The Board of Directors of Amul marketer Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) on Monday asked the incumbent Managing Director Rupinder Singh Sodhi (RS Sodhi) to resign with immediate effect and hand over the charge to Jayen Mehta, Chief Operating Officer of the dairy major.
It was learnt that the Board of Directors of the Federation, which includes chairmen of 18 dairy unions of Gujarat convened an unscheduled meeting on Monday, where they resolved to terminate the services of Sodhi as the Managing Director of the Federation with immediate effect. There were no reasons cited by the Board for its decision.
Sodhi, who served 12 years at the helm of affairs at Amul since 2010, served two five-year terms as the MD and was on his second extension from December 2020. Due to Covid situation, the Board had then decided to continue Sodhi at the helm of affairs till the next decision. Under Sodhi’s leadership, Amul’s turnover jumped by over seven times from ₹8,005 crore in 2009-10 to ₹61,000 crore for 2021-22. On June 11, 2010, Sodhi, the then Chief General Manager at the Federation, was given charge of Managing Director after BM Vyas resigned. Sodhi completed a full 5-year term as Managing Director till 2015, after which he was given an extension till December 2020. But after that, due to Covid situation, the Board had decided to extend Sodhi’s tenure without a clear timeline.