Thiagarajan Ramamurthy Takes Over From Vimal Shah As Bidco Africa CEO.

Thiagarajan Ramamurthy (TRM), the new Bidco Group Chief Executive Officer.

Bidco Africa has named Thiagarajan Ramamurthy its new Group Chief Executive Officer in a radical change in the company’s leadership.

Current Group CEO and Founder Director Vimal Shah becomes the company’s chairman.

This move completes a transition from family run to professionally managed company on its way to realising its vision. The Shah family, who have owned and run the company for over 30 years, will now be shareholders.

Ramamurthy was Nakumatt Holdings’ regional operations and strategy director for a 15-year stint.

“TRM (Ramamurthy) is a business leader with top-level experience and we are delighted to hand him the reins at this time.  Bidco is entering a period of exponential growth and TRM has the right skillset to chart a winning way forward,” Vimal Shah said.

“My brother Tarun and I will focus on mapping the company’s growth trajectory and identifying the right adjacency for the business. The goal is to become a billion dollar business and to do that we have to grow 4 times. My new role is to figure how to make this happen.”

Vimal Shah will concentrate on its growth strategy and expansion into new product categories and markets.

“We have always wanted to make the transition from a family run to professionally run organization and this is the climax of that idea. We have had a dual view of the business for 32 years as both directors and managers. This change will give us an aerial view of the business without having to worry about the ground level,” Tarun Shah, Founder Director added.

Ramamurthy has more than 45 years' professional experience in business management and leadership in the retail and manufacturing sectors in India and Kenya.

His main strengths are operations, marketing, business development and strategic positioning of the businesses.

He is also a columnist and a speaker in various forums across the world; he has carved a niche for himself in the retail sector for his leadership of Nakumatt.

TRM is looking forward to the challenge.                      

“I am humbled and honoured to have the opportunity to be a part of the Bidco story. This is a company with a rich heritage and a big future; I look forward to delivering on the vision and promise of this incredible Kenyan brand.”

Ramamurthy has exited Nakumatt, just months before a major shakeup.

Nakumatt Managing Director Atul Shah said the strategy will feature a new group and regional management structure featuring Chief Officers at the Nairobi regional headquarters complemented by in-country management teams in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. 

The recently appointed Chief Marketing Officer, Andrew Dixon, assisted by the Regional Chief Officers, has assumed duties previously undertaken by Ramamurthy to facilitate a seamless transition.

The retailer has hired UK’s Outram Cullinan & Company (OC&C) Strategy consultant to develop a ten-year growth plan. Nakumatt has also retained Information Technology Consulting firm Zensar to spearhead its IT re-engineering process.

(Related Stories: BIDCO Appoints Chris Diaz As Group Sales & Marketing Director After Resigning From KQ.)

Nakumatt has also appointed Srihari Vemula as the Chief Operations Manager from the Oman-based Khimji Ramdas (KR) Group. Mr. Manoj Singh is now the new Group Financial Controller while in Uganda, Bernard Mutua and Sameer Shah will continue serving as the joint Country Managers.  

In Tanzania, Daniel Kimweli and Srinivasan Suresh will continue serving as the joint Country Managers while in Rwanda Mr. Adan Ramata will continue serving as the Country Manager. 

TRM’s appointment comes on the heels of the return of Chris Diaz to Bidco Africa as Group Sales and Marketing Director.

Bidco Africa, which is East Africa’s largest FMCG, was founded in 1985 by Bhimji Depar Shah and his two sons Vimal Shah and Tarun Shah. It is a market leader in the edible Oils and fats categories in Kenya who also manufactures Hygiene and Personal care products including bar soaps and detergents.