine a spotlight on the CEOs worldwide who had created long-term value for their companies, and we wanted to give executives around the world critical benchmarks they could aim for". Nearly 2,000 CEOs were ranked. The new version - January-February 2013 has been expanded along two important new dimensions- making the group of CEOs that were studied truly global, and examining which CEOs and companies were able to do well not only financially but also in terms of corporate social performance.
This global recognition acknowledges Mr Deveshwar's vision and inspiring leadership in transforming ITC into a leading diversified multi-business Indian conglomerate and in making ITC a global exemplar in sustainable and inclusive growth contributing significantly to national priorities. He has led ITC to become a US $ 35 billion market cap Company with a turnover of over $ 7 billion. During his tenure as Chairman over the last 16 years, ITC's transformational journey has been powered by multiple drivers of growth with businesses spanning Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Hotels, Paperboards and Packaging, Agri-Business and Information Technology. ITC has consistently delivered a shareholder return of around 26% in the last 15 years. ITC is also the only Company in the world to be Carbon positive (for the last 7 years), water positive (for the last 10 years) and solid waste recycling positive (for the last 5 years).
In 2011, Deveshwar was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, by the Government of India in recognition of his distinguished service of a high order to the Nation. Amongst several other awards and recognitions during his distinguished career, Deveshwar has been honoured with the Global Leadership Award by the US-India Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce in 2010, the Business Leader of the Year Award from All India Management Association in 2012, Business Person of the Year Award 2006 by the UK Trade & Investment presented by His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and the Sustainability Leadership Award 2007 conferred at Zurich at the International Sustainability Leadership Symposium.
