JSW Energy Picks Sharad Mahendra As New Joint MD & CEO

JSW Energy Ltd. said Sharad Mahendra will take over as the company’s joint managing director and chief executive officer with effect from 1 February 2024.

The company’s board today approved the appointment of Mahendra as a whole-time director (joint MD & CEO – designate) with effect from 1 December 2023, the Indian power producer said in a stock exchange announcement.

The development comes after current Joint MD & CEO Prashant Jain earlier expressed his intention to take early retirement and resigned to pursue personal interests.

He is continuing in his current position until 31 January 2024 to support an orderly transition.

Who’s Sharad Mahendra?

The company said Sharad Mahendra, aged 57 years, has worked with the JSW Group for 15 years. Immediately prior to his current appointment, he was the CEO of JSW Steel’s subsidiary JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd., it added.

Earlier, Mahendra had joined JSW Energy as the chief operating officer (energy business) in 2017 where he led the power sales, mining, corporate commercial, legal, coal procurement, regulatory and corporate affairs functions.

In 2019, he was appointed as a whole-time director of the company. During this stint with JSW Energy, Mahendra was instrumental in ground-breaking of the greenfield Kutehr hydroelectric project as well as various efficiency and performance improvement initiatives across the operating thermal and hydro assets.

JSW Energy said Mahendra was also closely involved in building organizational capability and laying the foundation for the business to diversify into renewable energy. In 2020, he left JSW Energy to join as CEO of JSW Steel Coated Products, it noted.

Previously, Mahendra has been on the board of APL Apollo Tubes Ltd. and worked with Phillips Carbon Black Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd., Escorts Ltd. and Yamaha Motors Ltd. in various capacities.

Mahendra completed his B. E. in Mechanical Engineering from NIT, Allahabad, according to the statement. He has 33 years of experience in organizational strategy, driving business growth, execution, sales and marketing, and people development across steel, power, chemicals as well as automobile sectors, it said.

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