Harsh Goenka

Harsh Goenka graduated in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta, and thereafter pursued his MBA from IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland and has since been inducted to the Board of IMD, Lausanne⁵.

After completing his education, Harsh Goenka pursued his career in Mumbai. He became the Managing Director of CEAT in 1983, at the young age of 24⁶. He became the chairman of RPG Group in 1988 taking over the reins from his father⁷. Harsh Goenka was instrumental in a string of mergers and acquisitions by the group in the 80s and 90s. He also played a key role in several joint ventures and partnerships that the group ventured into. The RPG group, with its modern management philosophy, familiarity with global business practices, focus on quality and operating efficiency, was a preferred joint venture partner for global corporations. At one time the group had joint ventures with 13 major Fortune 500 companies that had begun operations in India including Goodyear, Dupont, Columbian Chemicals, Sulzer, Vodafone, Fujitsu, Phelps Dodge, Yokohama, Rolls-Royce etc.

Harsh Goenka is a past President of Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) and is presently a member of the Executive Committee of FICCI, the country’s premier industry forum.

Under the leadership of Harsh Goenka as the Chairman of the Mumbai headquartered business group, RPG has transformed itself into a post-modern technology-driven and governance focused group with a strong people- first culture. The group continues to embody the values harnessed over its glorious past. Goenka takes a keen interest in people practices across the group besides driving its strategic focus and value systems⁸

KEC International, an RPG flagship, is the world’s largest EPC Power Transmission company. KEC is also a dominant player in the Railways engineering and electrification space with a 30% share of the Indian market, Civil construction and in the Oil and Gas and Cables segment⁹. The group’s IT arm Zensar Technologies has a global footprint spread over North America, Europe and South Africa and is a well-known global IT services company. CEAT, another group company is one of India’s top tyre makers and amongst the best-known brands in the country. The group also has a robust pharma business which it managed along with GD Searle, USA (now part of Pfizer Inc) until the group acquired the stake from the US company. Harrisons Malayalam, the group’s plantation arm owns over 30,000 Hectares of tea and rubber plantations in South India. The group also owns 3 marquee properties in India namely the Westend in Bangalore, Connemara in Chennai and Savoy in Ooty all of which are leading 5-Star hotels in the country¹⁰.

The RPG Group is at the forefront of emerging growth opportunities with an exciting agenda for the future. The group is well known amongst investors and the capital markets. The group’s brand tagline “Hello Happiness” encompasses the group’s vision and ethos and encapsulates the very essence of its identity - to Unleash talent, Touch lives, Outperform and continuously create a future of Happiness. It is a bold statement of confidence and purpose that opens up boundless opportunities and possibilities for the group towards becoming a force for positive change in the world and creating a culture of happiness in everything they do.^{11 12}

As a connoisseur of contemporary art, one that embraces several genres and styles, Harsh Goenka has been host to several art exhibitions in Mumbai for over two decades and continues to support and encourage young artists¹³.

Goenka also has a keen interest in cricket, which is India’s most popular sport. He promotes the CEAT Cricket Ratings for International and Domestic cricket which is a rating system that rewards outstanding cricketers around the world¹⁴.

As Trustee of RPG Foundation and RPG Art Foundation, Harsh Goenka champions several social causes including primary education, women empowerment, health, city beautification etc.

Former President, Indian Merchants' Chamber

Chairman of the Board, KEC International Ltd, CEAT Limited, Zensar Technologies Ltd, Harrisons Malayalam Ltd, RPG Life Sciences Ltd, Spencer International Hotels Ltd

Member- Executive Committee, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. ¹⁵

Former Member of the Board of Governors, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE),

Member of Foundation Board, International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland, his alma mater¹⁶

Director, Bajaj Electricals Ltd ¹⁷

Trustee, Breach Candy Hospital Trust¹⁸