RS Sodhi, the managing director of Amul Federation since 2010, left his position as MD after the board opted to terminate his tenure with ‘immediate effect’. The current chief operating officer (COO) of Amul, Jayen Mehta, has taken over in his stead for a temporary term.
At the board meeting of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the farmers’ cooperative that manages the Amul brand, the decision was made to replace Sodhi.
News agency PTI quoted a communication sent by the board to Sodhi as stating, “As per the resolution no.2 of the board meeting, it was proposed to end your service as the federation’s MD with immediate effect. Thus, you are hereby directed to relinquish your charge as MD with immediate effect and hand it over to federation COO Jayenbhai Mehta.”
The communication was signed by the federation’s chairman Shamalbhai Patel and vice chairman Valamjibhai Humbal.
Sodhi, in commenting on the board’s decision, stated he was “very happy” and rejected stories that said that he was “sacked.”
“My term as MD ended two years back, and I was on extension. I had requested the board to relieve me from this responsibility. The board had told me to wait for some time, saying they will relieve me once they find a suitable replacement,”
“When I again requested the GCMMF board to relieve me, they finally accepted my request and relieved me today. It was my own decision to step down, and I am very happy today,” he said.
Mehta, his interim replacement, has been with Amul for 32 years. He is the federation’s CEO at the moment, having previously worked as its brand manager, group product manager, and general manager in the marketing department.
From April to September 2018, he served as the managing director of Amul Dairy. He is currently the GCMMF’s candidate for the board of the federation’s member milk unions, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Panchmahal, and Valsad.
Jayen is a graduate of the Institute of Rural Management in Anand and a gold medallist from the Sardar Patel University in Vallabh Vidyanagar.
Sodhi, the outgoing MD, began his career with Amul in 1982 as a senior sales officer. He was its general manager (marketing) from 2000 to 2004, and then he was promoted to MD in June 2010. His term as MD was extended for another two years in 2021.
Sodhi was chosen president of the Indian Dairy Association, the country’s dairy industry’s governing organization, in July 2022. Sodhi said in September at the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit that India’s share of world production is expected to nearly double to 45 per cent in the next 25 years, up from 23 per cent presently.
Previously, Amul made headlines through ex-COO Jayen Mehta in the sports advertising world with its important announcement as “Regional Sponsors” of the Argentina and Portugal football teams for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
With a projected annual revenue of INR 61,000 crore (2021–2022), GCMMF (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation), better known as Amul, is India’s largest food product business.
Amit Shah predicted that Amul would combine with other cooperatives to become a multistate civilization last year.
