Future Consumer appoints Samson Samuel as CEO, Ashni Biyani steps down

Future Consumer Limited on Thursday announced the appointment of Samson Samuel as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the firm effective from today. 

The firm stated that the appointment of Samuel as CEO has been done following the resignation of Managing Director Ashni Biyani for personal reasons. It added that Biyani will continue to serve on the Board of Future Consumer as a Non-Executive Director.

"The Board is very thankful to Ashni Biyani for the extraordinary contribution she has made to the Company over the years and is grateful that she remains part of the governance of the Company," noted the firm in an official statement. 

Who is Samson Samuel? 

Samson Samuel, is an engineer with around 24 years of experience spanning across manufacturing, consulting, IT and supply chain industries. He has worked in India and US in various capacities with organizations such as BestBuy, Staples, Lowes, Future Group, Mafatlal Consultancy, Wipro and Cognizant. 

Samuel has been recently associated with Future Consumer Limited to look after the overall business affairs of its subsidiary operating under the format 'Nilgiris'. The firm stated that Samuel turned 'Nilgiris' around successfully in the last 12 months with a combination of product launches and strategic restructuring.

Commenting on the appointment, FCL Chairman G N Bajpai, said, "Samson Samuel has shown creativity and resilience in the turnaround of Nilgiris, and we are confident that he will address the challenges posed by the pandemic and actively recalibrate the assets of the group to satisfy its new commercial reality."

"He will be reporting to the Board, as representing all stakeholders of the Company and will be able to rely on my and Kishore Biyani's support as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board respectively." added Bajpai. 

On his appointment, Samson Samuel commented: "I am honored to have been approached to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Future Consumer. I am well aware of the challenges ahead of us to restore the Company to profitable growth and alleviate the burden of its indebtedness by selling certain non-strategic assets. I will work closely with the Board to fulfill my mission."

Also read: Future Enterprises to raise Rs 3,000 cr from insurance biz sale to avoid insolvency