Trent honcho jumps ship to MobileStore

Essar Group company The MobileStore Ltd (TMS) has appointed the Tata group veteran Himanshu Chakrawarti as its chief executive officer.

Chakrawarti joins the group from Landmark, the leisure retail format of Tata group company Trent Ltd, where he was the chief operating officer.

When contacted, Chakrawarti declined to comment on his appointment.

An Essar Group spokesperson, however, confirmed the development about him joining TMS. “Chakrawarti’s rich multi-category retail experience will provide vital strategic lead to take TMS to the next level of accelerated growth, which now includes consumer durables and information technology retail also,” the spokesperson said.

Chakrawarti replaces Srikant Gokhale, who is believed to be pursuing opportunities in the teaching space. Chakrawarti is likely to take charge within a week.

A graduate from IIT Kanpur, Chakrawarti joined Trent in November 2000. On Chakrawarti’s replacement, a senior Trent official said, “Ashutosh Pandey who deputy COO has been elevated and is now Landmark’s  chief operating officer.”