Raghu Pillai passes away

Retail veteran, Raghu Pillai, 54, passed away in Chennai on Sunday morning after a fatal cardiac attack.

He was holding the position of CEO of Future Value Retail and executive board member of Future group, where he had moved recently after quitting Reliance Retail as CEO.

Known for his quintessential talents and skills in the retail sectore, he was part of the start-up team of FoodWorld Supermarkets.

Starting his career with the RPG group in Dunlop in 1980, he was later with Fujitsu ICIM and then HMV before he joined FoodWorld Supermarkets, a joint venture the RPG group formed with Dairy Farm International in the mid-1990s to kick-start an organised retail chain in the country.

After a long career with the RPG group, Mr Pillai had moved briefly to the Future group and subsequently to Reliance, only to return to Future after a stint with Reliance as its CEO for operations and strategy

He is survived by his wife, daughter and son, both of whom are in university in Singapore.