Cairn’s Chief Executive Officer Ajay Dixit has decided to quit the company at month-end. He is the fifth CEO of billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta’s oil and gas division to quit the firm. Cairn was taken over by the mining baron eight years ago.
According to a PTI report, Dixit has decided to not seek an extension of his contract with the company which is coming to an end this month. Dixit was appointed the CEO of Cairn Oil and Gas in mid-April last year.
There is no clarity yet as to why Dixit is leaving the company, but a company spokesperson has said that a statement from the Vedanta group will be made available shortly.
It is, however, interesting that Dixit’s resignation came just when Agarwal announced intention to take Vedanta private by offering to buy out minority shareholders.
Dixit had the shortest tenure of just over a year as the head of the firm that operates the nation”s biggest onland field in Barmer in Rajasthan.
Before being elevated to the position of Cairn Oil & Gas CEO, Dixit was the acting CEO of Vedanta”s aluminum and power business. His appointment had come after Sudhir Mathur resigned from the company.
Dixit is the fifth CEO to have quit the company since Vedanta completed the acquisition of Cairn India in December 2011.
Vedanta had bought a 58.8% stake in Cairn India from British explorer Cairn Energy for $8.67billion in August 2010 and the acquisition was completed in December 2011.
Rahul Dhir, the company’s first CEO who oversaw its listing and development of India’s biggest oil discovery in Rajasthan, quit the company in August 2012. His successor P Elango resigned in May 2014, while the third CEO Mayank Ashar resigned in May 2016.
In April 2017, Cairn India was merged with Vedanta and delisted from the stock exchanges.
Vedanta Ltd, whose shares have fallen more than 40 % this year, houses commodity as well as oil and gas business.
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.