What's in a chair? Plenty, if you are Vijay Mallya!

Uneasy is the head that wears the crown is a proverb that Vijay Mallya knows only too well. Yesterday, however, just before the start of the Sanofi India shareholders meeting at Mumbai's YB Chavan Centre, his team discovered that discomfiting too is the chair that seats the boss. Anticipating that Mallya may not quite approve of the seating arrangements made, a higher, better cushioned chair was found at the last minute. It found favour because of the height, perhaps telling of a man seeking some of his lost stature.

Mallya is the non-executive chairman of the French pharma multinational. There has been a debate whether he can retain the position at a time when there are allegations of financial irregularity against him by Diageo, the parent company of United Spirits, of which Mallya is chairman.


Mallya leaving YB Chavan Centre yesterday after the Sanofi India shareholders meeting. (Image: Nishikant Gamre)