Ness Wadia

Born/Date of Birth: 30 May 1971
Place of Birth: Liverpool, England
Nationality: British, Indian
Education: The Cathedral & John Connon School
Alma mater: University of Warwick
Occupation: Businessman
Education: The Cathedral And John Connon School, Tufts University, The Lawrence School, Sanawar, University of Warwick
Grandparents: Neville Wadia, Dina Wadia
Great-grandparents: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Rattanbai Jinnah, Ness Wadia
Parents: Nusli Wadia, Maureen Wadia

Ness Nusli Wadia (born 30 May 1971) is a British-Indian businessman. Part of the Wadia family, where his parents and several family members are all involved in business, he is the great-grandson of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Wadia is the managing director of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, a company which has holdings in most of the Wadia Group subsidiaries, including an indirect majority stake in Britannia Industries. He was the Joint Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing, the flagship company of the Wadia Group, till March 2011 when he stepped down from the post. Wadia is a co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kings XI Punjab.

Early life
Wadia was born into the Parsi Wadia family in Liverpool, England. His parents are businessman Nusli Wadia and former airhostess Maureen Wadia. He is the grandson of Neville Wadia and Dina Wadia, and the great grandson of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and his Parsi-born wife Rattanbai Petit; the later of whom was a part of the Petit—Tata family. Ness and his brother, Jehangir Wadia, are the direct and only descendants of Jinnah and his family, after their father.

After completing his education at The Cathedral & John Connon School as well as Lawrence School in Himachal Pradesh, and then at Millfield School in the UK Wadia studied international relations at Tufts University near Boston, Massachusetts, and then went on to do his M.Sc in Engineering Management at University of Warwick.

Career
Wadia joined Bombay Dyeing in 1993 as a Management Trainee. During his earlier period he was closely involved in marketing and retail distribution of the textile division of the company and was active in various organisations such as the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) (a council he once chaired), Mill Owners’ Association (MOA), Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India, etc.

In 1998, he took a leave of absence to complete his master's degree in Science of Engineering Business Management from the University of Warwick with a thesis titled "Leading to Success in India". After receiving his master's degree in 2001, he returned as Deputy Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing and was later promoted to Joint Managing Director. He was appointed to this position on 1 August 2001 and stayed till March 2011, when he stepped down, and younger brother Jehangir was made managing director. Ness was appointed Managing Director of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation.

In 1998, 1999 and 2000 he was appointed on the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry and in September 1998 was appointed the Convenor of the Special Group Task Force on Food and Agro Industries Management Policy in September, 1998.

Wadia serves as director on the boards of group companies- Britannia Industries Ltd., Wadia BSN Ltd., and Nowrosjee Wadia & Sons Ltd. He is also a director of Gherzi Eastern Ltd., Tata Iron & Steel, Tata Chemicals, and other companies and is also a member of the Managing Committee of the Nehru Centre in Mumbai.

In 2008, along with actress Preity Zinta and businessman Mohit Burman, Wadia acquired ownership rights for the Mohali-based Twenty20 cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The group paid $76 million to acquire the franchise, and named the team Kings XI Punjab.

Board positions
Wadia has served as Managing Director of Bombay Burmah Trading Company Limited He has been a trustee of Sir Ness Wadia Foundation, and other charitable trusts within the Wadia family, and a board member of Wadia Hospitals[non-primary source needed]

Personal life
Wadia dated Bollywood actress Preity Zinta from February 2005 until 2009, and the couple were subject to intense media scrutiny. On 13 June 2014, Zinta filed a complaint with the Mumbai police against Wadia alleging he had attacked her at an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 30 May. Wadia has denied the allegations.

In March 2019, during a skiing holiday in Japan, Ness was convicted by a local court for a jail term of 2 years against the possession of drugs. He admitted to possessing the drugs and that they were for his own personal use. Though in a small quantity (about 25 gms of cannabis resin), the industrialist was sentenced for a 2 year jail term which was suspended by 5 years. After some time spent in detention, Wadia returned to India.