In Bajaj family, business sense over-rules ties

But the handing over of control to the next generation is not a given in the family. Bajaj family members will have to prove themselves to get into top positions, a tradition followed since the inception of the group in 1926 by late founder Jamnalal Bajaj.

For instance, two scions of the Bajaj family — Sanjiv, son of Bajaj Group patriarch Rahul Bajaj, and Anant, son of Rahul’s cousin Shekhar Bajaj — were elevated to leadership posts, in March 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Sanjiv, 43, a mechanical engineer, was appointed as the MD of Bajaj Holdings and Investment, a company that owns a controlling stake in the group’s financial services business Bajaj Finserve that spans from insurance to non-banking financial services. Sanjiv Bajaj, a postgraduate from the University of Warwick, resigned as executive director of motorbikes maker Bajaj Auto, a company his elder brother Rajiv Bajaj runs independently.

“Sanjiv will now be non-executive director at Bajaj Auto, the flagship of group,” Niraj Bajaj, the youngest of Rahul Bajaj’s cousins, said in an interview with FE.

In keeping with the family tradition, Rajiv Bajaj, after he took over the reins of Bajaj Auto, of which his father Rahul Bajaj is chairman, transformed the company by competing with global

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