NEW DELHI: The male-only board of the $5 billion Chennai-based Murugappa Group has roiled the elder daughter of the family — Valli Arunachalam — after she has been allegedly denied a board seat. As one of the heirs to the group, Arunachalam said she is waging a “lonely battle” to unseat gender bias in the company’s board after the demise of her father MV Murugappan. Demanding that female heirs in the family be given equal opportunity in the business, on the same terms as male heirs, Arunachalam said, “We are seeking a board seat in Ambadi Investments, a holding company of the group, or fair market value for our stake in the company, since both I and my sister are qualified and experienced and hence eligible to get representation on the board.”
“My father, in his will, bequeathed everything to me, my younger sister and my mother, and clearly stated his wish to give us equal rights and to represent our branch in the family business. We are only running from pillar to post to get what is rightfully ours, but nobody is reciprocating in the same manner,” Arunachalam rued, hoping for an early settlement within the family amicably.
She also backed her claim saying that even the Hindu Succession Act recognises the right of women to head the family. Arunachalam’s family, including her sister and mother, has taken the fight to the family patriarch, 80-yearold MV Subbiah, after the board of Ambadi Investments, the holding company of the 119-year Murugappa Group, couldn’t come up with a concrete decision on this matter when they met in November.
“All we are asking is that fair value of our assets should be given to me, my sister and my mother,” Arunachalam said, adding that this fight is “not just for us but for all women facing discrimination”. The promoter shareholding in Ambadi Investments is collectively owned by seven branches of the Murugappa family. According to Arunachalam, the other six branches of the family are represented on the board and she is seeking a seat to represent her family by virtue of its stake of about 8 per cent in the holding company.