Najam Sethi, a renowned journalist, has been appointed interim CEO of Mitchell’s Fruit Farms Limited. According to the stock filing, he will replace Naila Bhatti, who resigned from the company last month after two years of service.
Sethi has served as the company’s chairman of the board of directors since the beginning of 2020. He resigned from his post to assume the interim responsibility of the chief executive for overseeing the company’s operational routine.
In his stead, Shahzad Ghaffar has been appointed chairman of the firm, according to the filing.
As a businessman, Najam Sethi built multiple media groups and a publishing house in the past. He also served on the Pakistan Cricket Board and played a pivotal role in the organisation of the Pakistan Super League, the premier domestic cricket tournament (PSL). He also held several positions within the administration, including Punjab’s acting chief minister.
Sethi joined Mitchells Fruit Farms as a director and board chairman during a period of severe financial difficulty. In 2020-21, the company momentarily returned to profitability, with a net income of over Rs. 104 million, after suffering losses for a number of years. By the end of the third quarter of 2021-22, the company is still projected to incur a loss of Rs. 8.4 million.
Mitchells Fruit Farms is a household name since it manufactures a wide range of consumable brands, such as beverages, chocolates, jams, ketchup and sauces, ready-to-eat products/dishes, etc.
The company exports its products to over twenty countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, the Middle East, South-West Asia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, and Djibouti.
Francis J. Mitchell started Michell’s Fruit Farms in Okara District in British India in 1933. Syed Maratib Ali bought the company in 1958. Later, his son-in-law Syed Muhammad Mohsin became the company’s CEO and chairman. Currently, his son-in-law Najam Sethi is working diligently to eliminate the company’s losses.
Syed Maratib Ali gave up total management of Mitchell’s Fruit Farms to his son-in-law S.M. Mohsin. Until 2020, he and his son Mehdi Mohsin operated the business. In 2020, Jugnu Mohsin and her husband Najam Sethi assumed operational control, and Abdul Raheem became the company’s chairman.
