As a first generation techno-entrepreneur, he founded Praj in 1983. He dreamt and developed Praj into a world-class engineering company specialized in Agri-processing opportunities. With strong belief in principle of triple bottom-line, his business model is inherently scalable, replicable and sustainable. Praj fostered the emergence of advanced technologies in certain Bio-Energy and allied space. As India’s biggest Biofuel Technology company, Praj has in excess of 750 footprints in over 75 countries, across five continents. Deeply passionate about Bio-economy and Environment, Pramod is committed to develop clean and green technologies. As a champion of the powerful premise that ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship can change the world for better’, he has been a tireless crusader in propagating spirit of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Pramod is a ‘Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay (1971)’ and an alumnus of Harvard Business School (AMP 1995).

Associations:

He has been associated with many eminent organizations holding responsible positions from time to time. He is:

• President of Advisory Council of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU)
• Member of the Board of Entrepreneurship Development Center at NCL, Pune
• Member of the Board of Governors of National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE)
• Founder Trustee of Pune International Center (PIC)
• Founder Member and President of Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE)
• Founder Member of Inter Institutional Inclusive Innovations Center (i4c)
• Member on the Advisory Boards of reputed academic institutes of Engineering, Technology and Management, strongly promoting Industry – Academia interaction, leading to Innovation and Entrepreneurship

In the recent past, he had held many leadership positions, some of which are :

• President of Maharatta Chamber of Commerce, Industries & Agriculture (MCCIA) Pune for 2016-18 (till Sept 2018)
• President of Science & Technology Innovation Park Pune during 2016-17; Chairman of CII National Committee on Bio-Energy / Biofuels / Renewable Energy from 2007-08 till 2016-17

Awards and Recognitions:

Some of the awards Pramod has received for entrepreneurship and excellence are –

• ‘Asia’s Greatest Leader 2018’ award by URS AsiaOne Magazine; Process reviewers PriceWaterhouseCoopers P.L.
• ‘ABP Majha Sanman Puraskaar 2018’ in Aug 2018
• The ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ and ‘Distinguished Service Award’ by IIT, Bombay.
• ‘BioSpectrum Leadership Award’ for his remarkable work in promoting the cause of Biofuels in the past three decades
• ‘Empresario Most Inspiring Entrepreneur Award’ by National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai
• ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by Sugar Technologists’ Association of India
• ‘Maxell (Maharashtra Corporate Excellence) Life Time Achievement Award’ by Maxell Foundation, Mumbai
• ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ by Army Institute of Technology, Pune
• ‘National Level Entrepreneurship Award’ by Jagatik Marathi Chamber of Commerce.
• ‘Outstanding Contribution through Innovation Award’ by Chemtech Foundation for leading Praj into developing innovative technologies.
• ‘Arya Chanakya Maharashtra Rajya Udyojak Shreshtha Puraskar’ (for best practice of Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility) by MAEER’s MIT School of Government, Pune
• Voted amongst ‘Globally Top 100 People’ in BioEnergy space by Biofuels Digest, consecutively for three years.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

Bachelor of engineering (Mechanical) 1977 Master of.Technology. from Indian Institute of Technology. , Mumbai 1979

INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE

1. Walchandnagar Industries, Walchandnagar. 1979- 1987 (Dy. Chief Project engineer) 8 years experience in project management division dealing with specialized products. 2. Thyssen Krupp India Ltd., Pune 1987 – 1992 As Project manager got valuable five years experience project management function for high value capital goods 3. Bukaka Kujang Prima, Jakarta – Indonesia Worked as Proect Manager handling international projects and set up manufacturing facility 4. Praj Industries Ltd., Pune 411 021 (1994 – Till date) Working for the last 25 years in various capacities as head of Plant Engineering division, Head of project management and construction division , head of effluent treatment division, head of Projects in Colombia and Praj representative in subsidiary in Brazil as resident representative distillery, mainly handling International assignments involving - Preparation of project definition statement, Project feasibility study, Execution of turnkey projects. Has wide experience in all facets of projects around the world from CONCEPT to COMMISSIONING. Had lead transformation team as leader of POET (Praj Operational excellence team) which was responsible to institutionalize excellence concept in Praj operations. Worked as Head of operations as member of Chairman’s office. Now working as Director PHS

Shishir is a Mechanical Engineer from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani and an Advanced Management Graduate from Harvard Business School. He has over 35 years of rich experience in varied fields of engineering. Shishir possesses a strong business and leadership record. He began his career with Thermax Ltd and held several key positions to rise through the ranks to become Executive Vice President and Global Head of Cooling & Heating business. He was also the Director of overseas subsidiaries of Thermax in USA, Europe, South America and successfully set up a manufacturing subsidiary in China. Before joining Praj, he served as Managing Director of SKF India Ltd from 2009 to 2018. Under his leadership, SKF consolidated its position as the leading manufacturer of bearings, seals, lubrication systems, mechatronics and services. Shishir is passionate about Smart Manufacturing and regularly speaks on the topic at various forums. He co-chairs the CII Innovation Council for Western Region and is a Member of the CII National Committee on Capital goods, Smart Manufacturing, Trades and Fairs. He is also the Founding Director for Alliance for Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) – an industry thinktank and policy advocacy organisation for energy efficiency in India.

Mihir Mehta is a Mechanical Engineer. Post his Mechanical Engineering from Bharti Vidyapeeth College of Engineering in 1999, Mihir has also completed Fulbright fellowship program at Tepper school of management at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA in 2014.

Mihir had joined Neela Systems Ltd, (now Praj HiPurity Systems Ltd) in April 2002.

Mihir has total versatile experience of 22 years in the field of engineering.

Before his appointment as a Whole Time Director, Mihir was heading Water Systems (WS) and Modular Process Systems (MPS) divisions of the Company.

Sivaramakrishnan S Iyer has a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai. Mr. Iyer is a qualified Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (the “ICAI”) since 1987. He specializes in corporate finance and advises companies on debt/equity fund raising, mergers/amalgamations, capital structuring for new/expansion projects etc.

Sandeep specializes in foreign investments, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, collaborations, technology transfers, inbound and outbound investments, takeovers, business transfers, corporate restructuring, reconstruction and infrastructure projects. He has been advising Indian and foreign clients on corporate, commercial, employment and real estate laws and related legislations. He has been practising law since 1994 and has been a partner with JSA since 2008. He was a partner for over six years with Little & Co., Solicitors before joining JSA.

Mrunalini is the Executive Director of Nichrome India Limited. She is a Science graduate by education, with a rich business experience spanning over 15 years in the packaging machinery industry. In addition to market research for various industries, she has expertise in international marketing, branding and corporate communication. She is also actively involved in several social initiatives around Pune district.

Dr Shridhar Shukla holds B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay, MS in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, USA and Doctorate from North Carolina State University, USA. He brings with him over 23 years of versatile experience in the areas of building and running software companies, infrastructure software products, services and R&D. He was associated with Persistent Systems Ltd as Director and COO between 1995-2003. Presently Dr Shukla is the Managing Director of kPoint Technologies – a Pune headquartered organization with the motto Videofy Enterprises. He is also the Co-founder and Chairman of the Board at GS Lab.