Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited

VIR S ADVANI - CHAIRMAN

Vir S Advani holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Systems Engineering and in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed a comprehensive Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Vir, after a 2-year working stint in private equity in New York, joined Blue Star Infotech Ltd in 2000 and then founded Blue Star Design and Engineering Ltd in 2003, designated as its Chief Executive Officer. In 2007, he moved to Blue Star as Vice President-Corporate Affairs, where he made valuable contributions in a profit improvement programme as well as in Electro-Mechanical projects. In April 2016, Vir was appointed as the Managing Director of the Company, and in April 2019, he was elevated to Vice Chairman and redesignated as Vice Chairman & Managing Director. In his enhanced role, Vir is the primary interface between the Board and the Executive Management, and directly oversees the Professional Electronics and Industrial Systems business, International Operations, Corporate Finance, Corporate Human Resources, Information Technology and Corporate Planning.

Vir is a Director of Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Ltd. He is an active member of the Confederation of Indian Industry and an elected member of the Cll National Council.

B THIAGARAJAN - DIRECTOR

B Thiagarajan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Madurai University. He has also completed the Senior Executive Program of London Business School. He has more than four decades of experience, having worked for reputed companies such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd, BPL Systems Ltd, and Voltas Ltd, prior to joining Blue Star in 1998.

B Thiagarajan has handled various assignments in the Service Business, Corporate Communications & Marketing and Corporate Affairs & Planning before he was promoted as President-AC&R Products Group in 2009. He was elevated to the Board in 2013. He was appointed as Joint Managing Director in 2016, and with effect from April 1, 2019, he has taken charge as Managing Director. He currently oversees Electro-Mechanical Projects and Commercial Air Conditioning Systems Business; Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain and Service Operations pertaining to the Products Business; Manufacturing and R&D; Corporate Communications; Public Relations; as well as Corporate Marketing Services.

B Thiagarajan plays an active role in various industry forum, and is the Past President of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Manufacturers Association (RAMA). He is the Past Chairman of CII Western Region and CII Maharashtra State. He is currently a nominated member of the CII National Council, Senior Fellow and the National Vice Chairman of the Indian Green Building Council.

PREM KALLIATH - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Prem Kalliath has completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Mumbai University and Masters Degree in Management from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management.

Prem has a total work experience of about 25 years across consulting and operating roles. He started his career with Accenture, a leading global management firm, where he was part of the team that created the market in India for consulting services. In his 15 years at Accenture, he worked in a variety of leadership roles.

In his earlier association with Blue Star (2008-mid 2012), Prem led Blue Star Design & Engineering (BSDEL) the offshore MEP Engineering Services entity focused on providing engineering, BIM and CAD drawings for global AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Contracting companies) for about 4 years. He was also instrumental in setting up the Corporate Planning Team for the Blue Star Group.

Subsequently, Prem worked with India Value Fund, a leading India-focused private equity fund, where he was seconded as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Meru Cabs, the pioneer and leader in the fast-growing technology-led cab services market.

Prem joined as the CEO of Blue Star E&E in May 2016 and was mandated to profitably grow the existing business lines, accelerate the migration to a more durable and value-added systems integration business, capture opportunities in adjacent product markets and create a platform for incubating new ideas.

NIKHIL SOHONI - DIRECTOR

Nikhil Sohoni is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a certified Treasury and Forex Management Professional from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts. Nikhil has around 3 decades of professional experience and is currently Group CFO, Blue Star Limited. Nikhil is also a member of Blue Star Group Management Committee and serves on the Board of various subsidiaries of the Group.

Prior to joining Blue Star, Nikhil was Senior Vice President‐ Group Finance & Group Treasury at Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, where he had worked in various capacities over 28 years. He was awarded a CII Fulbright‐ Nehru Fellowship for Leadership in Management and has completed a Global Leadership program at Carnegie Bosch Institute/Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business, USA.

Nikhil is also a recipient of the “Most Promising Future CFO‐ large Corporates” award by Business World in 2016 as well as the recipient of Adam Smith Award for Risk Management in 2017.

SUNAINA MURTHY - DIRECTOR

Sunaina Murthy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Rochester, and a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology from Northwestern University.

She began her career as a cancer researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, and then worked at a venture capital firm specialising in Life Sciences. Thereafter, she co-managed a USD 3 billion healthcare fund for AIM Capital Management, USA, where she made investments in publicly traded companies in the areas of Biotechnology, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Hospitals and other Healthcare Services.

Since moving back to India in 2006, she has and continues to consult for the US and India based venture capital firms who invest in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors, and for companies in the Life Sciences space. She has been serving on the Board of Trustees of the Blue Star Foundation since the last 8 years.

ARVIND BALAJI - INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

Arvind Balaji is the Joint Managing Director of Lucas-TVS Ltd. He is the also the Managing Director of India Nippon Electricals. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Lucas Indian Service and Delphi-TVS Diesel Systems. Arvind is the Past President of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and currently leads the Technology, Safety and Regulatory (TSR) Committee of ACMA. Arvind has an MBA in finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, as well as Masters in manufacturing systems engineering from Stanford University.

VIKRAM NIRULA - INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

Vikram Nirula, a founding Director at Kreditserve Financial Advisory, was earlier the Co-Head of Carlyle India Advisors and a founding partner at True North Managers (one of the largest private equity
funds in India). With more than 20 years of investing experience in the Indian environment, Vikram
has expertise in rapidly scaling mid-sized business, identifying and capitalising on new business models and opportunities and innovative financing & deal structuring options.