Politics is his first love, but it is downright business that he is trying to learn, at the Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) Godrej group. Some three weeks ago, Pirojsha Godrej, Adi and Parmeshwar Godrej's 23-year-old son, joined the family business as a management trainee.
Says Adi Godrej, chairman of the Godrej group, "After completing his studies, my son Pirojsha has joined the group as a management trainee. On completion of one year's training, he will join Godrej Properties & Investments Ltd as a manager. His career, thereafter, will depend on his performance, as it would for any new entrant in our group."
A product of St Cathedral School, Mumbai, Pirojsha completed the last three years of his schooling at Philips Academy, Andover. He then acquired a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wharton, and now has a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University.
"It's just been three weeks since I joined the group as a management trainee and there's a long way to go," says Pirojsha, who declines to discuss his future role within the group.
The younger Godrej is focusing on building his leadership abilities. So, does his surname give him an edge? "Well, yes, and no, (it depends) on the way other members within the group treat me," says Godrej, who likes to water-ski, and plays chess, squash, tennis and