Anil Agarwal
Non-Executive Chairman
Mr. Agarwal is the Non-Executive Chairman of Vedanta Limited. He has been the Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources since March 2005. He founded the Vedanta Group in 1976 and has over four decades of entrepreneurial and mining experience. He has helped shape the strategic vision of the Company to contribute to the larger purpose of uplifting communities.
Under his leadership, Vedanta has grown from an Indian domestic miner to a global natural resources group, with a world-class portfolio of large, diversified assets in Oil & Gas, zinc, silver, aluminium, copper, iron & steel and power that are capable of generating strong cash flows.
Mr. Agarwal’s vision is to empower the nation by achieving self-sufficiency in the natural resources sector. Over the years, he has invested over US$35 billion for the development of the metal and mining sector in India. He has also been a strong advocate for the growth of the MSME sector. Partnering with the government, the Vedanta Saathi programme has been created to provide a bouquet of services to MSMEs so that they can truly become employment generators for the economy. He has also been playing a pivotal role in the development of start-ups.
Mr. Agarwal believes that businesses must give back to the society and help them prosper. He has pledged 75% of his wealth for social good. He has signed The Giving Pledge, a movement of global philanthropists who have committed to giving away the majority of their wealth towards philanthropic and charitable causes. Mr. Agarwal is committed to promoting the well-being of the communities with a focus on women and child development. His dream project, Nand Ghar, is developing model anganwadis that are focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development.
The Anil Agarwal Foundation is committed towards empowering communities, transforming lives and facilitating nation building through sustainable and inclusive growth. The Foundation has teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve health and nutritional outcomes.
Navin Agarwal
Executive Vice Chairman
Mr. Navin Agarwal has been associated with the Vedanta Group since its inception and has four decades of strategic executive experience. Under his stewardship, Vedanta has achieved leadership position in all the major sectors it operates in.
Over the years, he has been instrumental in building a highly successful meritocratic organisation. He has been spearheading the Company’s strategy through a mix of organic growth and value-accretive acquisitions, leading to Vedanta’s transformation into a globally diversified natural resources company.
He is passionate about developing leadership talent and has been responsible for creating a culture of excellence at Vedanta through the application of advanced technologies, digitalisation and global best practices. He drives Vedanta’s unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance. His vision is to gradually unlock the enormous potential of the natural resources sector and make it an engine of growth for India.
In recognition of his exceptional service in the fields of business and entrepreneurship and contribution to the natural resources sector, he was conferred the ’Industrialist of the Year’ Award by the Bombay Management Association in 2018. He is a fervent advocate of sustainable development and is committed to advancing the inclusive growth of communities and the promotion of culture and sports at all levels.
A graduate in commerce from Sydenham College, Mumbai, Mr. Agarwal has completed the President Management Program from Harvard University.
Dindayal Jalan
Non-Executive Independent Director
Mr. Jalan is a Chartered Accountant and has over 40 years of extensive experience in managing business and finance in large metal and mining companies.
He is currently an entrepreneur and an Independent Director on the Boards of some prominent companies. In his previous role, before superannuation in 2016, he was the Group CFO of London listed Vedanta Resources Plc., and an Executive Director and CFO of Vedanta Ltd.
Mr. Jalan started his corporate journey in 1978 with Aditya Birla Group’s Hindustan Gas & Industries Ltd. as a management trainee, rising to the rank of Finance & Commercial Head. He was instrumental in transforming the iron ore business and setting up a greenfield SME business for Essel Mining, an associate company.
In 1996, he moved to Birla Copper to lead the Finance & Commercial function. He was part of the core team and was instrumental in setting up and operationalising the greenfield Copper Smelting project as a robust operating business. He was responsible for raising finance, building the finance team, putting in place strong business processes and systems, negotiating stable sources for long-term raw material supplies, setting up the commodity hedging desk and building a robust marketing organisation.
In 2001, he moved to Sterlite Industries (now Vedanta Ltd.) as CEO of its copper mining business in Australia for ~5 years. He led the turnaround of the business, working in a multicultural environment. In 2003, he was appointed the CFO of Sterlite Industries. In 2005, he was elevated to the position of CFO of Vedanta Resources Plc., an FTSE 250, London listed company. In this role, he provided strategic leadership to the Finance function with a clear focus on enhancing shareholders’ value by improving capital management, governance framework, systems and processes, and developing a robust Finance team. He closely worked with the CEO to drive business performance.
Padmini Sekhsaria
Non-Executive Independent Director
Ms. Sekhsaria is a Principal at the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, where she leads several investment and philanthropic activities. She oversees businesses in technology, education, FMCG, agriculture, construction materials, commodities, and financial services, that directly employ over 3,600 employees. Her experience in youth education, health and vocational skilling spans over 20 years.
She started the Salaam Bombay Foundation in 2002, one of the largest school-based preventive health programmes in India. She also heads the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, a family philanthropy that is engaged in health, education, and livelihood programmes, with interventions in rural and urban areas focused on community health, preventive and promotive healthcare, capacity building, policy advocacy and systemic change. She serves on the Boards of various non-profit organisations, including Ambuja Cement Foundation, Prince Aly Khan Hospital, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health-India Center, Sherborne Foundation in UK, Vassar College and the India Youth Fund in New York. She is an alumnus of London School of Economics and holds a postgraduate degree in Financial Economics.
Sunil Duggal
Whole-Time Director & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Sunil Duggal was appointed as the Interim CEO of Vedanta Limited, effective April 6, 2020, subsequently CEO, effective August 1, 2020 and Whole-Time Director from April 25, 2021. Prior to this, he was the CEO & Whole-Time Director of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), a subsidiary of the Company from 2015 to July 2020. He had been associated with HZL since 2010 as Executive Director and thereafter became the Chief Operating Officer in the year 2012 and Deputy CEO in 2014. He is a result-oriented professional with over 37 years of experience of leading high‐performance teams and more than 20+ years in leadership positions.
He is known for his ability to calmly navigate through tough and challenging times, nurture and grow a business, evaluate opportunities and risks and successfully drive efficiency and productivity whilst reducing costs and inefficiencies and deliver innovative solutions to challenges. His thrust on adopting best‐in‐class mining and smelting techniques, state‐of‐the‐art, environment‐ friendly technologies and mechanisation, automation and digitalisation of operational activities has enhanced Vedanta’s industry leadership.
Born and brought up in Amritsar, he has an Electrical Engineering degree from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala. He is an Alumnus of IMD, Lausanne ‐ Switzerland and IIM Calcutta and has worked in Ambuja Cement before joining Vedanta Ltd. He is serving as Vice Chairman-International Zinc Association and President – Indian Lead Zinc Development Association. Recently, he has been appointed as the Chair – Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Committee on Mining, Chair – FIMI Non-Ferrous Metals Committee, Co-Chair – FICCI NonFerrous Metals Committee -2018 and Chairman – Skill Council for Mining Sector, India.
Upendra Kumar Sinha
Non-Executive Independent Director
Mr. Sinha served as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from February 2011 to March 2017. He was instrumental in bringing about key capital market reforms. Under his leadership, SEBI introduced significant regulatory amendments to various Acts, enhancing corporate governance and disclosure norms. Prior to his role in SEBI, he was the Chairman & MD of UTI Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd. He has also worked for the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Akhilesh Joshi
Non-Executive Independent Director
Mr. Joshi was appointed on the Board with effect from July 01, 2021. He completed his Bachelor’s in Mining from MBM Engineering College, Jodhpur. He holds a Diploma in Economic Evaluation of Mining Projects from the Paris School of Mines. Mr. Joshi has over 44 years of professional experience in mining and has an exemplary track record of nurturing one of the world’s largest integrated zinc, lead and silver producing organisation. His emphasis on a high-performance culture brings out the best in employees, propelling meticulous execution and delivering extraordinary results.
Mr. Joshi served as Chief of Mining Operations at Rampura Agucha Mines and successfully executed mine planning and production ramp up, which positioned it as the world’s #1 zinclead mine for eight consecutive years since 2009.
He was the CEO of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) from 2012 to 2015 and was also appointed the President of the Global Zinc Business. He provided guidance to gold mines in Armenia between 2004-2006, engaged and worked closely with companies such as SRK/AMC etc. for benchmarking and mining methodology evaluations. Currently, he serves on the Boards of HZL, Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals Ltd., Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited and FACOR Power Limited.
Mr. Joshi is a senior executive of global repute with a proven track record. In his long global career, he has been recognised with numerous awards including the National Mineral Award by the Government of India for his outstanding contribution to mining technology in 2006, Business Today CEO Award, HZL Gold Medal Award by the Indian Institute of Metals. In 2012, he was also felicitated by the then Hon’ble Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, for his excellent contribution to the mining sector. He is also a member of the Institution of Engineers (India), Mining Engineers Association of India (MEAI), Mining Geological & Metallurgical Institute of India (MGMI) and Indian Institute of Mineral Engineers (IIME).
He is the co-author of a book titled ‘Blast Design Theory and Practice’ and has written various technical papers in relation to exploration and mining since 1995.
Priya Agarwal Hebbar
Non-Executive Non-Independent Director
Ms. Priya Agarwal Hebbar is the Non-Executive Director at Vedanta. She is deeply passionate about the environment and sustainability and has been playing a crucial role in strengthening Vedanta’s ESG practices. Under her leadership, Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector.
Ms. Hebbar is passionate about child nutrition and gender neutrality and is leading a variety of CSR initiatives under the Anil Agarwal Foundation, which impacts the lives of more than 4.23 crore people at the grassroots level. The Foundation has pledged `5,000 crore over the next five years on various social impact programmes.
Under her leadership, Vedanta has modernised over 3,300 anganwadis across the country through its flagship project, “Nand Ghar”, which aims to ensure that women and children get the right opportunities even in the remotest parts of the country.
She is also leading a state-of-the-art animal welfare project – The Animal Care Organisation (TACO) of Vedanta. This project will bring leading academicians, veterinarians and communities together to create a holistic ecosystem for animal care in India. She is the founder of YODA – an animal welfare organisation.
Ms. Hebbar has experience in Public Relations with Ogilvy & Mather and in Rediffusion Y&R. She has completed B.Sc. in Psychology and Business Management from the University of Warwick in the UK.
