Speaker Profiles

Mr. Anirban Mukherjee

 Managing Director and Partner based in New Delhi office of the Boston Consulting Group. Over 10 years of consulting experience and heads the climate and sustainability practice in BCG India. Works actively across government, regulatory entities, policy making bodies, and corporates on energy transition and net zero pathways.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar

Has handled Corporate Strategy and Business Development with a special focus on incubating and nurturing multiple Startups and the foray of HPCL into the EV space. As a highly experienced Indian lube market expert, he has been a speaker at international conferences across the world.

Dr. Deb Mukherji

A seasoned professional with 35 years in the Indian automotive industry, held CEO-level positions for over a decade in prominent Japanese and other MNCs. Renowned for orchestrating the entry of foreign joint venture partners, they successfully initiated and managed projects in India. With a strong entrepreneurial track record spanning a decade, established and operated large-scale businesses in both domestic and international landscapes.

Shailendra Gokhale

A highly experienced Energy Professional with over 30 years in the industry. With a strong commercial focus and extensive international exposure, he excels in in strategic cost and international trade management.  Shailendra is a sought-after speaker at international conferences. Boasting 17+ years of senior leadership, he has serves as an external advisor to BCG, is a member of The Energy Institute in London, and has  consulted major energy players like Petronas, ENOC Infineum, BP/Castrol, Brenntag, HPCL, Morris, and others.

Mr. Amar Bakare

Senior Automotive professional, with 27 years of experience in Automotive Domain. Responsible for Design and Development of Heavy duty Diesel and CNG Engines for Commercial Vehicle applications from 3.5 Ton to 55 Ton Gross vehicle weight.
Led clean-sheet design development of Engines and have taken assigned Engines from BSI (CMVR 2000)
to BSVI transition over last two decades.

Dr. Tapan Sahoo

Dr. Tapan Sahoo is Executive Director (Engineering) at Maruti Suzuki India Limited and has over 32 years of experience in product design & development, supplier development, technology, cost and program management functions. An Eminent Alumnus and graduate in Electrical Engineering from UCE – Burla, Dr. Sahoo continued his academic pursuit along with his professional work and completed his MBA and Ph.D. from Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi. Dr. Sahoo has played a key role in upgrading the R&D capability of MSIL in the Electrical & Electronics, xEV, Powertrain, Vehicle Engineering, Cost, Prototype, Design and Planning functions. He played an instrumental role to develop the design capability of auto component supplier in India as well.

Mr. Uday Kumar

Lubes of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) since February 2023 heading the SBU with a turnover of nearly Rs.13000 crores. He has 36 years of experience in IOC’s Operations, Retail Sales, Lubes department. He has had extensive exposure to various Lube verticals encompassing Reseller Sales, Direct Sales, Technical Services, Lube Pricing, Channel Management, Import and Export. Mr. Udaya Kumar is a Mechanical Engineer and an MBA and joined IOCL as a management trainee in 1987.

Mr. SK Raghuram

A graduate engineer with over 35 years of industry experience including 25 years of senior sales, commercial, technical & OEM management roles within leading global & national oil companies specializing in lubricants, additives & the downstream fuels industry in India. Presently Country Director, Infineum India Additives Pvt. Ltd. since inception in 2016 responsible for Infineum’s business and its development in India.

Dr. Sukrut Thipse

Done his Masters in Thermal sciences from Bradley University, USA and his Ph.D. from New Jersey Institute of Technology in the field of Alternative Fuels Combustion.  Has Research experience of over 22 years in the development of Alternative Fuel engines and vehicles and has been working at ARAI since 2004. Currently handling the development of alternative fuel engines in the capacity of Senior Deputy Director at the Power Train Engineering Laboratory at ARAI. Has completed successfully several alternative fuel engine and vehicle projects for major OEMs. 

Mr. Kapil Vyas

The Director of Standard Greases & Specialties Pvt Ltd., with over 10 years of experience in the lubricants industry.  Oversees the operation of 7 plants situated across the country along with business developments.  Is also said to Work closely with more than 20 lubricant multinational companies for new product developments and other projects.

Mr. Ravi Tallamraju

A lubricant industry expert with over 30 years of lubricant and additive industry experience. With PETRONAS Lubricants International for over 8 years, leading technology and technical service teams in Asia Pacific, Americas and in Europe. Currently working as a Chief Technology Officer at PETRONAS Lubricants International, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, leading Lubricant product technology development, business technology and procurement teams.  

Ms. Pei Yi Lim

Asia Pacific Lubes Technology Manager.  Based in Singapore and is responsible for Lubes Product Development and Customer Technical Support for the AP region.

Pei Yi holds an Masters in Engineering and has over 10 years’ experience within Infineum spanning our Technology and Marketing organisations.

Mr. K Udaya Kumar

 Over 30 years of extensive experience under his belt in managing successful businesses, developing and embedding strategy and taking organisations to new heights. As Group Industrial Managing Director of PETRONAS Lubricants International, Udaya develops the strategies and leads the development of the industrial lubricants business, designing the industrial lubricants organization and driving the growth agenda in the global arena.

Mr. Rajesh Nambiar

 Over 30 years of experience in the oil industry.  Expertise  in fields like technical support, product development, troubleshooting, condition monitoring, and training. He also obtained OEM approvals for Servo Lubricants from major OEMs in India and Overseas. He presented technical papers at international conferences and also received a patent for a novel tractor transmission oil

Mr. Mayank Pandey

  Whole Time Director – Supply Chain for Castrol India and has over two decades of industry experience, having spent the last 14 years with bp. He has diverse international market experience leading teams and operations in India, China, Japan, Korea, Europe & Middle East. He is a management graduate from S P Jain Institute of Management and a mechanical engineer from Harcourt Butler Technological Institute

Dr. Indrajit Banerjee

With over two decades in the Industrial lubes and specialty chemical sector and currently Heading R&D at Quaker Houghton India. The journey spans diverse technical roles in India and abroad, providing insights into evolving customer needs and addressing multiple technical and EHS challenges. Over the years spearheaded numerous projects, introducing advanced lubricant technologies to benefit Indian automotive manufacturers and machine tool builders.

Mr. Arul Xavier Prince

A senior techno-commercial leader with over 20 years of experience in world-class organizations, For the past 18 years been working in Shell lubricants,  currently holds the position of National Technology Manager automotive lubricants.

 exploring opportunities to expand  partnerships beyond the lubricants scope, generating greater profitability and mutual value. Committed to seeking collaborative solutions for a changing world and offering multiple alternatives to reflect market and customer preferences.

Dr. AK Jain

M.Sc in physical chemistry and PhD in Biochemistry from University of Delhi. Has worked in Hindustan petroleum for past 33 years of which 2 years as operations officer and 31 years in Research and Development. Handled development of branded fuels and after sales fuel solutions apart from development of new lubricating oils and greases. Was instrumental in obtaining businesses from various OEM’s apart from defence and railways for HPCL by virtue of differentiated products. 3 patents and more than 50 papers to his credit. Guided 3 PhD students for completion of their degree from different universities.

Mr. Sanjeev Kaul

Over 33 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry dealing with lubricants in B2B and B2C domain. Currently associated with Lubrizol Corporation, leading Lubrizol’s Additive Business interests in India, the Middle East & Africa Prior to Lubrizol, was associated with BPCL. A mechanical engineer, started career
with Hindustan Petroleum

Mr. Kapil Telang

 A degree in Engineering and a Post Graduate Degree in Marketing.  Over 18 years of experience across consumer products, lubricants, and additive industry. At Lubrizol, Kapil has had a diverse experience wherein he has held roles in Sales, Marketing, and Product Management.

Currently, he holds the position of Associate Director – Product Management Group, responsible for business strategy development for Transportation and Industrial additives for India, the Middle East and the Africa region.

Mr. Nilesh Kadu

Currently  leading the Driveline product management role
along with the development and deployment of projects in
IMEA regions. 20 + years of experience in the Lubricant field and has made significant contributions to developing lubricant additive performance packages and respective performance boosters.  Master in Business Administration, Master in Science (Organic Chemistry) degree along with a
post-graduation diploma in Analytical Chemistry

Dr. E. Sayanna

A seasoned professional in the field of organic chemistry, holds a Ph.D. from IICT, Hyderabad, specializing in Nitrogen Heterocycle chemistry. With over 35 years of experience, he has a rich background in lubricating grease, having served at Indian Oil R&D Centre and Siddharth Grease & Lubricants Pvt Ltd. Currently, as the Chief Technology Officer at Standard Greases & Specialties Private Limited in Mumbai, he excels in application-oriented research, technical services, and complaint resolution. 

Dr. A.K. Arora

General Manager (Fuels &Additives) at IndianOil R&D Centre, Faridabad, with experience of leading the teams in research areas of Fuels , Additives, Biofuels, Synthesis,CO2 capture and utilization. 25 years of research experience at R&D Centre of Indian Oil.   Ph.D.in Chemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.   Awarded Fellowship by “New Energy Foundation” Japan under Asia Biomass Researcher Invitation Program” 2009-2010 .    Awarded Endeavour Fellowship by Australian Government in the year 2016 on co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic kinetics at Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
 

Mr. Gautam Mehra

 A Chemical Engineer and an MBA from the University of California (Berkeley). He has a total experience of more than three decades in the industry. Successfully led the core business of Petroleum Specialties of the Company to new heights year after year. His entrepreneurial vision led the Company to successfully explore the Renewable Energy sector and launch its brand of automotive lubricants – ‘SAVSOL’.

Dr. Kalpendra Rajurkar

Dr Kalpendra Rajurkar is experienced ‘Lubricants’ Technology and Sustainability expert with a broad global experience and with major strengths in Cutting Edge Technology Development across Automotive, Industrial-Metalworking, Greases and Catalysis.  A PhD in Chemical Engineering from National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India in the area of catalysis and reaction engineering focus on Fine chemicals and oil & gas sector. He has 2 International Patents, 14 Publications in International Journals and 29 Presentations in the International & National conferences. Completed Business Sustainability Management certification from University of Cambridge. 
 

Ms. Himani Kanwal

A transformative supply chain and logistics leader with over 20 years of diverse experience in global corporations across the Middle East, Africa, APAC, and India markets. Specializing in end-to-end supply chain strategies and large-scale regional transformation projects, she is known for her thought leadership, critical thinking, and ability to mentor multicultural teams for successful results.Her strengths span supply chain optimization, business turnaround, and operations management in sectors including healthcare, energy, and FMCG across the Middle East, Africa, India, and APAC

Mr. Sandeep Kalia 

Sandeep is an Alumni from Kellogg School of Management, USA, holds an MBA and bachelor’s degree in science. Has been responsible for leading Valvoline growth in India and has been associated with various boards of India andChina. He became one of the youngest CEOs in the India lubricant business. Sandeep serves on the Board of Directors of Shanghai VC Lubricating Oil Co., Ltd, Shanghai and Valvoline Lubricants &
Solutions India Private Limited.

Dr. Y.P. Rao

 An independent professional since March 2023 . Over 40 years of experience in the Fuels & Lubricants Industry. He was associated with Gulf Oil  International Group as Head of Global Technology for over 19 years till Sept 2021. During this tenure,  Dr. Rao managed Product Development, OEM coordination and Technical Services. At Gulf Oil, Dr Rao  along with his team oversaw revision of entire product portfolio, development of around 1700 product  formulations and obtaining around six hundred approvals from Global OEMs/API/NMMA/JASO, etc.  

Mr. Himakar Sarraju

 A seasoned professional in revenue management and process transformation, bringing with him a wealth of experience as a pricing practitioner with a focus on developing and implementing pricing strategies. With a diverse background, he has extensive experience in sales and marketing, particularly in B2B markets, as well as a strong track record in business process transformation and ERP systems deployment within the Energy/Oil and Gas sector. Rooted in an engineering background, Mr. Himakar has held roles in project management and plant engineering, showcasing his multifaceted expertise.

Mr. Sunit Mukherji

Sunit Mukherji, who is the current supply Chain Head at Shell Lubricants India is said to have over 20 years of experience in Supply Chain. He has Expertise in diverse supply chain roles like Make, Source, Plan, and Delivery. He also led large-scale Supply Chain transformations and Operational excellence projects. He was also awarded the Supply Chain Professional of the Year award twice in a row in 2018.’ He is a Post Graduate in Management from NITIE and a Production Engineer from BIT Ranchi. He has been in the Industry for over 20 years in diverse Supply Chain roles encompassing Make, Source, Plan and Delivery.

Mr. Senthil Kumar

A gold medalist in M.E – Internal combustion Engineering from College of Engineering Guindy, Anna University, Chennai. He is responsible for engine performance and emission development for all Diesel and alternate fuel engines of Ashok Leyland. 23 years of expertise in combustion development, engine oil development and various alternate fuels development for IC Engines. His combustion expertise includes Diesel, CNG, LNG, HCNG, Ethanol, Methanol, DME, Biodiesel and Hydrogen fuels. He holds many SAE papers and patents in engine
development.

Mr. Nitish Mittal

With Indian Oil Corporation Mktg. Division since 1996. B.Tech. ( Hons.) in Chemical Engg. From IIT Kharagpur. Worked in LPG Operations, Retail sales, Consumer sales for initial six years. Over 21 years experience in Lubricant sales & Technical Services. Handled almost all products in Lubricants Currently responsible for Automotive OEM product approvals. 

Dr. Ramchandra Rao

With a distinguished 33-year career at Hindustan Petroleum, Dr. Ramachandra Rao is a leading figure in the Energy Conglomerate, excelling in Operations, Process, and Research. With over 100 patents and the successful commercialization of 55 products, he is currently a visionary leader at the HP Green R&D Center, guiding a diverse team in areas such as Novel & Biodegradable Base Oils & Lubricants, Biofuels, Renewables, Green Hydrogen, Battery Research, and Fuel Cells. Renowned for innovation and effective leadership, Dr. Rao's primary research in Lubricants & Base Oil focuses on Group IV, V synthetic base oils and bio base oils, aligning with his doctoral work.