Philips India adds members to its Board of Directors

Philips India Limited formally announced the addition of Vikram Limaye, MD and CEO, IDFC Limited and Vivek Gambhir, MD, Godrej Consumer Products Limited tothe company’s Board of Directors, in the capacity of Non-Executive Directors.

With these additions, the Board will now consist of 5 Directors, 3 of whom are Non- Executive Directors. The Board constitution will now be as follows- SM Datta, Chairman, Krishna Kumar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Jan-Hein Louwman, Executive Director, Vikram Limayeand Vivek Gambhir, as Non-Executive Directors.

“Philipsis a leader in health and well-being with innovative, market-leading technologies and the company is well-positioned to take advantage of the multiple opportunities that India offers” said SM Datta, Non-Executive Director and Chairman, Philips India.“The new Independent Directors will work closely with the Board and the management team as we transform into an agile health and well-being companythat will play a greater role in improving the lives of people”.

“Among the emerging markets, India offers prospects for solid long term economic growth. The new government is focused on significantly improving the ease of doing business in India and boosting manufacturing. Issues facing infrastructure projects are also expected to see resolution over the next six months. I am certainly optimistic about the medium to long term growth prospects for India. Both, consumption and investments should see a pickup in growth and there are significant opportunities in healthcare and energy efficient lighting where Philips is involved. In this regard, Philips has an important role to play in raising the quality of life in India” said Vikram Limaye, MD and CEO, IDFC Ltd.

“As a large section of the population is young, India offers significant market advantages. What excites me are the opportunities that we can provide to Indians to help them live a healthy life and meet lifestyle aspirations” said  Vivek Gambhir, MD, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.

“We welcome Vivek Gambhir and Vikram Limaye to the Board of Directors and look forward to working with them to deliver greater value to customers” said Krishna Kumar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Philips India. “We are committed to fostering long-term growth and we need to keep strengthening Philips India’s leadership team to achieve this goal. The company will certainly benefit from having access to Mr. Gambhir and Mr. Limaye’s experience and expertise and we are very excited about this new relationship”

Vivek  Gambhir is the Managing Director, Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL). Vivekjoined Godrej Industries in 2009 as Chief Strategy Officer and was responsible for enhancing the strategic capabilities within the group companies, guiding overall group strategy, conducting portfolio analysis, leading mergers and acquisitions and driving special projects. Prior to joining the Godrej Group, Vivek was a partner at Bain & Company, one of the world's leading business consulting firms. Vivek has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS (Computer Science) and BA (Economics) from Lafayette College.

Vikram Limaye is the Managing Director and CEO of IDFC Limited. He has over 25 years of experience working with Financial Institutions, Global Investment Banks, International Commercial Banks and Global Accounting firms. Prior to joining IDFC, Limaye served Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in U.S.A. in a variety of roles in Investment Banking, Capital Markets, Structured Finance and Credit Portfolio Management. He began his corporate career with Arthur Andersen in Mumbai, after which he worked with Ernst & Young and Citibank N.A. in the Business Advisory Services Group and Global Consumer Banking Group respectively. Limaye is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.