Family to "succeed" in the Godrej clan

Adi Godrej, chairman of India's family-controlled Godrej Group, said that a family member will succeed him whenever he decides to step down, according to India's The Economic Times.

At a conference, third-generation Godrej revealed that he expected someone from the family to succeed him and said that it could also be a woman.

"I expect that my successor will be someone from the family. Though the heads of the group companies are all professionals, when it comes to leading the group, it will be done by a family member," he said according to the Economic Times.

He added: "Certainly there could be a woman chairman... my two daughters are a part of the business."

Forty-year-old daughter Tanya Dubash is the executive director and president of marketing for the Godrej Group, while her sister, 32-year-old Nisaba Godrej, is the president of human capital and innovation at Godrej Industries.

Godrej's son Pirosja Godrej, is also a part of the business and is the executive director of Godrej Properties Limited. When contacted, the group did not give any comment on who will succeed the 68-year-old head, or when the transfer of power will happen.

While Godrej has said that a family member will succeed him, fellow family-controlled conglomerate the Tata Group is looking further afield for a successor to fourth-generation Ratan Tata.

Tata is due to retire next year and the company has set up a five-member panel to hunt for a suitable successor, which could come from within the company, or outside or could even be a non-Indian, the group said when it first announced the plan.

An interview with a panel member on the group's website suggested that they were struggling to find a candidate to match Tata, who transformed the conglomerate from a $6 billion company in 1991 to one with revenues close to $70 billion in 2010.

The panellist said: "We cannot find a replacement for Tata. We may have to change and rearrange the model in terms of what we are looking for." The committee is expected to announce Tata's successor by the end of May.

While the Tata Group was started in 1868 by Jamshedji Tata, the Godrej Group was founded in 1897 by Godrej's granduncle Ardeshir Godrej. It had 2010 revenues of over $2.6 billion.

Adi Godrej is the 10th richest man in India and the 130th richest person in the world, with a personal fortune of $7.3 billion in 2010 according to Forbes.