Leadership

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla Chairman, Non-Executive Director

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of your Company and the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group (“Group”), which operates in 41 countries across six continents. He is a chartered accountant and holds an MBA degree from the London Business School.

Mr. Birla chairs the Boards of all major Group companies in India and globally. In the 30 years that he has been at the helm of the Group, he has accelerated growth, built meritocracy, and enhanced stakeholder value. In the process he has raised the Group’s turnover by over 30 times.

He has been the architect of over 60 acquisitions in India and globally, among the highest by any Indian multinational. Under his stewardship, the Group enjoys a position of leadership in all the major sectors in which it operates, from cement to chemicals, metals to textiles, fashion to financial services and real estate to renewables.

Over the years, Mr. Birla has built a highly successful meritocratic organisation, anchored by an extraordinary force of over 185,000 employees. Outside the Group, Mr. Birla has held several key positions on various regulatory and professional Boards. He was a Director on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. He was Chairman of the Advisory Committee constituted by the Ministry of Company Affairs and also served on the Prime Minister of India’s Advisory Council on Trade and Industry. As the Chairman of the Securities Exchange Board of India Committee on Corporate Governance, he framed the first- ever governance code for Corporate India.

Over the years, Mr. Birla has been conferred several prestigious awards. In 2023, he was conferred the prestigious Padma Bhushan, among India’s highest civilian honours. India’s leading business publication, The Economic Times, has honoured him three times with the ‘Business Leader of the Year’ award, most recently in 2025—making him the only industrialist to receive this distinction. He was also conferred the prestigious Business Leader of the Decade award by the All-India Management Association (AIMA). In 2021, he received the TiE Global Entrepreneurship Award for Business Transformation, the first Indian business leader to receive this honour. He is also the first Indian Industrialist to be conferred an Honorary degree by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Mr. Birla is deeply engaged with Educational Institutions. He is the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science with campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad, Dubai and Mumbai. He has also been the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. On the global arena, Mr. Birla is an Honorary Fellow of the London Business School. In 2019, Mr. Birla constituted a £15mn scholarship programme at the London Business School in memory of his grandfather, Mr. B. K. Birla, marking the largest ever endowed scholarship gift to a European Business School. A firm practitioner of the trusteeship concept, Mr. Birla has institutionalised the concept of caring and giving at the Group. With his mandate, the Group is involved in meaningful welfare driven activities that distinctively enrich the lives of millions.

Smt. Rajashree Birla Non-Executive Director

Smt. Rajashree Birla is an exemplar in the area of community initiatives and rural development. Smt. Birla spearheads the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, the Group’s apex body responsible for development projects.

She oversees the Group’s social and welfare driven work across the Group. The footprint of the Centre’s work straddles over 7,000 villages, reaching out to 9 million people. The Aditya Birla Group runs 20 hospitals and 5,000 medical camps treating over a million patients. Its 56 schools pan India impart quality education to over 46,500 children. Both its hospitals as well as schools are not-for-profit institutions.

Smt. Birla is the Chairperson of the FICCI – Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence, Habitat for Humanity (India) and is on the Board of the Asia Pacific Committee as well as Habitat’s Global Committee.

She is the Chairperson of FICCI’s first ever Expert Committee on CSR. She serves on the Board of Director’s CSR Committee of State Bank of India. She is on the Board of BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune and Population First, Mumbai. She serves on the Akhil Bharatvarshiya Maheshwari Education Trust, Indore. As a patron of arts and culture, she heads the "Sangit Kala Kendra", a Centre for performing arts, as its President.

In recognition of the exemplary work done by Smt. Rajashree Birla, leading national and international organizations have showered accolades upon her. Among these the most outstanding one has been that of the Government of India which bestowed the “Padma Bhushan” Award in 2011 on Smt. Rajashree Birla in the area of “Social Work”.

In recognition of Smt. Birla’s unrelenting endeavours towards polio eradication,
Mrs. Pratibha Patil, the former President of India, honoured Smt. Birla with the much coveted “Polio Eradication Champion” Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (New Delhi).

Some of the other distinctive awards conferred upon Smt. Birla include –

2019: Guest of Honour Award for path breaking work in CSR, AsiaOne
2019: Purpose-Led Group Brand 2019 Award, Business World – BW Pure
2019: Lifetime Contribution Award, Navbharat Times
2019: Gandhi Champion Award, Gandhi Going Global (New York)
2018: Distinguished Fellowship Award, Institute of Directors (IOD)
2018: Lifetime Achievement Award, CSR Times
2018: Lifetime Achievement Award, FICCI FLO GR8 Beti Awards
2017: The Torch Bearer of Humanitarian Service, Rotary International
2017: Serving Humanity Award, Rotary International
2016: WISE Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian Merchant’s Chamber (IMC)
2015: SIES Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi National Eminence Award, South Indian Education Society, India
2014: The CEO India: CSR Leader
2014: ‘FAS Stree Ratna Award’, Fine Arts Society, Mumbai
2012: ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year’, The Economic Times
2011: ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year Award’, The All India Management Association (AIMA)
2010: ‘Global Golden Peacock Award for CSR’ presented by Dr. Ola Ullsten, the Former Prime Minister of Sweden in Portugal
2009: ‘Rajiv Gandhi Award’, for Eminence in Social Field
2009: ‘FICCI FLO Golden Laurel Award’
2009: ‘Lifetime Achievement in CSR’, Suryadatta National Award
2008: ‘Reader’s Digest Pegasus Star Award’, India Today
2004: Doyenne of Benevolence, Rotary Club of Thane Hills
2004: The Pride of India Award, Rotary Clubs of Mulund
2003: The Citizen of Bombay Award, Rotary Club of Bombay
2003: The Seva Shiromani Award, Rotarians in Action
2001: The Woman Achiever in 2001, Archana Trust
2001-2002: ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year’, the Economic Times

In acknowledgement of the family’s continuing commitment to polio eradication and raising literacy levels in India, the portraits of Mr. Aditya Birla and Smt. Rajashree Birla have been placed in the Rotary International Hall of Fame in Evanston, USA.

She is a humanitarian par excellence, and compassion is her only currency.

Smt. Rajashree Birla is a Director on the Board of all the major Aditya Birla Group of Companies; viz., Grasim, Hindalco and UltraTech Cement Ltd. Additionally, Smt. Birla serves as a Director on the Board of the Aditya Birla Group’s International Companies spanning Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Egypt.

Born in Bikaner and raised in Madurai, Smt. Birla studied arts, graduating from the Loretto College at Kolkata. Smt. Birla lives in Mumbai, with her family comprising, son Kumar Mangalam Birla, his wife Neerja and grandchildren, Ananyashree, Aryaman and Advaitesha. Her daughter Vasavadatta is married to industrialist Mr. Kushagra Nayan Bajaj, and they have a daughter, Anandmayi and two sons – Yugadikrit and Vishwarupe.

Ms. Ananyashree Birla Non-Executive Director

Ms. Ananyashree Birla is a successful business woman and platinum selling artist. Her first company, Svatantra Microfin Pvt Ltd, founded at the age of 17, is amongst India's fastest growing MFI's. It has crossed an AUM of 1 billion USD, and has grown at a CAGR of 120% (2015-2022). With over 7000 employees, it has consistently been accorded a Great Place To Work. With a CRISIL A+ rating, Svatantra is the youngest, highest rated organization in the sector. Svatantra successfully acquired Micro Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. in 2018. Her innovation across the business has resulted in a number of firsts in the industry, and solidified Svatantra's position as an industry leader in financial services. Ms. Birla is also the founder of design-led home decor brand Ikai Asai. On the social front, Ms. Ananya Birla has co-founded Mpower, and advocates the need for conversations around mental health in India. She is also the founder of the Ananya Birla Foundation that does pioneering research in mental health and social impact.

Mr. Aryaman Vikram Birla Non-Executive Director

Aryaman Vikram Birla comes with diverse experiences including entrepreneurship, VC investing, and professional sport. He is closely involved with several businesses of the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) including Fashion & Retail, Real Estate, Paints, and the Group’s fashion D2C platform TMRW. Aryaman has founded and is spearheading, Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality, the Group’s growing hospitality business as well as the venture capital fund, Aditya Birla Ventures, that invests in high-growth start-ups.

He serves on the boards of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited (the apex body that provides strategic direction to the Aditya Birla Group’s businesses), Grasim Industries Limited, Hindalco Industries Limited, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited, Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality Private Limited, Aditya Birla New Age Restaurants and Cafe Private Limited, KA Hospitality Private Limited, Aditya Birla Digital Fashion Ventures Limited and Aditya Birla Global Trading (Singapore) Pte. Limited.

A commerce graduate from the University of Mumbai, Aryaman holds an MSc. in Global Finance from Bayes Business School, London.

Ms. Anita Ramachandran Independent Director

Ms. Anita Ramachandran holds a master’s degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management. She is a renowned Human Resource professional with deep knowledge and experience for about 40 years as a management consultant. She is also one of the first generation of women professional to become an entrepreneur and run a highly successful HR consulting and services organisation.

Ms. Anita began her career with AF Ferguson & Co. (the KPMG network company in India then) in 1976 as the first woman consultant of the firm. In her 19 years stint with AFF she worked across various parts of the country and wide range of areas from finance, industrial market research, strategy and human resource consulting. She was finally a Director of the firm.

Ms. Anita founded Cerebrus Consultants in 1995 to focus on HR advisory services, including organisation transformation. Her reputation and innovative work helped her build Cerebrus into a firm with national presence.

Ms. Anita is known as an authority in reward management system in the country and her work in the compensation and rewards area is well recognised. In recent years she has been involved in several large organisation transformation assignments. Ms. Anita has been a regular facilitator for senior and top management workshops and an assessor for many senior positions. Her wide general management consulting experience and insights on HR has enabled her to be a strategic advisor to many family groups. She also works with several PE firms and start -ups to mentor them through their growth journey.

She is currently on the Board of Metropolis Healthcare Limited, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited, Happiest Minds Technologies Limited and several other companies.

Ms. Anita supports many organisations in the social sector through pro bono professional work and remains deeply committed to work with women. She has been in the past Chairperson of TIE Women.

Mr. N. Mohan Raj Independent Director

Mr. N. Mohan Raj holds a Master’s Degree in Arts (Economics). He was the former Executive Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India and has rich experience in the field of Adminstration, Marketing of Life Insurance, Mutual Fund, Finance and Investments. He serves as Director on the Board of LTIDPL Indvit Services Limited and Veritas Finance Private Limited.

Mr. Yazdi Piroj Dandiwala Independent Director

Mr. Yazdi Piroj Dandiwala has an extensive Corporate and Commercial law practice both in contentious and non-contentious matters. He has very rich experience in transactions relating to Foreign Direct Investments and Exchange Control Regulations. With his unparalleled experience of over 40 years in corporate law, Mr. Dandiwala has advised several multinational companies in their investments, financial and technical collaborations in India.

His corporate practice extends to both large Indian corporates and MNCs, with extensive experience in intricate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, takeovers, disinvestments, investments by venture capitalists, delisting etc. His scope of work extends to structuring of transactions and rendering advice on the most tax efficient/beneficial structures.

Mr. Ashvin Dhirajlal Parekh Independent Director

Mr. Ashvin Dhirajlal Parekh has set up the advisory service company – Ashvin Parekh Advisory Services LLP (APAS) in the areas of providing services to the Boards and the management of the financial services sector companies, in June 2013. Mr. Parekh retired as a Senior Partner from Ernst & Young in June 2013; he was with EY for 8 years. After retiring as Partner in EY, he was associated with EY as a Senior Expert – Advisor till April 2014. Earlier he was the Executive Director of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. from July 2002 till June 2005. In past, he also held senior positions in Arthur Anderson, Price Waterhouse Coopers, KPMG India, KPMG UK, KPMG Dubai and Hindustan Lever Ltd. He has worked in the United Kingdom, Dubai, Australia, Germany and US on Partner secondment programs for about 11 years outside of India.

After returning to India, 20 years ago he has been working closely with all the major global and Indian clients in the banking, insurance, and capital markets areas.

Mr. Parekh has done more than ~700 projects with the large firms. In 1999 – 2000, during the reforms in the insurance sector he was closely involved with the government and the regulator in the formation of the regulatory authority and also assisted the regulators office in preparing the regulations for the sector. Since then, he has assisted more than 40+ joint ventures in the life, general and health insurance areas. He has assisted these companies from the preparation of business plans till assisting them in seeking regulatory approvals for licensing / registering these companies.

He has been working closely with the Government of India. In the last 10 years, he has been on 9 committees set up by the Ministry of Finance. He has been assisting all the regulators in the finance sector namely the banking, insurance, pension and capital markets with new reforms.

He has been a member of several committees set up by the RBI, IRDAI and SEBI. He was selected Expert Committee of RBI (K V Kamath committee) for Resolution Framework for Covid-19 related Stress.

Mr. Parekh is on the boards of reputed BFSI and listed entities as Independent Director. Earlier he was the Chairman on the Board of National Pension Scheme (NPS) in India from 2017 to 2020 and prior to that he was a Trustee of the NPS from 2015.

Mr. Parekh is active on both television and print media on matters relating to Indian economy, the fiscal and monetary policies and the new reform initiatives.

Mr. V. Chandrasekaran Independent Director

Mr. V. Chandrasekaran is a qualified Chartered Accountant and retired Executive Director (Investment) of LIC of India. He has more than 3 decades of experience in Life Insurance Finance, Housing Finance and Mutual Fund Investment, with adequate exposure to a gamut of Investments. He is involved in Investment decision making processes, Investment Monitoring & Accounting and Investment Research and Risk Management. He serves as an Independent Director on the Board of various companies like Tamilnadu Newsprint & Papers Limited, Tata Investment Corporation Limited, etc.

Mr. Adesh Kumar Gupta Independent Director

Mr. Adesh Kumar Gupta is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary. Mr. Gupta is also an Insolvency Professional registered under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. He has vast experience in the field on finance and general management. He serves as an Independent Director on the Board of various companies like Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Vinati Organics Limited, CARE Ratings Limited etc. He was the former Whole Time Director & CFO of the Company till 30th June 2015. He was recognized as Best CFO by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, IMA, Business Today. He is Ex Member NACAS as representative of FICCI. NACAS was a statutory organization constituted by Govt of India for setting up Accounting Standards.

Mr. Haigreve Khaitan Independent Director

Mr. Haigreve Khaitan is the Partner of Khaitan & Co. He is responsible for the Firm's strategic growth and development. Under his guidance, Khaitan & Co has grown to become India's largest full service law firm and the most advanced legal institution in the country.

With over 30 years of professional experience, Mr. Khaitan has led some of the most high-profile and challenging matters in India across industries, be it for companies, financial institutions and boards of directors.

As a strategic advisor, he is often brought onboard to devise innovative commercial solutions to solve complex legal and regulatory matters, including mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and insolvencies, structured financing as well as critical disputes, governance challenges and white-collar crime matters.

Mr. Khaitan regularly participate in high-level policy-making bodies, including as a member of the Competition Commission of India's Committee for the Digital Competition Act, a member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's Committee on Fair Market Conduct, and a member of the Industry Standard Forum (FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM) for setting implementation standard for Listing provisions.

He has been consistently recommended by the world's leading accreditation bodies as one of the most prominent lawyers in the country, describing him as an "outstanding lawyer" who is "extremely good and very sharp when it comes to large transactions.“

His select recognitions include:

• Chambers and Partners as an "Eminent Practitioner" for Corporate M&A and Private Equity and "Band 1 Lawyer" for Private Wealth Law
• Legal 500 ranked in "Hall of Fame" for Corporate and M&A and recommended Lawyer for Private Client practice and Private Equity and Investment Funds;
• Who's Who Legal 2023 - Global Elite Thought Leader for M&A
• Recognised as Elite practitioner by Asia law Leading Lawyers;
• Recognised as Market Leader for Banking and M&A by IFLR;
• A - List lawyer by India Business Law Journal;
• In - House Community Counsels Awards as External Counsel of the Year 2021;
• Asian Legal Business as one of the top 15 M&A lawyers in Asia; and
• RSG India Award for the Emerging Leaders of the Year 2019

Mr. Mukkavilli Jagannath Non-Executive Director

Mr. Mukkavilli Jagannath is the Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (‘LIC’) since 13th March 2023.

Mr. Jagannath joined LIC in the year 1988 as a Direct Recruit Officer, Mr. Jagannath brings with him rich experience of over three decades across various functions of the Corporation. Before taking charge of the current assignment, he was the Zonal Manager (In Charge) of South-Central Zone, where he led the Zone’s transformation by driving performance on vital metrics. Under his stewardship, the Zone scripted newer heights in New Business growth by nurturing a performanceoriented culture and driving a consumer-centric service model. Earlier, he was Head of Bancassurance for the South-Central Zone and thereafter, the Regional Manager (Marketing) of the same Zone at Hyderabad and Bangalore locations. He also held the helm of Ernakulam, Dharwad and Bangalore-I Divisions in his earlier role as Senior Divisional Manager. Mr. Jagannath’s international experience comes from his tenure as Chief Executive Officer and Manager Director of LIC (Lanka) Ltd., Colombo, Sri Lanka between 2009 and 2013.

Mr. Jagannath is a Commerce graduate with CA (inter) and holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing, International Post-Graduate Diploma in Life Insurance, General Insurance & Risk Management from the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM), Hyderabad. He is an Associate of the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai

Mr. Sushil Agarwal Non-Executive Director

Mr. Sushil Agarwal is currently the Group Chief Financial Officer and Director, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd., the Group’s apex management body. He serves as a Director on the Board of several Group companies including Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd. and is also a member of the Business Review Council of the Group. More recently, he has also been appointed as a nominee Director in Zand Bank – a Dubai based first of its kind Digital Bank, providing retail and corporate banking services.

He has been with the Group for over 30 years and has the unique distinction of working closely with the former Chairman Late Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla and current Chairman Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. He has led various strategic initiatives of the Group, including M&A and restructurings. A strong advocate of corporate governance and trusteeship, he is widely acknowledged for his financial acumen and analytical skills.

In 2018, he was awarded as “India’s Greatest CFO” at the Asia One India’s Greatest Brands and Leaders Awards and as the “Business Leader Corporate CFO” at the 11th ICAI Awards. He was honoured with the ‘Exceptional Contributor Award’ in 2000 and ‘Outstanding Leadership Award’ in 2014 by the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group.

Mr. Sushil Agarwal is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a Master's Degree in Commerce.

Mr. Himanshu Kapania Managing Director - Grasim
Business Head - Decorative Paint Business

Mr. Himanshu Kapania, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and BIT Mesra, is the former Managing Director of erstwhile Idea Cellular renamed ‘Vodafone Idea Limited’ (VIL) and after merger with Vodafone India, he is on the VIL Board as ‘Non-Executive Director’.

Mr. Himanshu Kapania is also leading Grasim’s foray into Decorative Paints business as ‘Business Head’ with an initial investment of Rs.10,000 crores.

With effect from 1st April 2025, Mr. Himanshu Kapania has been appointed as Managing Director of Grasim Industries Limited.

Mr. Kapania has over 40 years of work experience primarily in Management, Leadership, Technology, Operations, Sales & Marketing, Digital etc., with deep understanding of Indian consumers, channels, influencers and society.

During his tenure as MD of Idea Cellular, Mr. Kapania steered Idea Cellular from just being a ‘Voice only Mobile Operator’ to an ‘Integrated Communication Service Provider’ building digital infrastructure across 2G, 3G & 4G technologies.  Under his leadership, Idea grew from mere 14 million customers in Year 2010 to over 200 million subscribers in Financial Year 2016-17 and revenues & profits grew to become the second largest operator in FY17 at US$ 5.5 billion and US$ 600 million respectively.

Recently, as Business Head for Decorative Paints under brand name ‘Birla Opus’, Mr. Kapania is providing the strategic thrust to Grasim’s greenfield foray into Paints helping build capacity over 1,332 Million Litres spread over six fully automated large scale manufacturing plants.  He worked closely with Birla Opus CEO to achieve amongst the ‘world’s largest launch of Paints Business’ with introduction of over 180 differentiated range of products at launch and expanding brand presence across 6,000 plus towns in the first year itself. He is closely working with the Birla Opus team to build India’s most innovative and loved Decorative Paint brand.

Mr. Kapania has been consistently recognised for his leadership skills and is a recipient of many prestigious awards including - ‘Business Today’ and ‘Voice & Data’ India’s Best CEO Award in 2014 & 2015; CNBC India Business Leadership Award in 2015, and ET Telecom Award in 2014 & 2016 etc.

Currently, Mr. Kapania is Chairman of FICCI Council on ‘Telecom, Electronics and Digital Economy’ and ‘FICCI Task Force on Privacy and Data Security’.

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of your Company and the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group (“Group”), which operates in 41 countries across six continents. He is a chartered accountant and holds an MBA degree from the London Business School.

Mr. Birla chairs the Boards of all major Group companies in India and globally. In the 30 years that he has been at the helm of the Group, he has accelerated growth, built meritocracy, and enhanced stakeholder value. In the process he has raised the Group’s turnover by over 30 times.

He has been the architect of over 60 acquisitions in India and globally, among the highest by any Indian multinational. Under his stewardship, the Group enjoys a position of leadership in all the major sectors in which it operates, from cement to chemicals, metals to textiles, fashion to financial services and real estate to renewables.

Over the years, Mr. Birla has built a highly successful meritocratic organisation, anchored by an extraordinary force of over 185,000 employees. Outside the Group, Mr. Birla has held several key positions on various regulatory and professional Boards. He was a Director on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. He was Chairman of the Advisory Committee constituted by the Ministry of Company Affairs and also served on the Prime Minister of India’s Advisory Council on Trade and Industry. As the Chairman of the Securities Exchange Board of India Committee on Corporate Governance, he framed the first- ever governance code for Corporate India.

Over the years, Mr. Birla has been conferred several prestigious awards. In 2023, he was conferred the prestigious Padma Bhushan, among India’s highest civilian honours. India’s leading business publication, The Economic Times, has honoured him three times with the ‘Business Leader of the Year’ award, most recently in 2025—making him the only industrialist to receive this distinction. He was also conferred the prestigious Business Leader of the Decade award by the All-India Management Association (AIMA). In 2021, he received the TiE Global Entrepreneurship Award for Business Transformation, the first Indian business leader to receive this honour. He is also the first Indian Industrialist to be conferred an Honorary degree by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Mr. Birla is deeply engaged with Educational Institutions. He is the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science with campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad, Dubai and Mumbai. He has also been the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. On the global arena, Mr. Birla is an Honorary Fellow of the London Business School. In 2019, Mr. Birla constituted a £15mn scholarship programme at the London Business School in memory of his grandfather, Mr. B. K. Birla, marking the largest ever endowed scholarship gift to a European Business School. A firm practitioner of the trusteeship concept, Mr. Birla has institutionalised the concept of caring and giving at the Group. With his mandate, the Group is involved in meaningful welfare driven activities that distinctively enrich the lives of millions.

Smt. Rajashree Birla

Smt. Rajashree Birla is an exemplar in the area of community initiatives and rural development. Smt. Birla spearheads the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, the Group’s apex body responsible for development projects.

She oversees the Group’s social and welfare driven work across the Group. The footprint of the Centre’s work straddles over 7,000 villages, reaching out to 9 million people. The Aditya Birla Group runs 20 hospitals and 5,000 medical camps treating over a million patients. Its 56 schools pan India impart quality education to over 46,500 children. Both its hospitals as well as schools are not-for-profit institutions.

Smt. Birla is the Chairperson of the FICCI – Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence, Habitat for Humanity (India) and is on the Board of the Asia Pacific Committee as well as Habitat’s Global Committee.

She is the Chairperson of FICCI’s first ever Expert Committee on CSR. She serves on the Board of Director’s CSR Committee of State Bank of India. She is on the Board of BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune and Population First, Mumbai. She serves on the Akhil Bharatvarshiya Maheshwari Education Trust, Indore. As a patron of arts and culture, she heads the "Sangit Kala Kendra", a Centre for performing arts, as its President.

In recognition of the exemplary work done by Smt. Rajashree Birla, leading national and international organizations have showered accolades upon her. Among these the most outstanding one has been that of the Government of India which bestowed the “Padma Bhushan” Award in 2011 on Smt. Rajashree Birla in the area of “Social Work”.

In recognition of Smt. Birla’s unrelenting endeavours towards polio eradication,
Mrs. Pratibha Patil, the former President of India, honoured Smt. Birla with the much coveted “Polio Eradication Champion” Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (New Delhi).

Some of the other distinctive awards conferred upon Smt. Birla include –

2019: Guest of Honour Award for path breaking work in CSR, AsiaOne
2019: Purpose-Led Group Brand 2019 Award, Business World – BW Pure
2019: Lifetime Contribution Award, Navbharat Times
2019: Gandhi Champion Award, Gandhi Going Global (New York)
2018: Distinguished Fellowship Award, Institute of Directors (IOD)
2018: Lifetime Achievement Award, CSR Times
2018: Lifetime Achievement Award, FICCI FLO GR8 Beti Awards
2017: The Torch Bearer of Humanitarian Service, Rotary International
2017: Serving Humanity Award, Rotary International
2016: WISE Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian Merchant’s Chamber (IMC)
2015: SIES Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi National Eminence Award, South Indian Education Society, India
2014: The CEO India: CSR Leader
2014: ‘FAS Stree Ratna Award’, Fine Arts Society, Mumbai
2012: ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year’, The Economic Times
2011: ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year Award’, The All India Management Association (AIMA)
2010: ‘Global Golden Peacock Award for CSR’ presented by Dr. Ola Ullsten, the Former Prime Minister of Sweden in Portugal
2009: ‘Rajiv Gandhi Award’, for Eminence in Social Field
2009: ‘FICCI FLO Golden Laurel Award’
2009: ‘Lifetime Achievement in CSR’, Suryadatta National Award
2008: ‘Reader’s Digest Pegasus Star Award’, India Today
2004: Doyenne of Benevolence, Rotary Club of Thane Hills
2004: The Pride of India Award, Rotary Clubs of Mulund
2003: The Citizen of Bombay Award, Rotary Club of Bombay
2003: The Seva Shiromani Award, Rotarians in Action
2001: The Woman Achiever in 2001, Archana Trust
2001-2002: ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year’, the Economic Times

In acknowledgement of the family’s continuing commitment to polio eradication and raising literacy levels in India, the portraits of Mr. Aditya Birla and Smt. Rajashree Birla have been placed in the Rotary International Hall of Fame in Evanston, USA.

She is a humanitarian par excellence, and compassion is her only currency.

Smt. Rajashree Birla is a Director on the Board of all the major Aditya Birla Group of Companies; viz., Grasim, Hindalco and UltraTech Cement Ltd. Additionally, Smt. Birla serves as a Director on the Board of the Aditya Birla Group’s International Companies spanning Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Egypt.

Born in Bikaner and raised in Madurai, Smt. Birla studied arts, graduating from the Loretto College at Kolkata. Smt. Birla lives in Mumbai, with her family comprising, son Kumar Mangalam Birla, his wife Neerja and grandchildren, Ananyashree, Aryaman and Advaitesha. Her daughter Vasavadatta is married to industrialist Mr. Kushagra Nayan Bajaj, and they have a daughter, Anandmayi and two sons – Yugadikrit and Vishwarupe.

Mr. Himanshu Kapania

Mr. Himanshu Kapania, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and BIT Mesra, is the former Managing Director of erstwhile Idea Cellular renamed ‘Vodafone Idea Limited’ (VIL) and after merger with Vodafone India, he is on the VIL Board as ‘Non-Executive Director’.

Mr. Himanshu Kapania is also leading Grasim’s foray into Decorative Paints business as ‘Business Head’ with an initial investment of Rs.10,000 crores.

With effect from 1st April 2025, Mr. Himanshu Kapania has been appointed as Managing Director of Grasim Industries Limited.

Mr. Kapania has over 40 years of work experience primarily in Management, Leadership, Technology, Operations, Sales & Marketing, Digital etc., with deep understanding of Indian consumers, channels, influencers and society.

During his tenure as MD of Idea Cellular, Mr. Kapania steered Idea Cellular from just being a ‘Voice only Mobile Operator’ to an ‘Integrated Communication Service Provider’ building digital infrastructure across 2G, 3G & 4G technologies.  Under his leadership, Idea grew from mere 14 million customers in Year 2010 to over 200 million subscribers in Financial Year 2016-17 and revenues & profits grew to become the second largest operator in FY17 at US$ 5.5 billion and US$ 600 million respectively.

Recently, as Business Head for Decorative Paints under brand name ‘Birla Opus’, Mr. Kapania is providing the strategic thrust to Grasim’s greenfield foray into Paints helping build capacity over 1,332 Million Litres spread over six fully automated large scale manufacturing plants.  He worked closely with Birla Opus CEO to achieve amongst the ‘world’s largest launch of Paints Business’ with introduction of over 180 differentiated range of products at launch and expanding brand presence across 6,000 plus towns in the first year itself. He is closely working with the Birla Opus team to build India’s most innovative and loved Decorative Paint brand.

Mr. Kapania has been consistently recognised for his leadership skills and is a recipient of many prestigious awards including - ‘Business Today’ and ‘Voice & Data’ India’s Best CEO Award in 2014 & 2015; CNBC India Business Leadership Award in 2015, and ET Telecom Award in 2014 & 2016 etc.

Currently, Mr. Kapania is Chairman of FICCI Council on ‘Telecom, Electronics and Digital Economy’ and ‘FICCI Task Force on Privacy and Data Security’.

Mr. Vadiraj Kulkarni

Business Head - Cellulosic Fibres at Grasim Industries Limited

Vadiraj is a Chemical Engineer from National Institute of Technology – Warangal. He is a senior business leader and brings over 28 years of experience in P&L management, operations, and manufacturing in Agro products, Tobacco, and the Pulp and Paper divisions of ITC Limited.

Prior to his role at Grasim, he served as the CEO of ITC Paperboards and Specialty Paper, overseeing 4 plants across India. His strategic leadership has consistently spearheaded digital transformation, implemented management systems and delivered strong business outcomes.

Mr. Jayant V Dhobley

Mr. Jayant V Dhobley joined the Aditya Birla Group in January 2021. Prior to joining ABG, Jayant worked for Amcor Limited where he led Strategy & Operations for the Asia Pacific region.

He has about 30 years of experience in the Specialty Materials, Polymers, Packaging & Chemical Industries of which over 17 years were with the Engineering Materials division of Royal DSM NV.

Mr. Dhobley has worked across multiple functions (P&L, Strategy, M&A, Projects, Operations) in both regional and global roles. He has a deep understanding of Asia Pacific markets after living in Shanghai, China for 10 years (2002-12) followed by 8 years in Singapore (2012-20).

Mr. Dhobley has a B.E. in Polymer Technology from the University of Pune and is a Life Member of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers. He has attended Executive Leadership Programs both at Wharton School of Business USA and Duke CE USA.

Mr. Kapil Agrawal

Mr. Kapil Agrawal is Business Head, Textile, Aditya Birla Group. He is a Chartered Accountant and has completed a number of national and international management and leadership development programs, including INSEAD's cutting-edge program, advanced management program at Harvard, and Global Leadership Program at IIM Ahmedabad. He received the Chairman's "Outstanding Leader Award" in 2022.

Mr. Kapil has been with the Aditya Birla Group for the last 29 years and has held multiple crucial positions across businesses. He has worked across multiple roles which is Executive Assistant to Chairman, Regional Head & Head for Buying and Merchandising, Head of Supply Chain and Head of Operations. In his last assignment, he led a team of ±5000 people with diverse ethnicities – Indian, Thai, Indonesians, German and Slovaks.

He has clear passion for strong operational excellence and astute financial management and working capital management. He brings very strong intensity to his work bringing a balance of processes and strategic perspective to the table.

Mr. Pavan K Jain

Mr. Pavan K Jain has a stellar career track record spanning over three decades in the Aditya Birla Group, and in different stints including Birla White, Grey Cement and Grasim CFD. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has also completed the Executive Development Program of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Mr. Jain has brought a deep sense of commitment to all the roles he has played, and has significant experience in the area of M&A, Finance, Accounting, Regulatory & Secretarial matters. He has earlier successfully handled Finance & Commercial Functions in Cement Business of the Group establishing some of the best practices in FP&A function as well as other Commercial functions such as Procurement, Materials Management, Logistics etc.

After moving to Corporate Finance Division of Grasim Industries Limited in 2004, he contributed to establishing some of the best practices in the Financial Reporting, Internal Controls and Risk Management systems across Grasim Businesses and also to various Corporate/Business restructuring plans and M&A activities of the Company.