Renowned journalist, Najam Sethi has been appointed as interim Chief Executive of Mitchell’s Fruit Farm Limited. He will replace Naila Bhatti who resigned from the company last month after serving the company for two years, according to the stock filing.
Sethi has been serving the company in the capacity of chairman of the board of directors since early 2020. He stepped down from his position to assume the interim charge of the chief executive for looking after the company’s operations routine of operations.
In his place, Shahzad Ghaffar has been appointed as the chairman of the company, the stock filing further stated.
Najam Sethi founded various media groups and a publishing house as a businessman in the past. He also served Pakistan Cricket Board and played an instrumental role in organizing the mega domestic cricketing event, Pakistan Super League (PSL). He also performed various roles in the government including Acting CM Punjab.
Sethi became part of the Mitchells Fruits Farm at a time of deep financial crisis as a director and the chairman of the board. The company remained in losses for the past many years but it regained its profitability briefly in 2020-21 with a bottom line standing over Rs. 104 million. In 2022, the company is still facing a loss of Rs. 8.4 million by the end of the third quarter of 2021-22.
Mitchells Fruits Farm is a household name as it produces various edible brands including beverages, chocolates, jams, ketchup and sauces, ready-to-eat products/ dishes and etc.
The company also exports its products to over 20 countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, Middle-East, South-West Asia, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, and Djibouti.
Founded in Okara District, Michell’s Fruit Farms was founded by Francis J. Mitchell in 1933 in British India. The company was bought by Syed Maratib Ali in 1958. Later, his son-in-law Syed Muhammad Mohsin had become the MD and chairman of the company. At present, his son-in-law Najam Sethi is working aggressively to take out the company from the losses.
Syed Maratib Ali’s son-in-law S.M. Mohsin was handed over complete control of Mitchell’s Fruit Farms. He and his son Mehdi Mohsin ran the company until 2020. Jugnu Mohsin and her husband Najam Sethi took over the operational control in 2020 and Abdul Raheem became the Chairman of the company.
