Board dispute in Mugugappa Group on membership issue
At the AGM of Ambadi Investments Limited (AIL), the holding company of Rs. 38,100 crore Murugappa Group, about 92% of the shareholders voted against the appointment of Vali Arunachalam, the eldest daughter of former executive chairman, MV Murugappan, into its board. Before the AGM, Arunachalam had sent a notice in August 2020, expressing her desire to be appointed as a director of the company.
Disappointed at the unwillingness on the part of shareholders to appoint her as a board member, Arunachalam stated that inspite of being a family heir with a doctorate degree, 24 years work experience in a fortune 500 company and having a number of patents and publications in her name, why she was denied the appointment into a board, even three years after her father’s death. She also said to have thinking of exploring legal options to protect her rights.
She has also alleged that group promoters are against the appointment of women directors as the board is having eight members, all being male. So, both she and her sister were denied board seat after her father’s death.
Hence, Arunachalam has been fighting for a long time to be recognized as a board member after her father’s death. If the shareholders had passed the resolution in her favour, she would have become the first woman director of AIL.
