AEROSTRUCTURES

Dr. Karthik Krishnamurthy,
Director, Operations, Aerostructures Business

Dr. Karthik Krishnamurthy has over 25 years of experience in the Aerospace industry in India and the USA. He has worked in diverse roles across aircraft and airborne system development, aircraft prototyping, flight testing and related technologies.

Since joining the Mahindra Group in 2006, he has been a key member of the Group’s Aerospace team. He plays an active role in aerospace strategy formulation, business development and industry analysis alongside his current role as Director, Operations for the Aerostructures vertical. Dr. Krishnamurthy previously served as the Chief Technology Officer for Mahindra Aerospace with responsibilities for strategy management and coordination within the Aerospace team.

Dr. Krishnamurthy has a Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from the Texas A&M University and M. S. and B. Tech. degrees, also in Aerospace Engineering, from IIT-Madras. He also acquired a private pilot’s license while at IIT.

Keith Douglas,
Chief Executive Officer, Aircraft Business

Keith Douglas is the Chief Executive Officer of Mahindra Aerospace’s Aircraft business. He brings with him over two decades of managing multi-million dollar business enterprises in dynamic, competitive and turbulent environments. He has extensive practical experience in business transition, restructuring and integration, and has worked in the UK, Australia and New Zealand in the Manufacturing and Support industry across Electronics, Telecommunications and more recently, Aviation.

As the CEO, Mr. Douglas is responsible for the implementation of strategic growth plans at the Aircraft division of Mahindra Aerospace. Prior to this, as the company’s COO, Mr. Douglas was responsible for optimizing day-to-day operations of the Aircraft division and led the business transformation in aircraft manufacturing, service and support.

Mr. Douglas has a diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, a diploma in Management and Financial Studies (both from Borders College, Scotland) and has attended the Mahindra Universe Leadership and Management program at Harvard Business School, USA.

Arvind Mehra,
Executive Director & CEO, Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd

Experience:

Over 30 years of experience in senior leadership positions across large reputed organisations

 Current Position:

Executive Director and CEO- Mahindra Aerospace

• Conceived and built Aerospace strategy for the $19 bn multinational Mahindra group, culminating in the decision to enter utility aircraft and aerostructures markets with a globalised focus through a mix of organic and inorganic growth
• Led the identification and acquisition of 2 aerospace companies in Australia- GippsAero (Utility aircraft OEM) & Aerostaff Australia (airframe components manufacturer) in alignment with the aerospace strategy, and integrated both acquisitions into the Group
• In the utility aircraft business, created a structured sales & support global network. Obtained Group’s support to expand the utility aircraft portfolio with new options & features for the existing product Airvan 8 (Piston single engine) and fund development of new product Airvan 10 (Turboprop single engine)
• In the aerostructures business, secured funding from the parent Board to invest about $70mn and led the subsequent definition, creation, and operationalization of a comprehensive 25,000 sq.m. aerostructures manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India. In parallel, built strong technology partnerships and business relationships with major aircraft OEMs and their key suppliers, resulting in rapid ramp up and becoming a Tier 1 within 2 years of commercial operations.
• Selected amongst 34 executives from Group for Future Leadership Programme (FLP) in partnership with Yale and IMD-Lausanne

 Past Positions:

• CEO- Private equity funds
• COO- Airtel- India’s largest Telecom Company
• CFO- Airtel
• Director and CFO for the region- Caltex Oil Corporation (Chevron Texaco)

 Other positions of interest:

• Member- Civil Aviation Aeronautics Promotion Advisory Council (CAAPAC)- Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India
• Member FICCI Committee on Civil Aviation
• Member CII Committee on Civil Aviation and CII CEO Forum
• Member- Indo-US High Technology Group
• Past Member- American Business Council
• Past Member- The Economist, CEO and CFO Forum
• Past Member- ICSI- Expert Advisory Committee

 Qualification:

• Fellow Chartered Accountant
• Fellow Company Secretary
• Executive Management – Harvard Business School

P. Shukla,
Chairman, Mahindra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd

S.P. Shukla is a Member of the Group Executive Board of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited and as Group President, he is responsible for the Aerospace, Defence & Steel sector. In this position, he is the Chairman of the boards of several companies engaged in designing and producing aircraft, armoured vehicles, radars, naval systems and specialty steel.

A B. Tech. & MBA, Mr Shukla has 36 years of rich and varied experience in managing large projects and operations.

Prior to his current role, he served as President of Group Strategy and Chief Brand Officer of the Mahindra Group. He oversaw and orchestrated a complete makeover of the visual identity of the Mahindra Group. It was during this period that the Group Strategy Office launched and institutionalized Rise Prize (with Prize money of US $1 Million) that aims to foster and develop the innovation eco-system in India.  He has also been responsible for Mahindra Racing portfolio – both MotoGP (Motorcycle) and Formula E (Electric Cars) in his capacity as Chief Brand Officer.

He also served as Chairman of Group Brand Council & Member of the Investment Committee of Mahindra Partners and continues to serve as the Chairman of Mahindra Innovation Academy. He has also served as director on the Boards of Group companies such as Bristlecone, USA & Mahindra First Choice Services, India. Additionally, he is a director on the Boards of CIE, Spain and Mahindra CIE, India.

Mr Shukla is affiliated with several renowned industry forums. Besides the India-Spain CEOs Forum, he is also a member of the Indo-French CEOs Forum, India-Israel CEOs Forum and the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He is the Co-Chairman of FICCI Committee on Defence and CII National Council on Aerospace and a member of the Technology Development Board, Department of Science & Technology – India.