Deshnee Naidoo

A CYNIC would say Deshnee Naidoo’s return to Vedanta Resources last year was like the person who jumped from the 80th floor of a skyscraper declaring “so far so good”. Or, we could argue it’s a role taken with eyes wide open. The reason for these different readings is the poor track record in executive retention at Vedanta, led by Anil Agarwal, its founder and executive chairman. Sure, Agarwal is a tough taskmaster, but his hands-on approach borders on interference, reports say.

When Naidoo ended her first stint at Vedanta in 2020, where she was CEO of Vedanta Zinc International for six years, it came shortly after the resignation of Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan (Venkat), CEO of Vedanta Resources. Venkat’s successor, Chris Griffith, lasted only two years. While he gave no details for his departure, we reckon the failure to list the base metals assets was the reason. So a hearty good luck to Naidoo on her return to Vedanta as it embarks on its latest plans.

In November, the group transferred its Zambian mines to the newly created US-domiciled subsidiary, CopperTech Metals. The strategy, as with so many other miners, is to capitalise on the US government’s appetite for critical minerals supply. An IPO may yet be in the works as Vedanta seeks $1.5bn in funding for the Zambian mines.