(SV Ranganath, Image: Coffee Day)

Here's the complete notification from the company:

NEW DELHI: Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd on Wednesday appointed SV Ranganath as interim chairman after the sudden death of its founder VG Siddhartha , the company said in a notification to stock exchanges. The body of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) owner Siddhartha was found on the banks of the Nethravathi river near Mangaluru after a massive 36-hour search operation.Ranganath is currently non-executive independent director of the company. Coffee Day also named Nitin Bagmane as interim chief operating officer (COO), subject to approval by the board.The company has set up a committee that will be vested with the powers of the chief executive and will explore opportunities to deleverage the Coffee Day Group, the notification added."Constitution of an executive committee comprising Ranganath, Nitin Bagmane (COO) and R Ram Mohan (CFO) to exercise the powers previously vested with the chief executive officer of the company and the administrative committee constituted by the board in 2015," it mentioned.Siddhartha, whose chain of cafes helped make coffee a lifestyle beverage and brought in latte, cappuccino, Americano and espresso into the urban Indian lexicon, was 69 and is survived by his wife Malavika and two sons.The body of Siddhartha, who purportedly wrote a farewell letter to the board of directors and employees of his company Coffee Day Enterprises and alleged harassment from lenders and tax authorities, was traced after nearly two days of an intensive search operation.The board took cognizance of statements in the purported letter from Siddhartha and stated that "while the authenticity of the letter is unverified" it will take "serious note of the same" and "thoroughly investigate" the matter."The board also took note of a message from Malavika Hegde expressing support and trust in the company's professional team and the common effort to look after the interest of the employees and all other stakeholders," it said.The company said the audit committee and executive committee will engage in discussions with the statutory auditors of the company and such other advisors as may be necessary with a view to recommend appropriate next steps to the board at its forthcoming meeting on August 8.The board has appointed Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as its legal counsel to advise on these matters.Siddhartha went missing on Monday night near Ullal bridge on Nethravathi river. The businessman left Bengaluru for Sakleshpur in Hassan district in a car on Monday afternoon. On the way, he asked his driver to go towards Mangaluru, police said.He got off the car and told his driver to wait for him at the end of the bridge, saying he was going for a walk.Meanwhile, shares of Coffee Day Enterprises further plummeted 20 per cent to hit its lowest trading permissible limit (Rs 123.25) for the day.Read this story in Marathi