Ness Wadia

Ness Nusli Wadia (born 30 May 1971) is an Indian businessman. Part of the Wadia family, Wadia is the managing director of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, a company which has holdings in most of the Wadia Group subsidiaries, including an indirect majority stake in Britannia Industries.[1][2] He was the Joint Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing, the flagship company of the Wadia Group,[3][4] till March 2011 when he stepped down from the post. Wadia is a co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Punjab Kings.

Ness Nusli Wadia
Wadia at the C.N. Wadia Cup in 2011
Born (1971-05-30) 30 May 1971
Mumbai, India
EducationThe Cathedral & John Connon School (Mumbai)

Lawrence School (Himachal Pradesh)

Millfield School (England)
Alma materTufts University University of Warwick
OccupationBusinessman
Parent(s)Maureen and Nusli Wadia
RelativesSee Wadia family and Jinnah family

Early life

Wadia was born into the Parsi Wadia family in Mumbai. His parents are businessman Nusli Wadia and former airhostess Maureen Wadia.[5] His father was the son of Neville Wadia and Dina Wadia. His grandfather was the son of Sir Ness Wadia who played an important role in turning the city of Bombay into one of the worlds largest cotton gin trading centers during the late 19th century. His grandmother was the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah the founder of Pakistan.

After completing his education at The Cathedral & John Connon School as well as Lawrence School in Himachal Pradesh, and then at Millfield School in the UK Wadia studied international relations at Tufts University near Boston, Massachusetts, and then went on to do his M.Sc in Engineering Management at University of Warwick.[3]

Career

Wadia joined Bombay Dyeing in 1993 as a Management Trainee. During his earlier period he was closely involved in marketing and retail distribution of the textile division of the company and was active in various organisations such as the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) (a council he once chaired), Mill Owners’ Association (MOA), Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India, etc.[6]

In 1998, he took a leave of absence to complete his master's degree in Science of Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick with a thesis titled "Leading to Success in India". After receiving his master's degree in 2001, he returned as Deputy Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing and was later promoted to Joint Managing Director.[3] He was appointed to this position on 1 August 2001 and stayed till March 2011, when he stepped down, and younger brother Jehangir was made managing director. Ness was appointed Managing Director of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation.[2]

In 1998, 1999 and 2000 he was appointed on the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry and in September 1998 was appointed the Convenor of the Special Group Task Force on Food and Agro Industries Management Policy in September, 1998.[6]

Ness Wadia currently serves as Managing Director of Bombay Burmah Trading Company Limited and Chairman of National Peroxide Limited.[6] He also serves as Director on Boards of various Wadia Group companies such as Britannia Industries, Bombay Dyeing, GoAir and Wadia Techno Engineering Services. He sits on the Audit Committees of GoAir, Britannia, Bombay Burmah, and NPL; the Finance Committees of Bombay Dyeing, Bombay Burmah, and Britannia; and also the CSR Committees of Bombay Dyeing and Britannia. He is actively involved in the overseeing the award-winning Wadia Hospitals in addition to the Group’s educational establishments under Modern Education Society (MES) Trust.[6]


In 2008, along with actress Preity Zinta and businessman Mohit Burman, Wadia acquired ownership rights for the Mohali-based Twenty20 cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL).[7] The group paid $76 million to acquire the franchise, and named the team Punjab Kings.[8]

Board positions

Wadia has served as Managing Director of Bombay Burmah Trading Company Limited.[9] He has been a trustee of Sir Ness Wadia Foundation, and other charitable trusts within the Wadia family, and a board member of Wadia Hospitals.[10]

Personal life

Wadia dated Bollywood actress Preity Zinta from February 2005 until 2009, and the couple were subject to intense media scrutiny.[11]

On 13 June 2014, Zinta filed a complaint with the Mumbai police against Wadia alleging he had attacked her at an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 30 May.[12]

Wadia helped the state of Sikkim by donating supplies during COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

In April 2019, Wadia was sentenced by a Japanese court in to jail for two years for possession of drugs. In delivering this sentence, the court also suspended the sentence for five years.[14]

He has been noted to be supportive of the LGBTQ community.[15]

B2B Platform AgriGator Raises Funding From Venture Catalysts And Ness Wadia[16]

References
  1. "Bombay Dyeing Management: Jeh elevated, Ness steps down". The Times of India. 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  2. "Wadia Group Re-shuffle". MoneyControl.com. 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  3. "Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul, Mohit Burman". The Times of India. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  4. "Promoters of Kings XI Punjab". Kings XI Punjab. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  5. "Ness Wadia: Photoshoot". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  6. "Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (BDYN:Bombay Stock Exchange)". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  7. Bollywood Hungama News Network (24 January 2008). "King Khan, Preity Zinta bag teams in IPL bidding". indiaFM. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  8. "Kings XI Punjab". kxip. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  9. "list of directors". bbtcl.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  10. "Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital". Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  11. Shaikh, Jamal (3 February 2005). "Preity woman's man". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  12. "Bollywood Actress Preity Zinta Files Molestation Case Against Business Tycoon (Report)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. 14 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  13. "Ness Wadia joins Sikkim's battle keeping Coronavirus at bay". Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  14. "The scion of one of India's biggest conglomerates was arrested for possessing drugs". QUARTZ INDIA. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  15. "Kanika Dhillon, Amit Sharma, Ness Wadia, Garima Arora to help LGBTQIA community, sex workers and HIV infected people amidst COVID-19 crisis". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  16. "B2B Platform AgriGator Raises Funding From Venture Catalysts And Ness Wadia". entrepreneur.com. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
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