Rajeev Jhawar(Usha Martin) billed as one of the most successful turnarounds of stressed assets

Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin, the son of Brij Jhawar, is the managing director of Usha Martin Limited since May 19, 2008. Established in the year 1960, Usha Martin is a multi-unit and multi-product organization in the wire rope business. Usha Martin is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of wire rope. Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin is also the Director of Neutral Publishing House Ltd. He has been the Vice Chairman of Usha Martin Education and Solutions Limited since September 2010.

Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin is the son of Brij Kishore Jhawar, one of the two factions of the Jhawar family, who owns Usha Martin Limited. He has been the Managing Director at Usha Martin Limited since May 19, 2008. He is the Director of Neutral Publishing House Ltd. He graduated from London Business School and completed Management Development Course at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rajeev Jhawar has been Vice Chairman of Usha Martin Education & Solutions Limited since September 2010. He has been an Independent Non-Executive Director of Orient Cement Limited since August 09, 2014. Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin also serves as an Executive Director of Usha Martin Limited. He serves as Director of Usha Martin International Ltd., Usha Siam Steel Industries Public Company Ltd., Thailand, Brunton Wolf Wire Ropes FZCO, Dubai, Usha Breco Ltd, Usha Breco Realty Ltd, KGVK Rural Enterprises Ltd, KGVK Social Enterprises Ltd, Redtech Networks India (P) Ltd, PARS Consultancy & Services Pvt. Ltd. and Jhawar Venture Management Pvt. Ltd. Rajeev Jhawar has been a Non-Executive Director at Usha Martin Education & Solutions Limited since March 4, 2000. He has been Director of Usha Breco Limited since March 30, 2010.

The Jhawar Family owns the Neutral Publishing House Limited, through many of its companies. The family consists of two octogenarian brothers – Brij Kishore Jhawar and Basant Kumar Jhawar. Prashant Jhawar is the son of Basant Jhawar and Rajeev Jhawar is the son of Brij Jhawar. Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin has three daughters – Stuti Jhawar, Shreya Jhawar and Amisha Jhawar.

The brothers Brij Kishore Jhawar and Basant Kumar Jhawar had been in the midst of a family feud over the control of Usha Martin Limited for many years. The feud is between the two factions, supported by their respective sons. The father-son duos of Basant-Prashant Jhawar and Brij-Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin held 25.5% respectively in the company. Jhawar Family owns 95.47% shares of Neutral Publishing House Limited, company which publishes Prabhat Khabar. The family members hold different positions in many of the Group companies.

Brij Kishore Jhawar is the Founder of Usha Martin Limited. In April 2017, the board had passed a resolution, moved by the SBI nominee, to strip Prashant Jhawar of his post as the non-executive chairman and also trim the power of Basant Jhawar, 83, as chairman emeritus. Many in the industry feel that Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin had influenced the board to remove his uncle and cousin, as the relationship between them had soured over the control of the company. But the truth is different.

Meanwhile, in February 2018, the Usha Martin board reappointed Rajeev as the managing director. All the other board members, including the six independent directors and the nominee director of the State Bank of India, had voted in Rajeev’s favour. Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin, the managing director of Usha Martin Limited, is firmly in control of the affairs of the company. His father Brij Kishore Jhawar, brother of Basant, also stepped down from the board later, leaving only Rajeev Jhawar as the promoter family representative on the board.

By hiving off its steel division to Tata in 2019, Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin cleared most of the debts of Usha Martin Limited and led the company to a reasonably healthy position. In the three decades that Rajeev Jhawar has been at the helm of the Usha Martin Group, he has accelerated growth. His leadership qualities, sharp business acumen, in-depth understanding of business administration and strategic decision making has taken the Group to an altogether higher growth trajectory which was much needed at that very instance. The promoter Rajeev Jhawar’s holding in Usha Martin Limited stood at 50.66 per cent as on March 31, 2019.

Usha Martin had deleveraged its balance sheet by selling its steel business, and took a turnaround under Rajeev Jhawar Usha Martin. As a global giant in the wire rope industry, the company’s future remains promising and it is poised for a significant rerating from here. Usha Martin Limited has turned profitable post debt reduction, billed as one of the most successful turnarounds of stressed assets, all thanks to the strong willpower of Rajeev Jhawar.