Britannia Industries, in its board meeting on Friday, has appointed Nikhil Sen, chief operating officer, as the "manager" of the company.
 
Corporate observers said, "manager" of a company is someone who has all the powers of a managing director but will not be on the board of directors.

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Market sources said this should cut down on speculation regarding succession of Sunil Alagh, erstwhile managing director of the company.
 
Sen assumes the role of manager of the company with immediate effect as per section 387 of the Companies Act 1956.
 
Earlier in the day, replying to queries from the media, on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting, Nusli Wadia, chairman, Britannia Industries, said the board would decide about on the succession of Alagh but declined to give a timeframe.
 
The conflict between Wadia and Alagh arose on account of certain personal expenditure incurred by Alagh and his relatives/related parties.

Wadia said the figures were being examined by an independent external firm of chartered accountants -- appointed by the board -- whose report was awaited. Citing the company's growth Wadia said there was no management instability in the company due to the uncertainty over Alagh's succession.

Britannia had chalked out an expansion plan for the growth of the company and was planning to set up a new biscuit factory in Uttaranchal having capacity of around 60,000-80,000 tonne. 
 
Wadia said for a 60,000 tonne factory, investments required would be around Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million).
 
The primary reason behind setting up the factory in Uttaranchal was tax exemptions, he said. The factory would be commissioned in 18 months' time.
 
The exact location of the factory in Uttaranchal was yet to be decided. The capital expenditure would be funded through internal accruals.
 
Britannia presently had a biscuit volume in excess of 250,000 tonne. The company had a market share of 44 per cent in value terms and 40 per cent in volume.
 
As part of the growth strategy, the company would build on the values of brand "Britannia" by aggressively pursuing tasty yet healthy offerings of mass appeal and also launching a host of affordable products, which would help rejuvenate the mother brand and drive category consumption.
 
Alongside, Britannia would endeavour to be the lowest cost producer in the market.