Board of Directors

Mr. Ashwin C Muthiah is the Founder Chairman of AM Group of Companies, Singapore which has interests across the globe in fertilizers, petrochemicals, distribution, infrastructure, healthcare and green energy. He is a commerce graduate from Loyola College, Chennai. After completing his post-graduation in management studies in the US, he joined the Group in India.

Mr. Ashwin, a third-generation business leader, has led the group since 2001; he initiated the strategic re-orientation of various business entities to transform them into future-ready and sustainable entities in the new global economic environment. Today, the US$ 2 billion Group’s ventures span diverse, traditional and new-age businesses across India, South East Asia and the UK.

Besides steering the Group as Chairman of the parent company, Mr. Ashwin also heads the Boards of the various group companies such as Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC), Manali Petrochemicals Limited (MPL), Sicagen India Limited and Wilson International, Singapore. He is also the Vice Chairman of Tamilnadu Petroproducts Limited (TPL).

Mr. Ashwin is the Consul General Ad Honorem for the Republic of Philippines in India and has served as a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

His philanthropic interests are focused on the areas of provision of safe drinking water and solving the sanitation issues of the needy through CSR efforts of AM Foundation. He is also a trustee of the Saigon Chettiars’ Temple Trust in Singapore that promotes ancient history, culture and traditions.

Devaki is the first of the fourth generation of the founder’s family. She holds a Masters of Arts in Business Management from the University of Edinburgh. Till recently, served as a Senior Analyst at an Independent Investment Management Firm in London providing investment advisory services. Currently serving on the Board of AM International Holdings Private Limited, Penn Globe Limited and Notedome Limited.

As part of joining the group, aims to drive strategic growth plans across Singapore, India and the UK to accelerate its future-readiness. Will work alongside the professional leadership team to grow the global footprint of various group businesses. She is committed towards the organisation’s goal of attracting, developing, engaging and retaining the best talent. She also hopes to guide operative companies to become world-class entities imbibing the values of resilience and prudence.

Mr. Hugo Chardon holds bachelor’s degree in mathematical finance/economics from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná and MSc in Applied Econometrics – Asset Management from IAE Paris-Est. He is currently the Head of Strategy for AM International Holdings Pvt Ltd (AMIH) and is based between the UK and Singapore. He oversees planning and strategy development, economic studies, and mergers & acquisitions/divestitures.

He is also the Co-Founder and Director of Investments of London-based venture capital Amrock Ventures Ltd, which invests in innovative companies and visionary founders with a long-term horizon.

His rich experience and expertise on business process, strategy & policy, finance, M&A, risk management, Investment Management, will immensely benefit the Company’s growth in the long run.

Mr. Hugo Chardon has been appointed as an Additional Director of the Company w.e.f., 05th February 2025.

Mr. Govindarajan Dattatreyan Sharma, a Post Graduate in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, is a Senior HR Professional with over 40 years of experience across industry verticals. He has held senior positions and led the HR function in various corporates such as BGR Energy Systems, Larsen & Toubro, Vedanta (Sterlite) Group, SRA Systems, E.I.D. Parry and SPIC. At present he is Principal Consultant, Beeline HR Advisory, his own HR & Management Consulting Firm, advising major organizations, Institutions and individuals on managing growth and helping them realize their potential. Mr. Sharma is a well-respected HR veteran, with rich experience in the complete spectrum of the human resources functions across varied business segments. He has had exposure to multi-national mergers and acquisitions, cross-cultural change management, large scale integration facilitation skills and the like. He has designed and successfully implemented management and leadership development initiatives across the enterprise and is well-versed in strategically aligning HR with Business. Mr. Sharma also plays an active role in Education/Academia and Training, and is associated as Advisor, Adjunct Faculty, Visiting Faculty, and Mentor with prestigious B-Schools and leading Business houses. He is a much sought-after trainer, speaker, rapporteur, facilitator and moderator in professional, social and cultural circles. Mr. Sharma has won many Awards and Distinctions. He was the ‘Best Outgoing Student’ of the 1979 batch of M.A (PM & IR) at TISS and a Gold Medalist. His other awards include Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange Fellowship in 1985; Fellowship of AOTS in 1996; Leadership Excellence Award from ITM University in 2006; Lifetime Achievement Awards by HR Sangam in 2016 and HR Caucus in 2018.

Mr. Sharma joined MPL’s Board in February 2018 as an Independent Director. He is an Independent Director in other Listed Entities.

Lt. Col. (Retd.) Chatapuram Swaminathan Shankar, is a Chemical Engineer and has served Indian Oil Corporation Limited for 37 years. He retired as its Executive Director, and during his tenure had headed various verticals within the organisation, viz., Aviation, LPG, Director Secretariat, Petrochemicals, Corporate Training & Development, Planning and Co-ordination, Law and Quality control.

Concurrently, Lt. Col. Shankar was commissioned in the Indian Territorial Army as an Officer in 1983 and had been an active soldier for over 30 years. He had headed Battalion in relief and rescue operations during the Gujarat earthquake, Odisha super cyclone, Andaman’s tsunami and various other critical operations of national importance.

A passionate trainer and motivational speaker Lt. Col. Shankar has presented technical papers at various National and International forums. Lt. Col. Shankar is a director of MPL since May 2019 and is also a Director of Tamilnadu Petroproducts Limited.

Dr. N. Sundaradevan, IAS (Retd), holds a Master’s degree in Chemistry and also a Ph.D in Sociology (Applied Demography). He was in Indian Revenue Service as an Income Tax Officer from July 1977 to July 1979 and later joined the Indian Administrative Service.

Dr. Sundaradevan, IAS has more than three decades of experience in administrative services in various departments like District Administration, Civil Supplies, Revenue, Health & Family Welfare, Environment & Pollution control, Industries and retired in September 2012.

During his services to the Government, Dr. Sundaradevan held various offices such as Sub-Collector, Regional Manager of Tamilnadu Civil Supplies Corporation, Chairman and Managing Director of State Industries Corporation (SIPCOT), District Collector of Kanniyakumari and Tiruchirapalli, Managing Director of Tamilnadu Text Book Society, Director of Handlooms & Textiles, Secretary of State Election Commission, Officer on Special Duty in Chief Minister’s Office, Secretary to the Chief Minister, Secretary of Health & Family Welfare Department, Director of Guidance Bureau, Secretary of Revenue Department, Chairman of Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board, Secretary of Forests and Environment Department, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, Principal / Additional Chief Secretary of Industries Department, CMD of TIDCO, Tamilnadu Mineral Ltd (TAMIN), Tamilnadu Industrial Explosive Ltd., Chairman of Tamilnadu Cements Corporation Ltd. and Titan Company Limited, and Director of Chennai Metro Rail and TANGEDCO.

Dr. Sundaradevan joined MPL Board as an Independent Director in June 2019 and also serves as Director of various listed and unlisted companies.

Mr. T K Arun is a graduate in Commerce from University of Madras and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, New Delhi. He has served in some leading industrial promotion and infrastructure development organisations, including, Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO), Kamarajar Port Ltd., Guidance Bureau,  New Tirupur Area Development Corporation and after an illustrious career of over 3 decades, retired as Senior General Manager and Secretary, TIDCO.

Mr. Arun has over 35 years of experience in investment promotion and project development. He worked in multiple state and central government organizations in various specialised sectors including equity investments, industrial promotion, ports, roads and water supply. He has wide experience in commercial negotiations, contracting and contract management, structuring of PPP infrastructure projects in Ports, roads and IT sectors, procurement of developers for PPP projects, Management of PPP contracts, management of project contracts including financing, concession documents, arbitration and conciliation proceedings and asset re-structuring. Post his retirement from TIDCO, he is advising established corporates on legal, administrative and governance processes.

He had served as Director of many companies assisted by TIDCO including MPL from October 2009 till November 2017. Having served on the Boards and committees of several companies for over ten years, he has a good exposure to company management and corporate governance.

Mr. Arun joined MPL’s Board in February 2018 as a Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director. He was appointed as an Independent Director w.e.f. 29th September 2021. He is also a director of SPIC Limited.

Ms. R. Bhuvaneswari, (DIN: 06360681), is a Mechanical Engineer and has over 20 years of experience in various fields covering Academic, Transport, Industrial Promotion, Project Management etc. Ms. Bhuvaneswari is the General Manager of TIDCO. She is handling project implementation work which involves preparation of conceptual reports, preliminary feasibility reports, identification of locations & sites for establishing projects and interacting with Consultants, JV partners, Financial Institutions, Statutory Authorities, Government Departments to carry forward the project activities.

In TIDCO, she has handled various projects including development of Aerospace Park and Aero Hub (Technology center) for Aerospace and Defense Industries, Special Economic Zone, Industrial Parks, Solar Parks and Solar Power Plant. She is also handling Industrial Corridor projects, Greenfield Airport and Fintech city projects and has expertise in various aspects of project management.

Ms. Bhuvaneswari is also a Director of Saptharishi Argo Industries Ltd. She is a Member of all the Committees of Directors of the Company.

Ms. Bhuvaneswari has been a Director of the Company since 24th May 2022.

Ms. Latha Ramanathan is a Chartered Accountant with about 34 years of post-qualification experience. Her distinguished career includes nearly two decades with the Big 4 Consulting firms, KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte, where she held Partner (Executive/Senior Director) positions. As a part of these firms’ Consulting business vertical, Latha was heading operations in Urban Infrastructure and Public Finance.

She has also served on many internal committees/thematic groups @ India and Global level, particularly focused on women. At present, she is the CEO of Economix Consulting Group (ECG), a niche consulting and analytics firm that she founded in 2015.

She also serves on the Boards of Sterling Holiday Resorts Limited and Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital Limited as Independent Director. She joined MPL’s Board in August 2024 as an Additional Director under Independent Director category.

Mr. Niranjhan Madras Srinivasan (Mr. M S Niranjhan) is a distinguished advocate, accountant, and auditor with expertise in law, financial management, and information systems auditing. He has built a strong reputation for providing strategic legal and financial advisory services to businesses across industries. His litigation practice spans multiple courts in India, including the High Courts of Delhi and Madras, specializing in commercial disputes, corporate law, civil and criminal litigation, family and inheritance law, cyber law, and real estate matters.

Beyond litigation, he has led corporate and educational initiatives, pioneering innovations in secure e-learning and business consulting. With a keen focus on legal strategy, financial management, and risk mitigation, he continues to offer insightful solutions that drive compliance, safeguard interests, and support business growth.

He has been appointed as an Additional Director of the Company w.e.f., 05th February 2025.

Mr. R Chandrasekar, is a graduate in commerce and Chartered Accountant. He is a certified SAP Consultant and Lead Auditor for ISO 9001:2008 . He has also completed the intermediate course of the ICSI and third stage of CIMA, London.
He has nearly 35 years of experience in Finance, Accounts, Audit, Taxation, Legal & Secretarial functions in diverse segments such as Engineering Consultancy, EPC & Construction, Manufacturing, Mining, etc. He has held various senior level positions in Finance as General Manager and Chief Financial Officer in major Indian Corporates. He was associated with a global group in the Middle East for more than a decade. He has also held directorship in Indian companies and prior to joining MPL, he was Wholetime Director of SICAGEN India Limited, a listed entity, from 2018.
Mr. R Chandrasekar joined MPL as a Wholetime Director & Chief Financial Officer with effect from 03rd November 2022. He has been elevated and appointed as the Managing Director of the Company with effect from 13th May 2024 and further elevated as Managing Director & CEO – MPL Group w.e.f., 01st Feb 2025.

Mr. G R Sridhar, aged 53 years is a qualified Chemical Engineer from Annamalai University joined the Company on 17th January 2022 as General Manager (Operations). He has 33 years of experience and prior to joining MPL, he was associated with Ultramarine Pigments as AVP Operations. He has rich experience in production, maintenance, R&D, safety and environment. He has been appointed as Additional Director and designated as Whole Time Director [Operations] with effect from 13th May 2024. He has been redesignated as Wholetime Director (Head of Plant Operations) w.e.f., 01st February 2025

Mr. Shivaram Narayanan aged 55 years holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and an MBA – Marketing from the University of Madras. He also holds a Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech) in Petrochemical from Lakshminarayan Institute of Technology (LIT), Nagpur. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise of over 30 years in the Chemical/Petrochemical sector, having worked with leading multinational and Indian organizations in various capacities. He was also associated with the Company in Procurement, Sales & Marketing function during the period 1994 to 2007. He has been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of the Company with effect from 20.01.2025.

Mrs. K Lalitha, aged 39 years is a qualified Cost & Management Accountant and associated with the Company from October 2006. Currently she is heading the finance function. She has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer with effect from 13th May 2024.

Mr. G. Sri Vignesh holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from RKM Vivekananda College, Chennai and is a qualified Company Secretary. He brings nearly 8 years of experience in secretarial and compliance functions. He is associated with the Company as Manager – Secretarial from June 2022 and supporting the CS function. Before joining MPL, he served as the Company Secretary at SecureKloud Technologies Limited, a listed entity from June 2020 – June 2022.
He also worked as a Secretarial team player in Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Limited (part of the Murugappa Group) during April 2016 to April 2019. He was also associated with JCSS Consulting Services, a secretarial consulting firm during April 2019 to March 2020.

He has been appointed as the Company Secretary of the Company w.e.f., 07th February 2025.