Blue Star, a major player in the air conditioning and commercial refrigeration space, has rejigged its board. The company has appointed Shailesh Haribhakti as the chairman, succeeding Suneel M. Advani who will be retiring from the board on March 31 in accordance with the retirement policy for non-executive directors. Suneel Advani has been appointed in the role of chairman emeritus.

Vir S. Advani will be re-designated as vice chairman and managing director. He will be the primary interface between the board and the executive management, and will also directly oversee the company’s subsidiary Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited, international operations, corporate finance, corporate human resources, IT and corporate planning. B. Thiagarajan has been elevated to the position of managing director. He will now be responsible for the projects and products businesses, manufacturing, R&D, supply chain, customer service, corporate communications and corporate marketing services.

These changes will be effective April 1.