Mr Pradeep Paunrana, a founding shareholder and the company’s former CEO, was hired by PwC in September as the general manager on a three-month contract after the administrators took over operations of the fallen cement producer.
Surendra Bhatia, the firm’s former deputy CEO, was also hired as the deputy general manager at the same time and for the same duration after his initial contract was terminated.
Their presence is expected to help the administrators track the cement manufacturer’s assets, liabilities and relationships with key stakeholders such as suppliers and bankers.
The contract of former ARM Cement #ticker:ARM chief executive and biggest shareholder Pradeep Paunrana expires at the end of this month, subject to renewal by the company’s administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Mr Paunrana, a founding shareholder and the company’s former CEO, was hired by PwC in September as the general manager on a three-month contract after the administrators took over operations of the fallen cement producer.
Surendra Bhatia, the cement manufacturer’s former deputy CEO, was also hired as the deputy general manager at the same time and for the same duration after his initial contract was terminated.
“We will decide if we want to renew their contracts,” said George Weru, a PwC executive and one of the administrators of ARM.
Mr Weru said the duo was hired to maintain the company’s institutional memory.
Their presence is expected to help the administrators track the cement manufacturer’s assets, liabilities and relationships with key stakeholders such as suppliers and bankers.
Their decades of experience in the cement industry is also critical as the administrators seek to keep the company’s operations going even as they seek a strategic investor to acquire it. Mr Paunrana has worked for ARM since 1984 while Mr Bhatia joined the company in 2000, with the managers having driven the firm’s expansion into the regional market including Tanzania.
PwC did not disclose the terms of their new short-term contracts. Their previous employment was terminated because the company could not afford their entitlements, the administrators said.
Mr Paunrana, for instance, earned Sh114.7 million in the year ended December 2017 while Mr Bhatia earned Sh73.2 million in the same period, according to the annual report for that year.
The duo has been reporting to PwC who are now tasked with the company’s day-to-day management and strategic direction, having supplanted the board that drew its membership from the major shareholders.
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