ET Exclusive: Pirojsha Godrej set to take charge at Godrej Industries with an ambitious growth plan

Mumbai: A century-old business house that became a household name with products like the Cinthol soap and the Godrej shaving cream, is set to receive the next generation leader to the corner office today – Pirojsha Godrej. The 45-year old takes to thrills like jet skiing, but his determination is what would drive the business strategy to more than double the group’s valuations.

The focus will be on achieving the right combination of “valuations and values,” Godrej said in an exclusive interview. ``The objective is to build businesses we can be proud of”and that are leaders in their sectors rather than settle for satisfactory underperformance. Businesses that fail to meet clearly defined goals will be examined more dynamically - whether the problem lies in strategy, the sector, or management capability - and changes will be considered where necessary.’’

The younger Godrej of the Godrej Industries Group (GIG) takes over from Nadir Godrej with an ambitious mandate. It is to build businesses that are leaders while preserving the values and reputation of the century old group.


Pirojsha is willing to deploy more capital behind businesses with the potential to scale. " We may have been too conservative with capital in the past, slowing the ability of some businesses to reach their potential. Godrej Capital, for e.g., has received more equity than several of the older businesses combined and this has helped it scale rapidly" he said. The group has been guilty of “spreading ourselves a little bit thin” by starting several businesses without always ensuring they achieved the scale needed to become market leaders," he said.

In April 2024, the 125-year old storied business family amicably split into two - GEG (Godrej Enterprises Group) and GIG (Godrej Industries Group). The GIG, led by Pirojsha would focus on six core sectors: consumer goods, real estate, chemicals, agro food, financial services, and private real estate investments. While Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties and Godrej Agrovet are listed, Godrej Capital, Godrej Chemicals and Godrej Ventures may find their way to stock exchanges over a period of time.

The Godrej Enterprises Group is led by Jamshyd Godrej and Nyrika Holkar.

The GIG group has already grown sales and profits at more than 20% annually over the past five years, but Godrej said the bigger challenge now is consistency across the portfolio.

The common family council shared by the entire Godrej family before split now has evolved into more informal family conversations. "There is no “silver bullet and the answer is open communication, trust and constant discussion of important issues,’’ he said.

``Family members who are active in the businesses are part of the group management committee, while regular one-on-one conversations, board-level discussions and the longstanding Thursday family lunch continues," he said.

The group has invested about ₹4,000-5,000 crore in Godrej Capital and may require another ₹6,000-7,000 crore to build which may be funded by itself or with financial investors, he said.

"My transition to group chairperson has been gradual rather than a move from one role to another. But formally taking on the role brings a stronger sense of stewardship. You have to think quite deeply about how you make sure you leave the Group stronger than when you found it,” he said.

Godrej puts the current combined value of the six businesses at about ₹2 lakh crore, with the listed businesses accounting for roughly ₹1.7 lakh crore and the unlisted businesses contributing another ₹20,000-30,000 crore. The target is to take this value to ₹5 lakh crore over five years.

Godrej said the listed businesses will largely be expected to meet their own capital requirements through operating cash flows, equity markets or borrowings. Godrej Properties, for instance, raised ₹6,000 crore in 2024 in what he described as the real estate sector’s biggest-ever QIP and expects to generate 20,000 crore of operating cash flow between now and the end of fiscal 28.

"Godrej Chemicals and Godrej Capital will list within the next five years, while Godrej Ventures also has a chance of doing so in the same period,’’ he said. ``Listing is not the objective in itself. The priority is to build strong, growing businesses with sound cultures and value creation; a listing would be the logical outcome of that process."

Financial services is among the businesses in which Godrej has the highest confidence. Godrej Capital, launched in 2020, today spans lending and housing finance, and has entered wealth management. It recently made its first acquisition in gold finance. "Acquisitions, however, will remain opportunistic rather than central to the strategy. The bulk of growth is expected to be organic," said Godrej who collects rare books, manuscripts and who possesses some letters written by Gandhi.

Godrej Ventures, meanwhile, is building a commercial real estate platform, including managed offices, with Grade-A office assets in NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru.

Godrej Chemicals is being expanded beyond its traditional oleochemicals base into specialty chemicals and could also develop contract development and manufacturing opportunities.

Despite the ambition to scale, Godrej said GIG does not intend to chase growth by entering unrelated sectors. Healthcare is an area of interest, but there is no immediate plans for a venture.

Godrej Consumer Products is one of the businesses he is most excited about. He acknowledged that the platform has underperformed somewhat on growth but sees substantial headroom through new categories in India and opportunities to take Indian brands global.

India remains the biggest opportunity for GCPL, although some products developed for India have shown potential internationally. Godrej argued that execution, rather than strategy alone, determines whether such bets succeed.

Godrej remains bullish on India over the next two decades, arguing that the country is moving towards developed-country status and that urbanisation, rising incomes and improving education will create opportunities across sectors.

"While there is substantial near-term uncertainty from geopolitics, artificial intelligence and its potential impact on jobs and investment, GIG should focus on what it can control - strong balance sheets, strong talent, ambitious targets and financial prudence," he said.