“I am an entrepreneur and you have been my inspiration. My first investment was buying shares of ITC,” Danish Rizda in his late 20s told YC Deveshwar, Executive Chairman, ITC Ltd.

With 150-odd shares, Rizda was one of the many young shareholders to have attended the 105th AGM of ITC here today in what was said to be YC Deveshwar’s last one as executive chairman.

As shareholders spoke at length on their association with ITC, the discussions mostly centred on Deveshwar’s stewardship and how he drove the company to new heights after its early diversification efforts had either failed or were languishing.

The BAT-ITC ownership tussle and the alleged FERA violations and how ITC saw through these testing times also featured in the shareholders’ comments.

Deveshwar will step down on February 5, 2017, – 21 years after taking over the mantle – and relinquish the executive role to become a non-executive chairman for of three years.

“Even though the company’s reputation was at a low point (owing to), Deveshwar saw through the tough times,” said S Gattani, who has been attending ITC AGMs for nearly 25 years now.

For Rahul Harsh a company secretary by profession, investing in ITC is like “investing in (his own) family”. “ITC is more like my family and when I buy shares, I feel I have invested in my family,” he said.

There were others who chose to recite poems praising the company’s “sustained growth” and Deveshwar’s leadership.

“It is sad that you will be stepping down from the executive role. But, we are happy that we will continue to see you as the non-executive chairman. We hope the Board will give you another three years extension (after 2020),” another shareholder said during the AGM.

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