Suzlon director quits over 'corporate governance standards' at Indian wind giant

Shares in Indian wind turbine group Suzlon fell after one of its directors resigned citing concerns over corporate governance standards.

Marc Desaedeleer quit as an independent director of Suzlon on Saturday, telling chairman Vinod Tanti that over the last 18 months "and including recently, several situations occurred where the corporate governance standards applied by the company did not meet my expectations including situations where communications lacked the level of openness and transparency, I would have liked to see."

Desaedeleer added: "We discussed several of these situations, some were shared with board members, and I sent you recently a note covering these situations with the hope that this information can be used in a constructive manner."

Desaedeleer, a former senior executive for Citibank, did not elaborate further on the matter.

Shares in Suzlon were trading more than 4% lower in Mumbai on Monday morning.

The wind OEM led by CEO JP Chalasani said in a statement: “The company categorically reiterates that there are no financial irregularities or compliance violations within the organisation. We appreciate Mr. Desaedeleer's contributions to the company over the past years and are thankful that he had expressed satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial performance over the past eighteen months.

“Suzlon emphasizes its commitment to adhering to all regulatory norms and maintaining proactive disclosures and compliance. The company takes Mr. Desaedeleer’s suggestions on procedural enhancements constructively and will continue its journey towards enhanced operational performance.”

Desaedeleer in his letter also noted that the positive “operational and financial performance recorded by the company” over the same 18 month period, during which Suzlon has rebounded to regain a significant slice of India’s wind turbine market despite stiff competition from Western and Chinese rivals.