Industrialist Rahul Bajaj will give up his executive role at Bajaj Auto Ltd, five decades after joining the board of the two-wheeler maker.
Bajaj has decided not to continue as executive chairman and whole-time director after his current term ends on March 31 due to “certain commitments and pre-occupation”, the company said in a stock-exchange filing.
He will, however, continue as non-executive chairman.
The 81-year-old industrialist had joined the board of Bajaj Auto in April 1970. His term as executive chairman was last extended for five years in 2015.
Bajaj is one of India’s most well-known businessmen and has transformed the group into a diversified conglomerate that also includes companies such as Bajaj Finserv Ltd, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd.
Over the past decade or so, Bajaj has limited his day-to-day role at group companies and passed on the baton to his sons and other family members. His elder son, Rajiv, runs Bajaj Auto as managing director while the younger son, Sanjiv, runs the financial services business.
Bajaj is an economics graduate from Delhi University. He also holds a degree in law from Bombay University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, according to Bajaj Auto’s website.