Kingfisher is probably the first brand that comes to mind when someone talks about beer in India, and it has been backed by United Breweries. But UBL's high spirits were hit after its former Chairman Vijay Mallya fled the country after pulling off a Rs 9,000 crore scam. As the company faces higher costs and allegations of forming a beer catel to manipulate prices, its CEO and MD Rishi Pardal has stepped down.
Pardal had been CEO for two years and three months, ever since the debt recovery tribunal sold off UBL to global beer giant Heineken in June 2021. The firm which acquired UBL for more than Rs 5,000 crore, stated that Pardal guided the firm through the pandemic and facilitated its integration into Heineken. The team of executives assembled by Pardal, will be driving the integration process forward.
At the same time, UBL faces a penalty of more than Rs 700 crore, but an order by the NCLAT upholding the fine has been stayed by the Supreme Court. The competition commission of India had found that UBL had colluded with Carlsberg India and InBev, to fix prices of beer in the country.
Pardal had taken over as CEO and MD of UBL, after leading Global Apparel Solutions for RBIS as the Vice President and General Manager. He will continue to be at UBL for six more months.
