CHENNAI: Roshni Nadar, the daughter of business tycoon Shiv Nadar, has been appointed CEO of the HCL group���s holding company, giving her potential power and control over a $5-billion group with marque customers such as Boeing and Airbus and an employee base of 60,000. (

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Ms Nadar, who studied MBA at the Kellogg University and is a trained classical musician, was appointed CEO and executive director at HCL Corp, the holding company, in April this year. She took over from her father who will continue to be the chairman and focus only on strategic issues.

Mr Nadar, who was in Chennai along with his daughter to announce developments in their educational initiatives, said his daughter���s role will be confined to just HCL Corp. She will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of HCL Technologies, India���s fourth-largest software services exporter, and HCL Infosystems ��� the two publicly-held companies.

���These organisations are run by highly corporatised boards. At the moment, she is responsible for the holding company, which is HCL Corporation, none of the operational companies. She joined in April this year. She runs the treasury, all the new investment decisions will be taken by her,��� Mr Nadar told ET in an exclusive interview. He added that he will focus on ���developing a vision for the group���.

Ms Nadar���s appointment comes during a period of churn and change in the top management of India���s leading IT companies, and signifies, in some cases, the inevitable transition from the old guard to the new.

After having built the companies from scratch into world-beating corporations, some of the key leaders are either receding into the background or giving up their positions to do other things.

Last week, Nandan Nilekani, the co-chairman of the Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies and one of the most well-known brand ambassadors for India and Indian IT, quit to head a special project for the government; S Ramadorai, among those instrumental in making TCS India���s largest software services exporter, will step down in August as CEO after 37 years with the company. He will be replaced by N Chandrasekharan.

Clear succession plan crucial

Rishad Premji, software tycoon Azim Premji���s elder son, on Wednesday took over his new role in Wipro as general manager, treasury and investor relations. Rishad is being looked upon by many as a possible successor, though Mr Premji has made it clear that if he wants to lead the company, it can only happen after he has earned his way in a normal process.

These changes are very important in an industry that generates annual export revenue of $40 billion and employs about three million people worldwide. A clear succession plan and a strong second rung is crucial to ensure smooth transition and the continuation of the success that Indian IT has achieved so far.

Mr Nadar and other HCL officials did not dwell upon Ms Nadar���s duties in her new role. They said that she would be responsible for strategic decision-making of HCL Corporation, and would also be involved in brand-building across the HCL group companies.

HCL Technologies��� corporate vice-president for strategy Saurav Adhikari said that Ms Nadar is involved only in HCL Corporation, and not either HCL Infosystems or HCL Technologies ��� both managed by a group of professionals.

Another top official of the company, who sits in New Delhi, on condition of anonymity, said: ���This is a family affair and not a company affair, so it���s not a major development. The holding company also has its own requirements for governance and management.���

HCL Corp owns 49.69% in HCL Technologies and 44.32% stake in HCL Infosystems. The two companies are worth more than Rs 13,000 crore.

Ms Nadar studied at Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, and did her undergraduate in radio, TV and film studies from Northwestern University, Illinois. Later, she did an MBA in social enterprise management and strategy from Kellogg.