BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ms. Meher Pudumjee is the Chairperson of Thermax Ltd, a company focused on providing energy and environment solutions.

A postgraduate in Chemical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science & Technology, London, Meher joined Thermax as a trainee engineer in August 1990. A year later, along with her husband Pheroz Pudumjee, they took over the responsibility of turning around a Thermax subsidiary company in the UK.

After her return to India in September 1996, she was appointed on the Board of Directors. With her newly acquired interest in Finance, she worked closely with the treasury and working capital management functions of Thermax. She was involved with overseeing a Joint Venture Company in the area of drinking water as well as the Air Pollution Control businesses of the company. In January 2001 she became a non-executive director and was appointed Vice Chairperson in 2002. During this period she played an active role in the turnaround of Thermax.
She took over as Chairperson on October 5, 2004, after the retirement of Mrs. Anu Aga.

Ms.Pudumjee represented India at the Asian Business Women’s Conference in Osaka in 2006. The World Economic Forum in 2008 selected her as a Young Global Leader for her professional accomplishment, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world. She was selected CEO of the Year, 2009 by Business Standard.

Ms. Pudumjee served as the Chairperson of Pune Zonal Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). When a member of CII’s Young Indians, she chaired the National Employability initiative.

Meher has a keen interest in music, especially western classical and is a member of a Pune based choir. She lives in Pune with her husband and has two children.

He managed Thermax’s overseas venture in UK and facilitates the company’s international initiatives including the incubation and development of new business and relevant organisational changes.

Mr. Pudumjee was the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Pune. He was also a member of CII’S national committee on Export and a member on the Maratha Chamber of Commerce’s International panel.

He has a Masters in Business Administration and a diploma in Automobile Technology from Stanford University.

Before joining Thermax, Mr. Bhandari was the Vice President – India and South Asia region at Baker Hughes (formerly a GE company). He joined GE in 2005 in Houston, USA and relocated to Gurgaon in 2011. He is credited with building GE Oil and Gas into one of GE’s biggest businesses in India and for the successful integration of Baker Hughes and GE Oil and Gas during a time of significant transition. Over his 15-year GE career, Mr. Bhandari has worked in a variety of industrial businesses including GE Enterprise Solutions, GE Energy, and GE Oil and Gas. He has been instrumental in consolidating legacy businesses and at the same time looking at new technologies and opportunities for growth.

His prior work experience includes Schlumberger, consulting with McKinsey & Co. and two start-ups overseas.

Mr. Bhandari completed his Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering (B Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He received his master’s degree in Business Administration from Duke University.

He is the Chairman of Marico Limited, and is also Chairman & Managing Director of its wholly owned subsidiary, Kaya Limited. Mr. Mariwala has transformed Marico, a traditional commodities driven business into a leading consumer products and services company in the beauty and wellness space. From a turnover of Rs. 50 lakhs in 1971, Marico’s products generated a turnover of INR 6,132 crores during 2015-16. The company has won several awards and recognition under his leadership. He established the Marico Innovation Foundation in 2003 to fuel innovation in India. He started ASCENT in 2012, a not-for-profit and unique peer-to- peer platform for high potential entrepreneurs to exchange experiences and ideas.

Mr. Mariwala was the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 2011. He has been a part of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), held the position of YPO Education, Membership and Chapter Chair for the Bombay Chapter, and was a member of the International Forum Board of YPO International. He is now a part of the World Presidents Organization (WPO).

Dr. von Massow received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Georgia Augusta University, Göttingen (Germany) in 1983. After initial 2-years work experience in Africa, he practiced for almost 20 years as a Management Consultant with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Europe, US and India; in 1993 he was promoted to Vice President and Director of BCG Inc. During his tenure with BCG he held a number of senior positions, including Managing Director, India, and a member of the firm’s Asia Pacific Management Team.

Since 2006, Dr. von Massow has been working as an Independent (non-executive) Director, based in London and Berlin. His board mandates have included companies in the (renewable) energy, environment and agriculture sectors in India, Germany and UK, as well as start-ups and not-for-profit civil society organisations. He has been involved with the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) for many years, and currently serves as Chairman of WWF Germany and as Vice President of WWF International, based in Switzerland. He is also on the Board of Ritterschaftliches Kreditinstitut Stade, Germany. He brings with him a rich global experience of strategy, business models, governance and operations.

He is Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India having qualified in the year 1973. He spent most of his career with Ernst & Young and its Indian member firm, S. R. Batliboi & Co., Chartered Accountants, and its predecessor firm, Arthur Young, being a partner from 1974 to 2003.

He has contributed to the accounting profession, being a speaker or the chairperson at a large number of professional conferences in India and abroad.

As a philanthropist, he is actively involved with Childline, an all-India NGO for abused and distressed children. He is also Honorary Treasurer of the Indian Red Cross, Maharashtra and a trustee of the Narielvala Fire Temple in Mumbai.

Since 2003 Mr. Mirza has been involved in the movement for improved governance in the corporate sector. He is also involved in propagating knowledge of the threat to humankind from climate change and an appropriate response.

He is the co-founder, chairman and group CEO of KPIT Technologies Ltd. His vision has steered the company from product engineering, IT consulting and services, to three industries namely automotive & transportation, manufacturing and energy & utilities.

He is a gold medalist and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, an associate member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, and holds a master from Sloan School of Management, MIT, Cambridge, USA. In 2014, Tilak Maharashtra University decorated him with an honorary D.Litt.

Having run a Chartered Accountancy firm for close to a decade after finishing his master’s studies, Mr. Pandit decided to venture into information technology consulting and services, thus setting up KPIT with his co-founder in 1990.

For his commitment to conducting business in an ethical manner and for the value KPIT partnership has brought to Cummins, Mr. Pandit was honoured with the J Irwin Miller Award of Excellence by Cummins. He has also been conferred the Rotary Excellence Award, Maharashtra Corporate Excellence (MAXELL) Award and the Samata Award.

Ravi is a founder trustee of NGO Janwani which focuses on improvements in urban India. He is a founder trustee of the Pune International Centre, a national level think tank working on policy issues. Mr. Pandit was a member of the Government of India’s Automotive Research Program Committee and on DST’s Technology Development Board. He has served as the president of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture and has been on the NASSCOM executive council twice.

He is also Managing Director of Elgi Equipments Ltd. and is also on the Board of Elgi Rubber Company Ltd., Precot Meridian Ltd., Magna Electro Castings Ltd, Elgi Sauer Compressors Ltd, Elgi Ultra Industries Ltd., Elgi Ultra Ltd., Dark Horse Portfolio Investment Ltd. and ATS Elgi Ltd.

He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from George Washington University, USA and Ph.D. in International Business from the University of Michigan, USA. He has varied experience covering textiles, polymers, mechanical machines and consumer appliances.

Dr. Varadaraj has spent about four years in teaching and research in the United States, studying computerized marketing simulation as well as researching Euro-bond markets. He has also conducted research studies on international financial markets, joint ventures, corporate strategy and technology transfers in the United States. He was the Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Committee of CII.

She is a commerce graduate, Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and Certified Public Accountant from the USA.

She joined Lafargeholcim in January 2018 as Regional Finance Head – Asia (India, SEA & Australia). Rajani had two distinct stints at Schneider Electric and Dr. Reddy’s ltd. She has diverse experience across internal audit, compliance, treasury, M & A, driving transformation. She has also played a very meaningful role in driving business impact both in India and Overseas. Working with Dr. Reddy’s in Germany, she had to tum the business around and across many fronts: legal, supply chain, using licenses to get more business, change the model from ‘Doctor selling’ to engaging with retailers, an experience of great learning.

She has a very good understanding of Audit and Compliance and comes across as a very focused CFO who clearly drives for making an impact, speaks her mind, while at the same time she understands the need to drive the business as well.

Before joining Thermax, Mr. Bhandari was the Vice President – India and South Asia region at Baker Hughes (formerly a GE company). He joined GE in 2005 in Houston, USA and relocated to Gurgaon in 2011. He is credited with building GE Oil and Gas into one of GE’s biggest businesses in India and for the successful integration of Baker Hughes and GE Oil and Gas during a time of significant transition. Over his 15-year GE career, Mr. Bhandari has worked in a variety of industrial businesses including GE Enterprise Solutions, GE Energy, and GE Oil and Gas. He has been instrumental in consolidating legacy businesses and at the same time looking at new technologies and opportunities for growth.

His prior work experience includes Schlumberger, consulting with McKinsey & Co. and two start-ups overseas.

Mr. Bhandari completed his Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering (B Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He received his master’s degree in Business Administration from Duke University.

He joined Thermax as a Graduate Trainee Engineer in 1984 and has worked in various functions like sales, proposals, field sales, international marketing, sourcing, operations, etc. He was part of the core team leading the company’s transformation initiatives. Before taking over the current role, he was the Business Unit Head for Boiler & Heater, and prior to that, he headed the Air Pollution Control (Enviro) business.

Pravin completed his Mechanical Engineering from Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli in 1984.

He joined Thermax as a graduate trainee in 1988 and handled the Materials function for various businesses including global sourcing till 1996. He moved to Power division and grew to the position of Sales Head and subsequently Head of Projects. He took over as the Head of the SBU for Medium Power Plants in 2009 and finally as Head of Power business in 2012. Mahesh has been involved in shaping the strategy and growth of Power in the EPC and O&M businesses.

Mahesh completed his Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering, Nagpur in 1988.

In a career spanning 21 years, Hemant worked with Knorr Bremse India, Tata Toyo Radiators Ltd., FAG Precision Bearings Ltd., Indian Seamless Metal Tubes and Bharat Forge. His vast experience encompasses strategic planning, marketing, sales, engineering and technology development.

Hemant joined Thermax from Tata Auto Comp Systems (TACO) where he was President and Head-Business Group II, overseeing Interiors and Plastic division, Automotive Composite business and Tata GS Yuasa battery business. Earlier, as head of engineering service business of TACO, he was responsible for setting up engineering centres in Japan and China.

A BE Mechanical from Nagpur University, Hemant is also an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune and has completed a Diploma in General Management from Netherland’s Maastricht School of Management.

Bill joined from Martin Engineering India where he was the Managing Director for five years.

Before this, in a career spanning over 20 years, Bill has worked with Terex, Konecranes and Kone Elevators including assignments in Australia for several years. Bill brings to Thermax his varied experience in greenfield startup, sales marketing, project management, business strategy and operations, apart from an experience of working with stakeholders in multiple geographies.

A B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology, Bill has also completed a Senior Leadership Program from IIM Ahmedabad.

Shekhar joined Thermax as a Graduate Trainee Engineer in 1992 and has worked in various functions like sales, proposals, field sales, international marketing, operation etc. He has extensive international experience and has been responsible for developing markets for various Thermax products in countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Thailand.

Before Thermax, Shekhar had a stint with Caterpillar group company for a few years. In 2007, he rejoined Thermax to head the Small Power Plant performance unit. He helped to implement lean EPC model and successfully grew the performance unit into a full-fledged Strategic Business Unit (SBU). After this, he headed the Cooling SBU, followed by the large Boiler-Utility SBU. Before his current role, he headed the largest SBU of Thermax – Boiler & Heater.

A Mechanical Engineer from the College of Engineering Pune, Shekhar has also completed the Leadership Development Program from Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.

Starting his career with Thermax as a Management Trainee in 1993, he had worked for 15 years till 2008 across departments and businesses, including the role of Finance Controller for Chemical and Power businesses. He worked with Tata AutoComp Systems from 2008 to 2013 and subsequently moved to Gabriel India Ltd., where he was the CFO heading Finance, Secretarial, Legal & IT functions before rejoining Thermax.

A Certified Public Accountant, Rajendran has completed his Masters in Management Studies (MMS), Integrated Program of Engineering & Management from BITS Pilani and Advanced Management & Leadership Program from the Oxford University in the UK.

Prosenjit joined Thermax from the Volkswagen Group, where he was heading the digitalisation initiative for India, apart from heading its Steering and Governance for Asia Pacific. He also had a 14 years stint with Tata Motors, where he successfully created the Customer Relationship and Dealer Management systems.

He brings in 20 years of enriching experience of digitising multi-country, multi-portfolio operations across organisations apart from creating governance strategies and integrating social media platforms.

A graduate in Electronics Engineering, Prosenjit has also done his Business Management degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

Jasmeet brings with him over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, including lean management, diversity, succession planning, compensation and benefits, compliance, global staffing, and HR transformation. As part of his tenure across companies, Jasmeet has been instrumental in setting up HR Change Management initiatives, designing strategies for harmonious industrial relations and establishing safe working environment.

Prior to joining Thermax, he was with Carrier Corporation for five years as Director HR, South Asia Pacific. He was also associated with companies like Honeywell India and Valvoline Cummins in HR Leadership roles.

Jasmeet is an MBA in Human Resources from Management Development Institute (MDI) and a Bachelor of Science in Computers from Delhi University.

Mahesh brings with him a rich experience of 24 years in the areas of technology and business development, including alternate energy technologies such as fuel cells, hydrogen, batteries, supercapacitor and advanced materials.

Before joining Thermax, Dr. Murthy was part of the Group Technology and Innovation Office (GTIO) with Tata Sons for over five years, based out of Bangalore. His primary responsibility as a technology leader involved developing next generation energy related technologies like fuel cells by leveraging synergies within the group. Prior to Tata Sons, he had a long stint of 19 years in varying roles and responsibilities at W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., based in Delaware, USA. He was involved in developing fuel cell membranes, water purification technologies and business development activities primarily with automotive OEMs.

Mahesh has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and a MBA from University of Delaware.