Jayen Mehta has been selected as the new managing director of the Amul brand. Sodhi, who has been serving the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd for more than 40 years, served as the MD for 12 years. But, R S Sodhi has stepped down from the post of the Managing Director of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), popularly known through its brand name ‘Amul’. The position has been given to Jayen Mehta, the COO of GCMMF. A Moneycontrol report said Mehta has been given only a temporary charge. Sodhi had been the Managing Director of the dairy sector cooperative giant since June 2010.
Sodhi has done his MBA from the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) and started his career as Senior Manager of Sales in Amul. While the reason for the sudden move could not be immediately ascertained, Sodhi said he was on an extension and had requested the board to relieve him from the responsibility of the MD.
At the federation’s board meeting held at the premises of AmulFed dairy in Gandhinagar on Monday, it was decided to end the working period of Sodhi. According to the communication sent by the board,” 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.
R S Sodhi said he is very happy with the federation’s decision. He denied some reports which suggested that he has been sacked and his office has been sealed.
Sodhi told reporters, ‘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.