A strong visionary to the backbone, he strongly believes that his work is to discover his world and give cent percent to that. Better known as Yogi, ITC Chairman, Y. C. Deveshwar is a man who loves doing deals. In a bold move, he went out of his way to settle the 20-year-old tax dispute with the excise department of the central government early this year in pursuit of his stated intention to clean up the books of ITC and settle outstanding disputes and litigation. It is said that you can succeed in doing a deal only if you are convinced about what you are seeking to achieve and also if you are sure that you can carry others with you. Deveshwar has achieved both.

For him ITC is the temple of worship and his commitment for the company has never wavered despite the fact that he inherited a slew of disputes from his predecessors. Having joined ITC in 1968 as a 20-year-old rookie in the printing and packaging department, he has sat in virtually every cabin, twice as Chairman of the tobacco division. In 1983, he became its youngest Director ever at 36. He flew out briefly in 1991 to head Air India as CMD, before returning to ITC.

Deveshwar is respected for the deep insight with which he steers a multi-business corporation like ITC, and is credited with some key strategic interventions that have positioned ITC as a well managed, well governed, value creating, top league company in the country. An Engineering graduate from IIT, Delhi, Deveshwar joined the national carrier, Air India, in 1991 as the Chairman and Managing Director. He had a successful stint in this assignment till 1994, during which he was also a member on the Boards of Indian Airlines (India's domestic carrier), International Airports Authority of India, Airports Authority of India and Air Mauritius Ltd.

Deveshwar serves on the Executive Committees of some of India's premier trade and industry bodies. He has brought IT to the rural areas through his innovative e-choupal and played a key role in bridging the digital divide. Deveshwar has been honoured with several recognitions within India, including the honorary fellowship of the All India Management Association, the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Meridien Hotelier of the Year Award and the Marketing Man of the Year from A&M. He has also been honoured with the Manager Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2001 by Ernst & Young.

Incidentally, 2005-06 completes a decade of Deveshwar's Chairmanship in ITC. During his 10 year old tenure, Deveshwar transformed ITC from a shade above Rs. 5,000 crore company to mammoth turnover of Rs.16,224 crore. The net turnover increased from Rs 2,536 crore to Rs 9,791 crore representing a 14.5% CAGR (compound annual growth rate).

During the last decade, Deveshwar has created multiple drivers of the growth by matching proven internal capabilities with emerging market opportunities. During this period, efficiency in terms of return on capital employed improved from 28.4% in 1995-96 to 34.5% in 2005-06.The profit after tax (before exceptional items) during the period went up from Rs.261 crore to Rs. 2,280 crore marking a 24.2% CAGR. While the net worth of ITC touched Rs. 9,061 crore in 2005-06 from Rs .1,121 crore in 1995-96, the market capitalisation went up from Rs. 5,571 crore to an astounding figure of Rs. 73,207 crore during the period. At the same time, ITC is ramping up its rural retail business and has migrated to the next phase of such business.

Undoubtedly, with fantastic results that speak about the man who made it possible and because, without him the ITC Choupal revolution and corporate initiatives in rural India would have remained a far cry, Deveshwar's term in ITC has been extended for five years with effect from February 5, 2007. It was a proposal that was initiated by the nominations committee of the company and heartily approved by the ITC board. A dedicated yogi in the strictest sense of the term, Deveshwar has scripted a success story for the young corporate honchos to follow. His achievements are leaving indelible imprint on the annals of corporate history of the country.