Brands
Pramit Jhaveri to step down from Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, declines re-appointment
Mumbai: A quiet but significant exit is underway at one of India’s most influential philanthropic institutions. Pramit Jhaveri has decided to move on from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and will not seek re-appointment when his term ends on February 11, 2026, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Jhaveri has written to Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata informing him of his decision, effectively closing the door on another term at the powerful trust that anchors much of the Tata Group’s philanthropic architecture. The move, while orderly, signals a notable change in the upper echelons of the trust’s governance.
In his letter, Jhaveri described it as “an honour to serve as a trustee of the Tata Trusts” and conveyed his “best wishes to the Tata Trusts and the Tata Group,” people aware of the communication said. The tone was courteous, the message unequivocal.
Sources added that a Tata Trusts board meeting is likely to be scheduled in the coming weeks, a gathering that could set the stage for succession discussions and wider governance recalibrations. The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust remains one of the most consequential pillars within the Tata Trusts ecosystem, which collectively holds significant stakes across the Tata conglomerate.
Jhaveri brings with him a long banking pedigree. A career Citibanker, he served as chief executive officer of Citibank India from 2010 to 2019 before retiring in November 2019 after 32 years with the firm. He joined Citi in 1987 and, prior to his India chief role, held the position of vice chairman – banking, Asia Pacific, overseeing regional responsibilities during a period of rapid financial expansion.
Academically, Jhaveri holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Sydenham College, Mumbai University, and an MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. His trajectory from global banking boardrooms to one of India’s most prominent charitable trusts underscored a career shaped as much by finance as by institutional stewardship.
For now, the exit appears measured rather than abrupt, but its timing ensures attention. With a board meeting on the horizon and a term end date fixed, the transition clock has started ticking. In the rarefied world of trust governance, departures seldom roar. They arrive quietly, letter in hand, and leave a noticeable silence behind.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
