Dheeraj Hinduja, 50, the third-generation member of the Hinduja family, will witness a near six-fold rise in his pay package following his appointment as executive chairman of Ashok Leyland.

Hinduja has held the position of non-executive chairman at the Chennai-based truck and bus maker since 2010. The current change is brought about after the abrupt resignation of MD and CEO Vipin Sondhi who leaves Ashok Leyland on December 31, 2021.

The Hinduja Group flagship is seeking shareholder’s vote to appoint Dheeraj Hinduja as the executive Chairman and also to fix his remuneration in an ordinary resolution. Basic salary, allowances, retiral benefits, other perquisites and allowances of Dheeraj Hinduja will total ₹5 crore per annum, as per the latest disclosures made by Ashok Leyland. Vipin Sondhi drew a salary of ₹10.7 crore for FY21.

“The Nomination and Remuneration Committee and/or Board as it may in its absolute discretion deem fit, revise the remuneration payable to Dheeraj Hinduja, during any financial year, during the currency of his tenure of office,” a notice of the postal ballot issued by Ashok Leyland clarified.

During FY21 Dheeraj Hinduja who was a non-executive director, was paid sitting fees and commission totalling ₹81.9 lakh. His FY20 remuneration stood at ₹1.16 crore, for FY19 it stood at ₹10.12 crore while that of FY18 stood at ₹8.11 crore.

Also read: Vipin Sondhi steps down as Ashok Leyland MD-CEO

Dheeraj’s tenure as executive chairman of Ashok Leyland is for a period of three years commencing from November 26, 2021 to November 25, 2024. This is the longest period for Dheeraj Hinduja at Ashok Leyland in an executive role. This is the second time when Dheeraj Hinduja is appointed as the Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland. In late 2018 after the resignation of the then MD and CEO Vinod Dasari, Hinduja was tasked to steer the truck maker till the time a replacement was found for Dasari. The replacement came a year later in late 2019 after the appointment of Sondhi.

Besides Dheeraj Hinduja, his paternal cousin Shom Hinduja, 31, is seeking appointment as a non-executive director at Ashok Leyland for which an ordinary resolution is proposed by the board of the company. Dheeraj and Shom need to garner at least 50 percent votes in their favour for the resolution to be passed.

Shom Hinduja is the son of Ashok Hinduja, the youngest son of Hinduja Group founder P D Hinduja. Shom Hinduja, who holds a B.A. in Sustainable Development and an M.S. in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, is currently the President - Alternative Energy and Sustainability Initiatives at the Hinduja Group.

Under Shom, the Hinduja Group is venturing into the next generation transformative spaces like electric mobility, battery technology and cyber security amongst others.

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