Leadership

Kamal Kishore Sarda, born on 12 June 1952, did his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from National Institute of Technology (formerly Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering), Nagpur, MH, India. He has also taken courses in Strategic Management and Human Resources from IIM, Ahmedabad and XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Mr. Sarda has over three decades of experience in the iron and steel industry. He is the Chairman of SEML and SMAL's Board and as well as its Managing Director. He has been responsible for steering SEML and SMAL towards the path of growth.

He was a member of Advisory Board of IDBI (WRO) during 1992-96. He was Ex-President of the Friends of Tribal Society, Chhattisgarh Chapter and Ex-Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chhattisgarh Chapter. He is a member of Chhattisgarh State Labour Welfare Board, C.G., and Board of Governor at National Institute of Technology, Raipur. He is also a member of Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Chhattisgarh.

Mrs. Sonal Sarda, aged 41 years is an Electronics Engineer with a Masters in Telecommunication from University of Pennsylvania, USA. She has worked with Microsoft, Seattle, USA and later moved to India and worked with Persistent Systems, Nagpur. She has been associated with SMAL since 2011 and is presently designated as Whole-time Director. She is actively engaged in overseeing the operations of sourcing & procurement of material required for the Power Plant & Ferro Alloys Plant.

Mr. Manish Sarda, aged 46 years, holds a Master of Business Administration in International Business from Charles Stuart University, Australia by qualification and is a well-known industrialist having rich and varied experience of 23 years in commissioning and running Industries in the field of Ferro Alloys, Steel and Power. In 2000, he joined the Sarda group and is now the head of all commercial operations of the group. His global networking & business development skills and overall business activities have helped the group to create a niche in the international market and establish a strong brand for its products.

Mr. Manish Sarda is the Dy. MD of SMAL, and has been an active participant in IFAPAs affairs for the last 20 years. He has presented several papers at various international and national seminars on the Steel and Ferro Alloys Industry. Through his various paper presentations, he has been instrumental in globalizing Indian Manganese Alloys Industry and in promoting manganese alloys of Indian origin in more than 65 countries.

IN September 2017, Mr. Manish Sarda was unanimously elected as Chairman of Indian Ferro Alloys Producer’s Association (IFAPA), the India’s apex body for all Ferro Alloys producing companies in the country. At the age of 42, he was the youngest to be nominated as the Chairman of IFAPA. He was re-elected the Chairman of Indian Ferro Alloys Producer’s Association (IFAPA) in Sep 2019 and Sep 2021 and is presently serving his third term as the Chairman of IFAPA.

Neeraj Sarda, a 41-year-old, second generation entrepreneur, is presently Deputy Managing Director of the Company and is looking after the plant operations and day to day-affairs of SMAL. He has around 18 years of experience in the field of project execution, corporate affairs, plant operations and human affair.

After graduating in 2001 from Nagpur University, Maharashtra in Industrial Engineering, Mr. Neeraj underwent training in his own family business at Raipur for one year and subsequently went to the United States for pursuing MBA at University of Pittsburgh with a specialization in Finance and Marketing. After doing an internship with Bayer and Merrill Lynch in the US, he returned to India in 2005 and joined the family business.

Mr. Neeraj Sarda has been handling SMAL since its inception as Sarda Groups' first greenfield project in Andhra Pradesh.

He is the current Vice Chairman of CII Andhra Pradesh State and the Past Chairman of CII, Vizag Zone (2015-16) and has been part of various committees on the Confederation of Indian industry on National, Regional and State Levels

Mr. Sridar is a Chartered Accountant by profession and has more than 45 years of experience in Banking and Finance. He joined Union Bank of India in 1975 and served in various positions in Internal Audit, Vigilance, Credit, Recovery, Balance Sheet Finalization, Corporate Taxation, Technology and Staff Training Departments.

He was appointed as Executive Director of UCO Bank in 2000, where he served till 2002. He was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of National Housing Bank in 2002. His services were later transferred and he was made Chairman and Managing Director of UCO Bank in 2004.He retired from UCO Bank in 2007 and presently serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of several companies including some in the financial services sector. He has also served on the Boards of prominent companies / organisations like ICICI Bank, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co, IDFC Mutual Fund (Trustee Board), IIM, Indore etc.

Mr. Chittur Krishnan Lakshminarayanan holds a B.Tech. and has more than 45 years of rich experience in the field of project finance, investment banking and power plant operations. He has offered project advisory services to a variety of projects. He has also worked with Government of India in the initial round of disinvestments, as an advisor. Mr. C.K. Lakshminarayanan also functioned as a President & CEO of ST-CMS Electric Company Pvt.Ltd. (250 MW IPP). He is an independent director of the Company.

Mr. Jitender Balakrishnan has done B.E. (Mech.) from National Institute of Technology, Madras University and has also done Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Management from Bombay University. Working initially in the Industrial sector, he moved to Banking and Financial Services in June 1978 in a long career with IDBI Bank Group serving in various positions before retiring in May 2009 as Deputy Managing Director and later as Advisor in May 2010. He has wide experience in the sectors like, Oil and Gas, Refineries, Power, Telecom, Airports, Roads, Ports, Steel, Cement, Fertilizers, Petrochemicals, Hotel, Pharmaceuticals, Paper, etc. through appraisal of Industrial and Infrastructure projects.

Mr. Gaurav Thakkar is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India with around 20 years’ experience in the field of finance, accounting, Costing, Secretarial, taxation and corporate laws.

He has been part of the top management team of the company in its journey of growth. He is associated with the group for around 20 years including 13 years with the Company. He is also the Chief Financial Officer of the Company.