Mr K C Jhanwar was President, Cement Manufacturers’ Association(CMA)

Mr K C Jhanwar, Managing Director of UltraTech Cement Limited, is a veteran of Aditya Birla Group with a career spanning more than 38 years in the Group.

Mr Jhanwar a Chartered Accountant by profession, started his career with the Cement Business of Aditya Birla Group in 1981.

He has worked across finance, operations and general management roles in the cement and chemical sectors with significant experience in acquisition and integration. He has been exceptional in relationship building skills with customers.

Mr Mahendra Singhi is the Managing Director and CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited and been associated with the growth and development of the cement sector in India for the last 41 years. Dalmia Cement is well recognised globally for its lowest carbon footprint cement, water positive operations and bold commitment to become carbon negative cement group by 2040. For playing very active role in awareness generation, actions and commitments on climate change mitigation in industry, Mr. Singhi was recognised as one of the 5 Climate Defenders by BBC in their “Climate Defenders” Series broadcasted in November 2019. Mr Singhi also serves following organisations and commissions in India and abroad as a

• President - Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), India
• Chairman - National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM) India
• Chairman - Development Council for Cement Industry, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, India
• Co-Chair, TERI Council for Business Sustainability (TERI-CBS), India
• Member, Climate Change Council in Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India
• Commissioner, Energy Transitions Commission (ETC), London, U.K.
• Commissioner, High-Level Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness, World Bank Group, U.S
• Director, Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), London. U.K.
• Chair, Global Cement and Concrete Association, India

A visionary and advocate of sustainability, Mr Singhi has been the driving force in inculcating this concept in the objectives and operations of the cement companies he has worked with.

Mr Singhi has also represented business and cement sector globally in the most recognized multi-country platforms such as

• Climate Action Summit of UN General Assembly on 23rd Sept. 2019 on invitation of UN Secretary-General
• Paris Climate Agreement Ceremony on invitation from Ex UN Secretary General, Mr Banki-Moon,
• Global Climate Action in COP-24 on invitation of UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Ms Patricia Espinosa,
• High-Level Government.-Business dialogues invited by COP-21 and French Presidency.

A positive thinker and strong supporter of happiness culture in the organisation, Mr Singhi also promotes innovative ideas. He deeply believes that sustainable business is all about creating future opportunities for businesses while mitigating the global challenges such as climate change.

Mr Singhi is a spiritual person and an avid reader of behavioral psychology.

Dr. Shailendra Chouksey is a Ph.D in Management, Post Graduate in Physics and is a MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University. Dr. Chouksey has over 42 years of corporate experience out of which over 32 years of association has been with JK Lakshmi Cement. He joined the company when its capacity was 0.5 million & he has been an integral part of the company senior management team in its journey to current capacity of about 13 million tons.

A strong believer in nurturing team spirit has led several innovating initiatives such as to becoming India’s first ISO 9002 certified cement company, use of colored packing bags, introduction of ERP solution and use of other high end software to improve the processes and improve customer relationship with an eye on continuously improving company’s brand equity. He has introduced number of brands including first Premium Cement Brand in the Northern market besides other brands and products to cater to niche segments. He is passionate about having HR practices which are most conducive to attract and retain talent. JKLC today is the only cement company to be in the list of Best Place to Work. Dr. Chouksey is responsible for all the commercial, financial and marketing activities of the company and is responsible to lead company's large distribution network of over 6000 stockists / dealers, sales promotors and transporters. He attributes his achievements to a strong people centric approach and team work.

Dr. Chouksey has spearheaded various delegation to the government, both at Central and State level. He has successfully led the Cement Industry as a President of Cement Manufacturers’ Association from July 2016 – December, 2018 in which capacity he has led from the front Industry meets at the level of PMO, Finance Ministry, Environment Ministry, GST Council. He has also headed National Council for Cement and Building Materials as its Chairman for 3 years. He was nominated by Government of India in 2017 to head Development Council for Cement Industry.

Mr Om Prakash Puranmalka, a Chartered Accountant by qualification, started his career as an Industrial Management Trainee in 1976 in Grasim Industries, Nagda. Thereafter he joined the Central Cell of Advisors to Mr G D Birla where he was head of F&C, Grasilene Division of Grasim Industries, Harihar. He went on to become President of Saurashtra Chemicals in Gujarat from 1981-1994 and then the Head of Cement Business of the erstwhile Indian Rayon and Industries Limited after the unit’s merger with Grasim Industries and Group Executive President of Cement Marketing.

After the acquisition of L&T’s Cement Business which was later known as UltraTech Cement Limited, Mr. Puranmalka was the incharge of the Marketing and Strategy of the total Cement Business of Aditya Birla Group. He was instrumental in launching the new Brand “UltraTech Cement” and value added products such as Ready Mix Concrete and UltraTech Building Solutions, a retail format for selling cement.

Mr. M A M R Muthiah (Ayappan) holds an executive – leadership role as Group Managing Director in several companies in the Chennai based Chettinad group - Chettinad Cement Corporation Limited, Chettinad Morimura Semiconductor Material Pvt. Limited, Chettinad University and Chettinad Logistics Pvt. Limited

Ms Vinita Singhania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JK Lakshmi Cement Limited, a group company of the JK group, took over the business after the sudden demise of her husband Sripati Singhania in 1988.

A couple of decades later, Vinita Singhania is no longer referred to as the wife of Mr Singhania. She is better known as the first female president of the Cement Manufacturers Association, and the woman who, within five years of taking over, raised the turnover of the organisation from Rs. 100 crore to 450 crore and expanding capacity from 0.5 million tonnes to 1.5 million. The pace of growth has continued to be phenomenal and today the company has touched 12.50 million tonnes capacity and the current turnover of the Company is about Rs. 3,000 crores.

Mr. H.M. Bangur was born on 29th October, 1952 in Kolkata. He completed his schooling and was ranked within first 20 in the Higher Secondary Examination. He pursued his academic career with Indian Institute & Technology, Mumbai and completed his Chemical Engineering and gained merit listing in the batch of 1975.

Mr. Bangur is a member of the Bangur Family – a family engaged in Trade, Industry & Commerce for over a century. Over a span of past 40 years, he has proven his mettle as an astute strategist, hard negotiator and skilful articulator. He has over the years successfully managed and expanded a large spectrum of industries such as agro waste, plantations, man-made fiber, textile, paper and cement as well as entities engaged in financing & investment business.

Mr. Bangur took over the reins of Shree Cement Limited (SCL) in 1991 as its Chief Executive Officer. SCL is the most profitable cement company in India. Under his able stewardship, market capitalization of the company has increased from Rs.35 Crore to over Rs. 60,000 Crore. He has successfully and most profitably expanded the business from a single plant of 0.6 Million Tonne to 29.3 Million Tonne widely spread over North and East India with 607 MW of thermal power generating capacity.

Mr. Bangur pioneered in introducing the concept of Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) boilers in cement industry in India. SCL with a capacity of over 102 MW WHR based boilers can boast of highest such capacity in the industry, not only in India but across the world outside of China.

World Economic Forum, Switzerland in due recognition of the sustainable business practices has accorded the status of Sustainability Champion of Cement Industry to SCL.

His penchant to be most energy efficient cement manufacturer earned him the coveted post of the Chairman of the Task Force for conservation of energy in cement industry by Government of India.

His dedication and commercial acumen has earned the company the most prestigious award from Whitehopleman, an International Benchmarking Firm of U.K., reviews Cement Plants across the globe. They have accorded “5-Star” ranking for excellence in manufacturing.  This is the first time that any Cement Factory in the world has attained this distinction in the Whitehopleman star ranking system of last 18 years.

Mr HM Bangur is known in the industry for his fast decision making. His approach of staying responsive to an every changing business environment and choosing to take optimum decisions instead of waiting for the ideal solution has helped build a culture of ‘Speed of Execution’ at Shree.  An obvious result is that Shree is known as the fastest project executing cement company in the world.

Mr. Bangur had been awarded with the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Award 2016 in “Manufacturing Category”. He has also been awarded with the prestigious ‘Entrepreneur for the Year’ Award 2017 by Forbes India magazine. Mr. Bangur was accorded Best CEO award (midsize company) in 2014 by Business Today.

Mr. Bangur was nominated by Government of India as Chairman of National Council for Cement & Building Material (NCBM).

He was also elected as the President of Bharat Chamber of Commerce from 2000-01 to 2001-02 and under his guidance, various initiatives were taken for sustainable business practices.

He elected to the post of the President of Cement Manufacturers’ Association from July 2007 to October 2009 and was instrumental in steering the industry on a high growth path to meet the increasing demand of cement in the country.

Over the years SCL has been adorned with various prestigious awards in the field of Energy Conservation, Sustainable development, best environment practices and best employer by various agencies of international repute and National Productivity Council as well as Government of India.

Mr. Bangur is actively associated with managing and overseeing the philanthropic activities of the Group particularly in the field of education, charitable hospital and social welfare trust.

He is the Chairman of a NGO ‘The Bengal’, which is actively involved with Kolkata Police to provide all possible help to the elderly people living alone. Within 4 years of starting the activities, The Bengal was awarded BestNGO by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal.

He is also involved in helping the old citizens of Kolkata by contributing substantially towards old age home and by setting up “PRONAM”, an NGO, which also has a 24 hour help line for senior citizens of Calcutta for their various emergencies and needs.

Mr. Bangur is the President of Rajasthan Foundation Kolkata Chapter.

Mr. Bangur takes active interest in playing Volleyball, Bridge etc. He has sponsored various national Bridge Competitions and is an active participant therein.

Mr. Manoj Gaur, Executive Chairman of Jaiprakash Associates Limited, the flagship company of Rs. 21,000 Crore Jaypee Group is a distinguished alumnus from BITS Pilani. After completing his B.E (Honors) degree in Civil Engineering, he joined the company during the construction of Jaiprakash Associates Limited's first Cement Plant - 1 MTPA at Rewa (M.P). He has closely been associated with the Cement business of the company and has the distinction of participating in various capacities over the years and leading this line of business as it grew from 1.0 million tonne per annum in Dec.1986 to over 33 MnTPA Million tonnes per annum in 2014.  

His vision of making the company a leading cement player has put a number of expansion plans in place to expand the cement business to 22.80 MnTPA by FY10 and 33.20 MnTPA by FY14 with Captive Thermal Power plants totaling 702 MW by setting up new capacities and giving the Group a pan India presence in cement sector.

While driving the cement business forward during the last 24 years, he has also been instrumental in developing a well-knit marketing & logistic set up, converting the disadvantage of not having an in plant railway siding to the company’s advantage by developing a unique network of road transportation, largest of it’s kind in the country.  Starting from a very humble beginning in 1986, the Cement Division of Jaiprakash Associates Limited is today a nationally known entity with a dominant position in North, Central & Eastern India operating the largest single location cement complex of the country.

Mr. Gaur has been associated with setting up of Group's hydropower assets since year 2000. Jaypee Group, being pioneer in creation of hydropower plants in private sector, under his leadership was also the first to successfully list Jaiprakash Hydro-Power Limited in the year 2005, thereby paving the way for Group to consolidate its power business.  The current Power Capacity is 2220 MW & is slated to be 4200 by March 2016

In addition to the above, Mr. Manoj Gaur has special interests in promoting the Education related initiatives of the Group.  Mr. Manoj Gaur is the Chancellor of Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, U.P and Pro-Chancellor of Jaypee University of Information Technology, Solan, H.P.

Group's Founder Chairman and Visionary, Shri Jaiprakash Gaur, after placing the Group amongst the top 50 business conglomerates of the country entrusted the rein of Jaiprakash Associates Limited - the flagship company of the Group, to Mr. Manoj Gaur in December 2006, who was then Managing Director, shouldering various responsibilities including finance and corporate functions.

Mr B.L. Jain, a Chartered Accountant from Pratapgarh in Rajasthan, served as Senior President of Cement Division for 37 years and 17 as Whole-time Director in Century Textiles, a BK Birla Group company. He was instrumental in setting up 4 modern Cement Plants - Century Cement at Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Maihar Cement at Maihar (M.P), Manikgarh Cement, Chandrapur (Maharashtra) and Sonar Bangla Cement (KoIkata).

He was conferred with "Second Rank among'st India's Most Valuable CEO" in Materials Sector in 2008 and again in 2010 by "Business World" as per their survey. During the tenure of his services, he was the President of CMA and Chairman of NCBM in the year 2002 - 04.

Mr T M M Nambiar, Managing Director, ACC, joined the company in 1975 as Financial Controller. A Chartered Accountant by training, Mr Nambiar had held senior positions in finance and accounts in large multinational companies such Burmah Shell and Indian Oxygen Limited. He was appointed Whole Time Director of the Company in December 1988 and was later elevated to Managing Director on April 1996.

Mr M Karnani was the Executive Director & President (Operations) of the cement business of Larsen & Toubro Limited

Mr Yadu Hari Dalmia, Managing Director of Dalmia Bharat Limited, holds a B. Com (Honours) degree from Delhi University and is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. In more than 40 years of experience he has in the cement industry, Mr. Dalmia served as President of the Cement Manufacturers Association and is a well-known figure in the cement industry.

Mr A L Kapur retired as the Managing Director of Ambuja Cement in April 2010, a position he held since 2007. Mr Kapur, who joined the firm’s Board of Directors as Whole Time Director in May 1999, led the company through the transition phase after the Holcim take over.

Prior to joining Ambuja Cements, he was the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Birla Corporation Limited (erstwhile Birla Jute & Industries Limited), Managing Director, Zenith Limited, Chief Executive Officer of Cement Manufacturers Association, New Delhi, Whole-time Director, ACC Limited, and Whole Time Director (Finance) of Cement Corporation of India Limited.

Mr. N. S. Sekhsaria, one of the most respected business personalities in India, founded Ambuja Cement in April 1983 and grew it from 0.7 million tonne capacity to 15 million tonnes, from a single location to a pan-India footprint till January 2006 when management control was passed on to Holcim. The market capitalisation of the Company increased from the original Rs. 18 crores in the year 1985 to over Rs.14,000 crores.

Mr M C Bagrodia, served as Group Executive President, Hi-tech Carbon of Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited (formerly Indian Rayon & Industries Ltd). He also served as Group Executive President at Grasim Industries Ltd and as Director of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd., Indo Gulf Corporation Limited, and Grasim Industries Ltd. He was also a Director of Gail India Ltd. and Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd.

Mr N Srinivasan, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, India Cements Ltd, joined the company in 1968 soon after the demise of his father, Mr T S Narayanaswami, Founder of Sri Cements.

Mr Srinivasan transformed the company into South India’s largest cement company catering to major markets. He steered India Cements to greater heights through a series of acquisitions and mergers, growing from two plants and 1.3 million-tonne capacity in 1989 to eight integrated plants and two grinding units with a total capacity of 15.55 million tonnes.

The former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and former Chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC), Mr Srinivasan was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by TIECON in 2009 and a Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) by the Tamil Nadu Physical Education & Sports University, Chennai in 2011.

In 1962, he was elected a Member of Parliament and appointed Member of the Planning Commission in Uganda, apart from being conferred the Head of State Commendation (HSC) of the Republic of Kenya. Also known for the welfare programs he has started, Mr Mehta is credited with building thirteen primary schools, three nursery schools and a secondary school in and around Lugazi that is open to all citizens. Moreover, the Group operates a sixty bed hospital that provides free medical care to employees and their families.

Mr. Mehta now lives and spends most of his time in Uganda.

Mr. Mridu Hari Dalmia has been associated with OCL India Ltd, the flagship company of the Dalmia Group of companies, since 1970. He is a member of the Dalmia family with substantial business interests mostly in India, UK and USA. A member of the Managing Committee of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he was the President of Indian Refractories Manufacturers Association and of Cement Manufacturers Association. He was also the President of National Council for Cement and Building Materials during 1986-89 and a member of the Managing Committee of FICCI during 1987-89.

Mr J R Birla, former Managing Director of Birla Jute & Industries Limited (now Birla Corporation Limited), was Factory Manager of Rameshwara Jute Mills Limited at Samastipur. In 1960, Mr M P Birla, the founder of the MP Birla Group, brought him to the newly established Satna Cement Works. He became President of the Cement Division in 1964 and oversaw the setting up of the cement units at Chanderia and Durgapur. He became the Whole Time Director of the Company in 1977 and was elevated to Managing Director in 1980. Mr J R Birla was a founder-member of the Cement Manufacturers Association and was its President from 1983 to 1986. He passed away after a brief illness in 1994.

Dr V L Dutt is the Executive Chairman of the K C P group of companies, which has interests in cement, sugar and heavy industrial machinery. A graduate of the Business Institute of Management, London, Dr Dutt has been awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters by the Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh, and is the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Chennai, for Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry.

Mr S Krishnaswami served as the president of the Cement Manufacturers Association from 1981 to 1982. He was also Managing Director of ACC.

Mr Rameshwar Prasad is the person who brought the idea of Hindustan Sugar Mills to life. While the original idea belonged to his mentor Jamnalal Bajaj, it was Rameshwar Prasad who moulded and shaped it.

His career started in 1927 and witnessed several achievements and laurels including Member of Lok Sabha (1952-56); President of Indian Sugar Mills Association (1952) and Cement Manufacturers' Association (for two terms in 1979 and 1980). Further, he was the Director of the Central Bank of India (1979-81) and leader of the Indian Delegation to the World Congress of the International Society of Sugarcane Technologists held at Barbados (West Indies) in 1953. He also led the Indian Delegation sponsored by the Indian Productivity Council to study layouts of industrial plants in Japan, US and West Germany in 1960.

Mr Ashok Kumar Jain was the Chairman of Bennett Coleman and Company or the Times of India group and is best known for being a patron of literature. He was the Chairman of the Times Research Foundation, the Times Fellowship Council and Managing Trustee of Bharatiya Jnanpith which gives away the highest literary awards in India, the Jnanpith Awards.

Shri P K Mistry served as the President of CMA from 1974 to 1976. He was a whole time Director of Associated Cement Companies Ltd.

Mr R D Shah served as the President of CMA from 1970 to 1973. He was the Director of the Andhra Cement Company Ltd

Mr Vishnu Hari Dalmia, former President of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, was associated with the group since the very beginning in 1939. He was the President of various industry groups like Indian Sugar Mills Association, Indian National Committee of International Chambers of Commerce, Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industries of India and Committee of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He was also Director of Export – Import Bank of India from 1983-85. He was also an Advisor to Dalmia Bharat Sugar & Industries Limited and a Management Trustee of Dalmia Charitable Trust.

Mr Dharamsey Mulraj Khatau (grandson of Makanji Khatau) was Chairman of ACC in the 1950s, a Board Member of the Khatau group of companies and an honorary member of the Textile Association of India.

One of the oldest business conglomerates in India, the Khatau Group was founded in 1874 by Seth Makanji Khatau. The group, which grew to have a diverse portfolio of interests beyond textiles, in chemicals, shipping, cement, aviation and automobiles, founded several leading companies such as ACC Limited (1936), Hindustan Aircraft Company (1940) which was later renamed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and Premier Automobiles Limited (1944).