Jamshyd Naoroji Godrej is an Indian industrialist and member of the

Godrej family The Godrej family is an Indian Parsi family that manages and largely owns the Godrej Group of company- a conglomerate founded by Ardeshir Godrej and his brother Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej in 1897. It spans sectors as diverse as real estate, consu ...

, currently serving as managing director and chairman of

Godrej & Boyce Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. (G&B) is the flagship company of the Godrej Group. Established in 1897 in Mumbai, India, G&B is a privately held company with a presence across 10 industries – from building complex and custom engineering solution ...

, the holding company of the Godrej group.

is a diversified business with a presence across 10 industry sectors.

Early life

Jamshyd Godrej was born in Mumbai, India. He completed his schooling at the prominent

Cathedral & John Connon School The Cathedral & John Connon School is a co-educational private school founded in 1860 and located in Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra.Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

, studying mechanical engineering, and was appointed a director of

in 1974, becoming managing director in 1991 and chairman in 2000. In 2012, Godrej resigned from the board of

Haldia Petrochemicals Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., often referred to as HPL, is one of the largest petrochemical companies in India, with a total capacity equivalent to 10,00,000 TPA of ethylene. It was formed out of a joint venture between the Government of West Benga ...

, prompting efforts by government of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

to retain him.

Career

Jamshyd joined the Board of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited as a director in 1974. He led the group in the areas of home appliances, consumer durables, office equipment, industrial products, consumer products and services. He is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited. He is also the chairman of the CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre. In 2012, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth to be $4.8 billion.

Awards

In 2003, he received India's third highest civilian honor, the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Green activities

Godrej is on the boards of the

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, fore ...

and

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...

; in 2012, ''

Forbes magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also repo ...

'' named him one of the richest green billionaires on the basis of the valuable

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

swamps the Godrej family has owned and preserved in

Vikhroli Vikhroli (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �ikʰɾoɭiː is a suburb of Mumbai located on the northeastern side of the city. The suburb has a railway station by the name Vikhroli on the Central Railway (India), Central Railway line. ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. He is vice president of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

. In partnership with the

, whose Indian division he chairs, he has supported sustainable forms of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

in India, including

bus rapid transport Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

schemes, through funding relevant institutions and lobbying the

Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

. He is on the board Board of Directors at World Resources Institute India (WRI India), and serves as the chairman of the board of directors for the Council On Energy, Environment and Water.

Personal life

Jamshyd is married to Pheroza Godrej and has two children, son Navroze Godrej and daughter Raika Godrej. He is known for his fondness of yachting.

References

{{commons category, Jamshyd Godrej Businesspeople from Mumbai Indian billionaires Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry Cathedral and John Connon School alumni Godrej Group Godrej family