Board of Directors
AR Narayanaswamy
Mr. Allam Pallam Ramakrishnan Narayanaswamy is a Chartered Accountant based in Mumbai. He has more than 41 years of experience in the areas of finance, accounting and running businesses. Mr. A R Narayanaswamy is a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) from the University of Mumbai. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He consults for companies in accounting, financial management and information technology areas across several industry verticals.
Akhilesh Joshi
Mr. Akhilesh Joshi is a first-class mine manager, who began his career at HZL in 1976 and was appointed as COO and Whole-time Director in the period between 2008-2012. Further, he took over as HZL’s CEO and Whole-time Director in the period between 2012-2015. He was designated as President of Vedanta’s Global Zinc Business during 2015-2016. He is the recipient of National Mineral Award 2006, by Govt. of India for his outstanding contribution in Mining Technology and Business Today Best CEO Award (Core Sector) 2013. Mr. Joshi serves on the Boards of Companies like Vedanta Limited, Hindustan Zinc Limited, Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd.
Arun Misra
Mr. Arun Misra, – CEO Zinc Business, Vedanta has been leading Hindustan Zinc, the world’s second largest integrated producer of Zinc and 5th largest Silver producer since August 1, 2020. Following this in June 2022, Mr Misra has taken on additional responsibility of managing the operations & growth of Vedanta Zinc International which have their mines and concentrator in South Africa. With effect from 1st August 2023, Mr Misra has also been appointed as Executive Director at Vedanta Limited.
He was appointed as Dy. CEO, Hindustan Zinc Limited on November 20th, 2019 and was elevated to CEO & WTD, Hindustan Zinc Limited from August 1st, 2020. He has done his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from IIT, Kharagpur, Diploma in Mining and Beneficiation from University of New South Wales Sydney and Diploma in General Management from CEDEP, France. He possesses knowledge of TQM, Six Sigma, TPM and Malcolm Baldridge Model. He started his career with Tata Steel as Maintenance Head (Electrical), West Bokaro Coal Washery in July 1988. He brings 31 years of rich & diverse experience in leading various strategic positions within Tata Steel. In his last assignment at Tata Steel, Arun was working as Vice President — Raw Materials Division. During his tenure at Tata Steel, he lead important and crucial portfolios like Plant Operations, Mining Operations, and Safety & Project Management. In addition, Arun is the Vice President of Indian Institute of Mineral Engineers and has published several papers in their nationally reputed journals.
Mrs. Pallavi Joshi Bakhru
Mrs. Pallavi Joshi Bakhru is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Member of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs. Currently, she is the Head of the Private Client Service offering at Grant Thornton in India and heads the UK Corridor. She has over 30 years of experience spanning solutions and clients in different sectors. She was the Head of Tax at a large natural resources group for five years and assisted with growth strategies. In 2015, Pallavi was recognized as one of the Top 10 Women in Tax in India by the International Tax Review. Her specialties include corporate tax, litigation, including being a part of a team that ran an international arbitration under Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), tax structuring and regulatory matters pertaining to FEMA. Over the years, she has simplified the global structure of some large groups, institutionalized a royalty payment system, resolved some high-pitched tax litigation and done Advocacy. She works closely with Promoters and CXO’s on critical aspects of business, including decisions related to business restructuring, choice of senior counsels for representation in key litigation, she has helped in re-organizing few businesses and take their geographic footprint overseas. She has Sector experience of Natural resources, consumer and retail, aviation, manufacturing and education. She sits on the Boards of Companies as an Independent / Non-executive Director.
Pankaj Kumar Sharma
Mr. Pankaj Kumar Sharma has completed his Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology and is a certified TQM Professional from AOTS, Japan. He has been associated with Vedanta Ltd. Since 2018. He has contributed significantly to his various leadership roles at Hindustan Zinc Ltd. and BALCO. He carries reach experience of 24 years across Companies like SJW Cement, Century Textile Industries Ltd., Lafarge Holcim and ACC Ltd. Prior to joining with Vedanta Group.
Senior Management
Pankaj Kumar Sharma
Mr. Pankaj Kumar Sharma has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of FACOR, a leading producer and exporter of Ferro Chrome in India. With a professional journey of 24 years, Pankaj Kumar Sharma has made substantial contributions to the metal and cement industry. He joined Vedanta in 2018 and has made notable contributions while he held significant leadership roles in BALCO and HZL. He has worked with esteemed companies such as JSW Cement, Century Textile Industry Limited, Lafarge Holcim, and ACC Ltd. Pankaj Kumar Sharma holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology under Bangalore University and is a certified Total Quality Management (TQM) professional from AOTS Japan.
Karan Kejriwal
Mr. Karan Kejriwal, a resident of West Bengal, joined FACOR on May 2022 as Chief Financial Officer. He is a B. Com graduate from Calcutta University and a certified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Mr. Kejriwal brings 13 years of experience to FACOR.
Suniti Kumar Dhal
Mr. Suniti Kumar Dhal, a Jajpur, Odisha resident, joined FACOR as Chief Human Resource Officer. He pursued B.E. in Electrical from Biju Patnaik University of Technology and then completed his MBA EPGP from IIM Indore. Suniti Dhal has been associated with Vedanta for 16 years and worked with various units like BALCO, Vedanta Jharsuguda, and Lanjigarh.
Gaurav Sharma
Mr. Gaurav Sharma joined FACOR as Chief Marketing Officer in May 2023. He has a rich experience of 17 years and has been with Vedanta Group since 2006. He has significantly contributed in Marketing, Commercial, and Supply Chain domains in ESL and HZL. He has completed his Engineering in IT from RGTU, Bhopal, and his MBA in Marketing from Nirma University, Ahmedabad.
Chinmoy Moulick
Mr. Chinmoy Moulick, a Kolkata, West Bengal resident, joined FACOR as Chief Commercial Officer. He has completed his B. Tech from Kalyani Government Engineering College and he brings to FACOR his rich experience of 21 years. He has been associated with the Vedanta Group since 2009.
Sanjay Pal
Mr. Sanjay Pal has completed his Engineering in Metallurgy from IIT Roorkee and has been associated with the Vedanta Group since 2005. He has a rich experience of 24 years and has significantly contributed to the commissioning and operation of Ausmelt Furnace. He has contributed immensely to increasing silver production through Ausmelt and SKS Operation, cost optimization in ISP Furnace, and the highest production of Lead Cathode at HZL.