Know Who Gets What When the 127-year-old Godrej Family Splits Up

The 127-year-old Godrej Group, whose businesses include everything from soaps and home appliances to real estate, has come to an agreement to divide itself. Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir will retain Godrej Industries, which consists of five listed companies, while cousins Jamshyd and Smita will receive unlisted Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates, along with a land bank that includes prime real estate in Mumbai.

Godrej Divides in Half

According to a statement released by the organization, the group is divided between two branches of the founding family: Adi Godrej (82) and his brother Nadir (73) on one side and his cousins Jamshyd Godrej (75) and Smita Godrej Crishna (74), on the other.

The Godrej family described the division as “an ownership realignment” of the shareholdings in the Godrej enterprises in the announcement.

Godrej Family Divide: Allocation of Shares?

Godrej Jamshyd

Jamshyd Godrej will serve as chairman and managing director of Godrej Enterprises Group, which is made up of Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates that operate in a variety of sectors, including defense, furniture, IT software, and aerospace and aviation. Nyrika Holkar, 42, the daughter of his sister Smita, will serve as the executive director.

This arm, which will also hold the land bank and 3,400 acres of prime Mumbai property, would be under the hands of their families.

The Godrejs, Nadir and Adi

Nadir Godrej will serve as chairman of the Godrej Industries Group, which is owned by Adi, Nadir, and their immediate families and consists of the listed firms Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet, and Astec Lifesciences.

According to the announcement, Pirojsha Godrej, 42, the son of Adi, would take over as GIG’s executive vice chair in August 2026, replacing Nadir in that role.

As to the business statement, the realignment was done with consideration and respect, with the aim of preserving peace and better aligning ownership while acknowledging the different views of the Godrej family members.

“This will expedite the process of creating long-term value for shareholders and all other stakeholders and help maximize strategic direction, focus, and agility.” Both Groups are dedicated to enhancing and fortifying their common legacy and will keep using the Godrej brand.

Ardeshir Godrej, a lawyer turned serial entrepreneur, and his brother had failed at making handcrafted medical gadgets until finding success in locksmithing in 1897.

Since Ardeshir never had children, his younger brother, Pirojsha, inherited the group. The four children of Pirojsha are Sohrab, Dosa, Burjor, and Naval.

Over time, the children of Burjor (Adi and Nadir) and Naval (Jamshyd and Smita) took leadership roles in the group since Sohrab was childless and Dosa had just one kid, Rishad, who was also childless.

How To Make The Transition Easier

The two sides resigned from boards of businesses in opposing camps in order to facilitate the separation. Thus, Jamshyd Godrej resigned from the boards of GCPL and Godrej Properties, while Adi and Nadir Godrej resigned from the Godrej & Boyce Board.

According to unsubstantiated rumors, Adi and Nadir Godrej will transfer their ownership of Godrej & Boyce to the other branch. Through a familial agreement, Jamshyd Godrej and his family will give their relatives shares in Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) and Godrej Properties.

Mumbai is the Godrej land.

The ownership rights to real estate valued at crores of rupees, most of which is situated on great property in the suburbs of Mumbai, will continue to be governed by Godrej & Boyce (G&B) under a separate arrangement that will be negotiated.

Its land holdings in Mumbai are 3,400 acres, of which 3,000 acres are in Vikhroli. Some estimates place the development potential of the Vikhroli site at well above Rs 1 lakh crore. It has the potential to grow to 1,000 acres, of which 1,750 are covered in mangroves and are home to unique flora and birds. There have already been around 300 acres of land encroached upon.

In 1941–1942, Pirojsha purchased the Vikhroli property from the Bombay High Court receiver in a public auction. Prior to that, in the 1830s, it was purchased from the East India Company by Parsi businessman Framjee Banaji.

Adi is the Godrej Group’s chairman at the moment. Nadir, his brother, is the chairman of Godrej Agrovet and Godrej Industries. The chairman of the unlisted Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing firm is their relative, Jamshyd. The majority of the land in Vikhroli is owned by Godrej & Boyce, which is also partially owned by his sisters Smita Crishna and Rishad Godrej.

A few years ago, Jamshyd asked lawyer Zia Mody and investment banker Nimesh Kampani for advice on how to split up the land ownership. Adi was being helped by Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Cyril Shroff of the law company Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.

The announcement states that the realignment will take effect after the acquisition of the necessary regulatory permissions.

Godrej & Boyce (G&B) and its affiliates make up Godrej Enterprises Group (GEG), which is a conglomerate of companies operating in a number of industries, including aerospace, aviation, defense, energy, building materials, construction, green building consulting, EPC services, intralogistics, furniture, interior design, architectural fittings, IT, software, and infrastructure solutions.

It said, “Jamshyd Godrej, the chairman and managing director, Nyrika Holkar, the executive director, and their immediate families will now be in control of this group.”

Adi and Nadir Godrej, as well as their close relatives, will have control over Godrej Industries Group (GIG), which consists of the listed firms Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet, and Astec Lifesciences. Nadir Godrej will serve as GIG’s chairman.

It said that in August 2026, Pirojsha Godrej would take over as GIG’s Executive Vice Chair and replace Nadir Godrej as Chair.

“Since 1897, Godrej & Boyce has always been driven by the strong purpose of nation building,” said Jamshyd Godrej. We can now more easily achieve our growth goals and concentrate on using our core competencies in high-tech engineering and design-led innovation across our robust portfolio of strategic, consumer, and emerging companies thanks to this forward-looking family agreement.

“Godrej was founded in 1897 to help build economic independence for India,” said Nadir Godrej. Even after 125 years, our core values of trust, respect, trusteeship, and strengthening and improving the communities in which our firms operate—along with our fundamental mission of innovation for a cause—remain the cornerstones of who we are. We are eager to continue this history with agility and dedication.