Richard B Saldanha - Chairman

He a graduate Mechanical Engineer, served Hindustan Lever & Unilever plc with distinction for 30 years. He spent almost 10 years in Latin America. He was Technical Director of Unilever Venezuela, Vice-President – Supply Chain for Unilever Andina, (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador) rising to be Chairman and CEO of Unilever Peru and a Member of the Unilever Latin America Board.

As Managing Director of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, a 1.5 BN $ enterprise, Mr. Saldanha brought to the Company, experience and expertise gained in Unilever Companies worldwide as well as in India. He defined his Role at Haldia as “ a role that provides clear vision and strategic direction, that builds culture, business ethic, structure and processes to deliver outstanding business performance and Good Corporate Governance”.

He is currently an Executive Director of Blackstone India and before that was a Member of the Board of The Times of India Group where he spent 5 years to help build organizational capability, culture and competitiveness.

His 45 years of corporate experience in a gamut of functions that ranged from Manufacturing and Planning to Corporate Development and General Management have given him learning and insights which have proved to be invaluable for restructuring and reorganizing companies as well as for managing partnerships and strategic alliances in an international arena. He has been a Board Member since the mid 80’s on several Boards nationally and internationally.

He has been associated with various chambers of commerce and industry bodies, both in India and globally, in various capacities. He was also the Founder President of Save the Children, India and a Former President of Delhi Management Association.

Gautam Chakravarti - Whole-time Director & CEO
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, and a Master of Arts degree in Economics, both received at the University of Lucknow, India. He has also received an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Prior to joining Gokaldas he was an Executive Director with Blackstone Advisors India Ltd, one of the largest Private Equity firms in the world. He is involved in improving and monitoring the performance Blackstone’s portfolio companies in India.
Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008 he had over 32 years of diverse operational experience with some of India’s largest corporations. He spent over 18 years with Hindustan Unilever India HUL in various business leadership roles, across the different business groups, viz; Home and Personal Care, Specialty Chemicals, Agro-inputs and International businesses, as well as different Commercial functions, viz; Audit, Finance & Accounting, Sourcing and Mergers & Acquisitions. His last assignment with Hindustan Unilever was as Managing Director of a JV between Hindustan Unilever and the Dutch MNC Gist Brocades. After HUL, he joined Mahindra & Mahindra M&M , and led an organization transformation exercise in its Farm Equipment Division, as its Executive Vice President responsible for Finance and Human Resources.
Subsequently, he served for several years as the Chief Commercial Officer of Reliance Communications, one of India’s largest private telecom service providers. Just prior to joining Blackstone, he was Chief Operating Officer of Bilcare Ltd., India, a pharmaceutical packaging and clinical services firm, serving the pharmaceutical industry in 22 countries including the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Akhilesh Krishna Gupta - Director
He is a B Tech and MBA with 26 years of work experience in various capacities; he has worked as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Krauses Sofa and after that as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Stylus Inc. Later, he served as CEO - Corporate Development for Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Infocomm Limited. Later he joined Blackstone group and presently he is Senior Managing Director and Chairman of Blackstone India.

He is also on the Board of the Allcargo Global Logistics Limited and Nagarjuna Construction Company Limited

Mathew Cyriac - Director
He is a B.Tech and MBA, and having rich experience in the investment banking division of Bank of America. He also served as Head - Corporate Development Strategy of IGATE GLOBAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED. Currently he is working with Blackstone India Group as Principal - Corporate Private Equity Group.

He is also on the Board of MTAR Technologies Private Limited and Emcure Pharmaceutical Limited.

Arun K. Thiagaran - Independent Director
Mr. Thiagaran started his career with ASIA AB Vesteras,Sweden in 1969. He has worked for Flakt India Ltd., Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., Wipro Ltd. and Hewlett Packard India Pvt.Ltd. in various capacities including that of Managing director and President. He has been the Chairman of Southern Region and Karnataka State Committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry(CII). He was also the Chairman of CII National Committee on IT and Quality.

He is also on the Board of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, GMR Energy Ltd., ING Vysya Bank Ltd., Alstom Projects India Ltd., Krone Communications Ltd., PSI Data Systems Limited, IDEA Cellular Limited, Cable Corporation of India Ltd., TTK Prestige Ltd., Birla Technologies Ltd.

Prince Asirvatham - Independent Director
He is a Chartered Accountant with 28 years of experience. He worked as Group Treasurer & Head of Merger and Acquisition of Hindustan Lever Limited. Mr. Prince Asirvatham worked in London in the Corporate Center covering the UL Group of Companies in Africa, Asia and in Brazil.

He has promoted Guardian Risk Advisors Private Limited, a business engaged in promoting aspirational management of personal financial assets.

J.H. Mehta - Independent Director
Mr. Mehta worked for Hindustan Unilever Ltd. from 1974 to 2005. He has handled a variety of businesses as a profit centre head and his last assignment was Executive Director for the ice creams business for South Asia. In 2000, he was elevated to the Management Committee of HUL. He worked as President of Spencer's retail from 2005-2007 where he played a leading role in defining the brand and business strategy, building an organisation for rapid growth and steering exponential expansion in multiple formats. He has joined Katra Group in 2007 as President and member of their global advisory board and leads their diverse businesses. He is a Management Graduate from Ahemdabad and Wharton School Alumnus.

He is also on the Board of Kerala Ayurveda Ltd, Ayurvedagram Heritage Wellness Centre Pvt. Ltd., TAG Media Network Pvt. Ltd. and Global Agri System Pvt. Ltd.

Partha Sarkar - Independent Director
Shri Partha Sarkar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

He is having 34 years of experience in business with 21 years with the well-known Tata Group of companies in diverse industries. CEO in Tata Finance Ltd., Escorts Finance Ltd., and other finance companies in India.

Shri Partha Sarkar worked for Hindustan Unilever Ltd. He joined Tata Administrative Services in the year 1975 and worked with the Tata Group till 1996 under various capacities. He was Group Strategic Planning Manager in Tata Group. He worked with Escorts Limited as CEO & Managing Director from 2000 – 2008.

Presently, Shri Partha Sarkar is running own management consulting business, focusing on acquisitions and financial restructuring of companies

N. Ranga Chary - Independent Director
Shri N Ranga Chary is FCA, FICWA, FCS and Honorary Fellow, Institute of Actuaries, Bombay.

Shri N Ranga Chary is Retired Advisor, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, Retired Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Retired Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes, New Delhi.

Shri N Ranga Chary is also on the Board of Max India Ltd, AIG Trustee Co. Pvt. Ltd, MTAR Technologies Pvt Ltd, R T Exports Ltd e.t.c.