MUMBAI: Following the tragic demise of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder VG Siddhartha, who was also known as the ‘Coffee King’ of India, the company board has made some key appointments in the top management. It has also resolved to thoroughly investigate the matters related to financial transactions, which were made outside the knowledge of the senior management, auditors, and the board, and were mentioned in Siddhartha’s last letter to his team and employees.
The Board has appointed SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the board and Nitin Bagmane as an interim chief operating officer of the company. It has also constituted an executive committee comprising non-executive independent director SV Ranganath and CFO R Ram Mohan to exercise the powers previously vested with the chief executive officer of the company and the administrative committee constituted by the board in 2015.
It mentioned in a statement, “The board will, in due course, prepare a detailed charter of authorities vested in the executive committee and approve the same. The executive committee will, inter alia, explore opportunities to deleverage the Coffee Day group.”
VG Siddhartha went missing in the evening of 29 July while he was on his way to Mangaluru from Bengaluru. Around 6.30 pm, he asked his driver to stop the car at a bridge near Ullala and did not return. A panicked driver informed his family and the police. Siddhartha’s body was recovered from Netravathi river, today morning.
Before allegedly committing suicide, he had sent his employees a letter indicating that he is in debt. He also mentioned that tax authorities were harassing him.
Taking in account the same, the board wrote in its statement, “The board took cognizance of statements in the purported letter from VG Siddhartha relating to financial transactions outside the knowledge of the senior management, auditors and the board. While the authenticity of the letter is unverified and it is unclear whether these statements pertain to the company or the personal holdings of VG Siddhartha, the board took serious note of the same and resolved to thoroughly investigate this matter.”
