Our leadership team leverages its agility, foresight and integrity to lead our business forward.
Board of Directors
-
Achal Bakeri
Founder, Chairman & Managing Director -
Nrupesh Shah
Executive Director, Corporate Affairs -
Amit Kumar
Executive Director & Group CEO -
Jonaki Bakeri
Non-Executive Director -
Naishadh Parikh
Independent Director -
Ashish Deshpande
Independent Director -
Reena Bhagwati
Independent Director -
Santosh Nema
Independent Director -
Malavika Ramanathan Harita
Independent Director
Achal Bakeri
Founder, Chairman &
Managing Director
Mr. Achal Bakeri, a game-changer in the industry of environmentally-friendly products, is the founder of the world’s largest air cooling company. In 1988, he founded Symphony Limited with the aim to provide economically viable cooling accessible to all. Driven by a design thinking approach, Achal has led Symphony to be a pioneer in the industry dominating the maximum market share over the years. His entrepreneurial advancements have created a presence in over 60 countries all over the world, making Symphony an indigenous MNC.
Driven by innovation and technology, Mr. Bakeri has led Symphony to create significant value assets with 8 patents, 49 registered designs, 108 trademarks and 7 copyrights. Mr. Bakeri has been the advocate for green and eco-friendly cooling solutions and popularised ergonomically designed evaporative coolers in the residential, commercial and industrial segments. Mr. Bakeri has received several awards in entrepreneurship and leadership.
Qualification: Architect, Master of Business Administration (University of Southern California)
Nrupesh Shah
Executive Director,
Corporate Affairs
Nrupesh Shah heads the company’s financial and commercial functions and is responsible for corporate affairs, growth and performance strategies, merger acquisitions, finance, M.I.S., treasury etc. He serves as a member of the Stakeholders Relationship Committee, Corporate Relationship Committee Management Committee of Board. Mr. Shah joined Symphony in 1993 as the Finance Controller and became the Executive Director in 2002.
With more than years of experience in finance and accounts, Shah is an architect of the company’s growth turnaround. He is regularly invited to speak on various public forums including workshops seminars of Chartered Accountants India, various economic banking forums, panel discussions on topics of economy, finance, and corporate performance which consistently appears on electronic media where he shares his views on corporate performance.
Qualification: Bachelor Commerce, Chartered Accountant (FCA) Company Secretary
Amit Kumar
Executive Director &
Group CEO
Mr. Amit Kumar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from IIT-Kanpur and an MBA degree from IIM Ahmedabad. Mr. Amit has nearly 18 years of experience in the corporate and consulting sectors. He has worked with GE, PwC, Shapoorji Pallonji, EY and KPMG. He had his own tech start-up in the field of data analytics and has been a business transformation and profitability improvement specialist.
As Executive Director and Group CEO, Mr. Amit focuses on the overall business growth of Symphony India and its overseas subsidiaries. Having graduated from the Indian Institue of Management in Ahmedabad, Mr. Amit Kumar is a part of the leadership team at Symphony which drives the vision for the next wave of the organization’s growth globally, across sectors and offerings.
Jonaki Bakeri
Non-Executive Director
Her experience spans years in various business functions namely marketing, service, accounts, finance, legal and product development.
Ashish Deshpande
Independent Director
An Industrial Designer from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India, Mr. Ashish Deshpande started his design entrepreneurship journey, 29 years ago, by co-founding India’s pioneering design practice, Elephant Designs Private Limited. Mr. Deshpande leads the Product & Retail Experience Innovation group and has led projects ranging from consumer appliances related to air, water and energy, medical equipment, wearable electronics, automotive and retail.
Mr. Deshpande conducts workshops on growth by design, design thinking & product innovation. Mr. Deshpande is the President of the Association of Designers of India, an active member of the Design Alliance Asia and has been on the jury of India Design Mark.
Naishadh Parikh
Independent Director
He has a rich experience of more than 33 years in performing various roles at the corporate level of diverse sectors and expertise in strategy formulation & implementation for new businesses and market entries.
Reena Pravin Bhagwati
Independent Director
Ms. Reena Bhagwati has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and has more than 28 years of experience in providing Fiscal, Strategic and Operations Leadership. Ms. Bhagwati is a Joint Managing Director of Bhagwati Autocast Limited, Director of Bhagwati Spherocast Private Limited and Managing Director of Bhagwati Filters Private Limited. Ms. Bhagwati leads operations and strategic directions with full responsibility for top and bottom line including strategy formulation, long term planning, cross-functional management, legal and financial obligations.
She has held leadership positions in several public institutions such as the President of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) in 2013-14, Chairperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Gujarat State Council in 2016-17, among others. She is a member of the Governing Body of Ahmedabad Management Association, a part of the All India Management Association. Ms. Bhagwati also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Eimco Elecon (India) Limited.
Santosh Nema
Independent Director
Mr. Santosh Nema, aged 60 years, is a B.E. (Mechanical) and has an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad. He has more than 35 years of extensive experience in leadership roles across consumer-facing industries like Asian Paints Ltd, Shalimar Paints Ltd, CERA Sanitaryware Ltd and Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd. among others. He has expertise in sales, marketing, operations and business development, strategic planning, dealer network, leading and developing teams, P&L management, customer centricity, brand building, JV and strategic alliances, change management and building high-performance cultures.
Mr. Nema is the founder and director of Nmbrlogic Internet Private Limited. He is an innovative thinker with broad-based expertise in Sales, Marketing, Operations and Business Development. He has consecutively produced sustained revenue and EBITA growth in dynamic and changing markets. His expertise lies Creating Winning Businesses Plans, Strategic Planning, Dealer Networks, Developing New Businesses, Leading And Developing Teams, P&L Management, Customer Centricity, Brand Building, Forming JV And Strategic Alliances, Change Management and Building High Performance Culture
Malavika Ramanathan Harita
Independent Director
Ms. Malavika Ramanathan Harita, an Independent Director at Symphony Limited, boasts an impressive academic background with a bachelor’s degree in physics, chemistry, and mathematics from Bangalore University, and multiple postgraduate diplomas from prestigious institutions like IIM Bangalore, Columbia Business School, and MIT Sloan School. With over 40 years of experience in marketing, communication, and entrepreneurship, she founded and led Saatchi & Saatchi Focus in India as CEO for 25 years, handling a diverse portfolio of brands including Godrej Agrovet, Tata Coffee, Hewlett Packard, and Infosys.
In addition to her corporate achievements, Ms. Malavika serves on the Board of Governors of IIM Bangalore and Visakhapatnam, the Governing Council of Mount Carmel College, and holds leadership roles in various industry bodies. She is the first woman to win the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIM Bangalore and has a strong passion for mentoring startups and women entrepreneurs. As a Communication Evangelist, Brand Strategist, Teacher, and Corporate Trainer, she continues to make significant contributions to the fields of marketing and education.