Ravi Goenka, is the Executive Chairman of our Company. He holds a bachelors’ degree in chemical engineering from Bangalore University. He has been associated with our Company since inception, and has approximately 30 years of experience in the chemicals and paper industries, 16 years of experience in the education industry, and 21 years in the power industry. He is a director on the board of International Knowledge Park Private Limited which established Ecole Mondiale World School and Russell Square International College. He was also the ex-trustee of Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, and is presently, the president of the executive committee of the Indian Chemical Council for the period from 2020 to 2022.
Dr. Rajan Venkatesh is the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer. He joined Laxmi in April 2023.
Rajan obtained his Master of Science in Chemistry from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai in 1999, and later moved to the UK to pursue higher studies. He completed Master of Philosophy in Polymer Science and Technology from the University of Manchester in 2000. He later enrolled at the Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands and graduated in 2004 with a Doctor of Philosophy in Polymer Chemistry.
Dr. Rajan has dealt with diverse cultures during his professional journey. He has had the opportunity to work across different markets and cultures. He was with BASF for two decades where he led various businesses, functions and large scale projects across Germany, Singapore, India and Hong Kong.
In his last assignment before Laxmi, Dr. Rajan served as Senior Vice President, Care Chemicals, Asia Pacific responsible for P&L and general management for key customer relations, sales, marketing, HR, controlling, supply chain, related production site (eight sites), R&D, sustainability, investments/M&A, joint venture management for markets including Greater China, ASEAN, South Asia, Japan, Korea and ANZ.
He has nine years of experience in the chemicals industry. He leads the business development initiatives of our Company.
He has a bachelors' degree in science from Babson College, Boston USA
Rajeev Goenka, is a Non-Executive Director of our Company. He holds a masters’ degree in business administration from Lehigh University. He has been associated with our Company since August 1994 and has approximately 26 years of experience in the chemicals industry, 21 years of experience in the renewable energy, and 17 years of experience in the field of education. He was the vice president-business development of Maharashtra Aldehydes Chemicals Limited from 1991 to 1994, and currently serves as a member on the board of directors of Maharashtra Aldehydes Chemicals Limited. He is the founding member of, and a director on the board of directors of International Knowledge Park Private Limited which established Ecole Mondiale World School and Russel Square International College. He is also a trustee of the Laxmidevi Nathmal Goenka Charitable Trust.
Manish Chokhani, is an Non-Executive Director of our Company. He holds a masters’ degree in business administration from London Business School, University of London. He is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has been admitted as a fellow of the All India Management Association. He served as a Managing Director and CEO of Axis Capital Limited from 2012 to 2013. He has been associated with our Company since March 2012 and has 13 years of experience in the securities market. Prior to joining the Company, he was the director of Enam Securities Private Limited from 2006 to 2019. He served as chairman of TPG Growth India during 2015-2016, and as senior advisor to TPG Growth during 2013-2019. He currently holds the position of independent director on the boards of various companies including Landmark Cars Limited, Westlife Development Limited, Shoppers Stop Limited, Auxilo Finserve Private Limited and Parksons Packaging Limited. He also serves on the governing board of Flame University. He is also a director on the board of directors of Livinguard AG, a healthcare technology company based in Switzerland. He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He has also served as a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee.
Vijay Ratnaparkhe is a distinguished executive with over 36 years of experience in managing large-scale operations, spearheading IT transformations, and leading software services organizations. Currently serving as the President of Bosch South East Asia, he oversees a complex matrix organization spanning 10 countries, 9 plants, and over 13,000 employees, overseeing a turnover of approximately 2 billion Euros. Previously, as President of IT at Robert Bosch GmbH, Vijay led a significant organizational transformation, standardizing IT offerings and achieving a 20% sustainable cost reduction. His strategic leadership and expertise in leveraging global talent have consistently resulted in substantial growth and operational efficiency across his diverse roles at Robert Bosch, Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
Vijay holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. His career highlights include leadership positions at Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, where he managed a huge growth to 22,000 employees worldwide for Bosch, and Infosys Technologies, where he contributed and participated in the company's growth from $70 million to about $3 billion in revenue. Vijay has also served in influential industry roles such as Executive Council Member and Chairman of the Engineering Chapter at NASSCOM. Additionally, he has been an Advisory Board Member for the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, and has established Bosch-sponsored centers for Cyber Physical Systems at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and for Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. His extensive experience and proven track record make him a highly respected leader in the fields of technology and business management.
Sangeeta Singh, is an Independent Director of our Company. She holds a bachelors’ degree in arts from Wilson College, University of Bombay. She has successfully completed the “Strategic Human Resource Management” programme by the Harvard Business School. She has been associated with our Company since September 2017.Prior to joining the Company, she was associated with KPMG as an executive director, heading human resources in India.
Dr. Rajeev Vaidya, is an Independent Director of our Company. He holds a bachelors’ degree of technology in chemical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and a doctorate degree from The University of Southern Mississippi. He has approximately 30 years of experience in the chemicals industry and around five years of experience in investment advisory services. He is presently associated with Alpha Investments and Services LLC as a its initial member. In the past, he has been associated with Dupont and has held varied capacity within Dupont group companies ranging from research engineer to global president for the DuPont Building Innovations business.
Dr. Rajiv Banavali is an Independent Director of our Company. He holds bachelors’ and master’s degrees in chemistry from the Institute of Science, Mumbai, and a doctorate degree in Organic Chemistry from The University of Missouri. He has 34 years of experience in the chemicals industry including twenty years of experience leading large, global, and highly innovative research organizations of major American public companies at the forefront of materials sciences. He is currently Senior Vice President, Science & Innovation at WestRock Corporation in the USA. In the past, he has been associated with Rohm & Haas (Dow), Honeywell, and Huntsman in varied capacities ranging from research scientist to Chief technology officer.
Mr. Arun Todarwal is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has been practising as a Chartered Accountant for more than 40 years. During his years of practice, he has handled various professional assignments including Management Consultancy, Statutory Audits, Internal Audits, Management and Systems Audits, Due diligences, Succession planning for businesses and families, Family offices, Taxation, International Taxation, etc. in India, Dubai and several other countries. He is well-versed in Tax matters and has travelled abroad on several occasions to deliver talks on Indian Taxation as well as Investments in India. He has carried out professional assignments in more than 25 countries.
Mr. Todarwal has also been the Global Chairman of IAPA International, a leading global association of independent accounting, audit, tax, legal, advisory, financial, immigration and technology services firms. The association has more than 200 Chartered Accountants in more than 70 countries around the world.
He has been an independent director in several companies and over his tenure has helped companies in strengthening their corporate governance structure, compliances, risk assessment and plans to mitigate them as well as implementation of recommendations given by the auditors on strengthening the controls and processes of companies. He has been the Chairman of various committees including Audit, Nomination & Remuneration, Risk Management, ESG, CSR, etc.
Mr. Arun Todarwal is/has been an Independent Director on the board of various companies including Bharat FIH Limited, Sintex-BAPL Limited, Unichem Laboratories Limited, Unichem Pharmaceuticals (USA) INC, NESCO Limited, Welspun Corp Limited, Hindustan Zinc Limited, Sterlite Technologies Limited, Sterlite Power Transmission Limited, Bharat Aluminum Co Ltd (BALCO), Welspun India Limited, Welspun Global Brands Limited, Anuh Pharma Limited, Welspun US Inc, Welspun Tubular LLC, Welspun Global Trade LLC, Welspun Pipes INC.