Ignatius Navil Noronha may not be one of the highest paid CEOs in India but he definitely is among the richest professional managers in the country with a net worth towering over a billion dollars. He is the man entrusted by one of the richest men in India, Radhakishan Damani, to run his chain of DMart supermarkets.
With Noronha as the CEO, DMart-parent Avenue Supermarts has stood out among competitors in being profitable for the last five years. The Mumbai man is super rich, but maintains a low-profile, which is why he isn’t one of the first names that pop up among the most famous CEOs of India. But he is in a league of his own.
A science and management graduate from SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Noronha’s talent was spotted by ace investor Damani when the executive was working for legacy FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever. He joined Damani’s supermarket venture in his late 20s after an 8-year stint at HUL.
From Avenue’s new Head of Business in 2004, Noronha climbed to the top of the ladder and made the venture successful with his industry famous fool-proof strategies. For his brilliant business acumen, he is considered a management GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
In business circles, he is highly admired not just for his intelligence and diligence but also humility. His office cabin is said to be just a quarter of the size typical for CEOs of big firms. Since his firm’s successful IPO which catapulted his and Damani’s wealth, Navil missed work on just one occasion in the year, to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.
Ignatius Navil Noronha completed one of the highest valued deals in Mumbai real estate last year. Noronha, who earned a salary of over Rs 4.5 crore in FY 2021-22, bought a two-unit 9,552 square feet new home with 10 car parking space for himself in Bandra (East) area. He paid Rs 66 crore plus Rs 3.30 crore stamp duty. Navil owns around 2 percent of stake in Avenue Supermarts, which is responsible for his mind-boggling net worth of over a billion dollars. His multi-crore salary is over and above.