Pawan Kumar Goenka is an Indian businessman, and the retired Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, an Indian multinational automobile manufacturing corporation headquartered in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, and the chairman of SsangYong Motor Company in Korea. He is currently the Chairman of INSPACE, a part of India's Space Program. He is also the present Chairman of the Board of Governors of

IIT Madras The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras or IIT-M) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the eight public Institutes of Eminence of India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), ...

. In January 2025, Goenka was honored with the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, India's fourth-highest civilian award, by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Early life and education

Goenka did his schooling in Shree jain Vidyalaya,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, and then earned his BTech in mechanical engineering from IIT Kanpur and PhD from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. He attended a six-week Advanced Management Program at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. He worked at

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

R&D Centre in Detroit, U.S., from 1979 to 1993. Thereafter he joined Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., as general manager (R&D).

Career

Goenka joined Mahindra in October 1993 as the general manager, R&D. He was appointed as the

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

for the automotive sector in April 2003. In September 2005, he became the president of the automotive sector and by April 2010 he was the president of the automotive and farm equipment sectors. "He was appointed to the post of Executive Director of Mahindra & Mahindra in 2013 and in April 2014, he took over the additional responsibility of the two wheeler business. In Nov 2016 Dr Pawan Kumar Goenka was elevated to the post of Managing Director of M&M." Goenka is the past president of SIAM, Society of Automotive Engineers India, and ARAI Governing Council, and was a board member of National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) from August 2013 to August 2014. He is also a national council member of CII, and chairman of board of governors of

. In September 2021, Goenka was selected by the ACC as the chairperson of INSPACe.

Awards and honors

* 2025:

* 2022

Asian Scientist 100 The Asian Scientist 100 is an annually published list of 100 prize-winning Asian researchers, academicians, innovators and business leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region and a range of scientific disciplines. Recipients "must have received ...

, ''

Asian Scientist ''Asian Scientist'' is an English language science and technology magazine published in Singapore. History and profile ''Asian Scientist'' was launched as a blog in March 2011 by Juliana Chan. The blog's popularity eventually led to a partnersh ...

'' * Engineering Excellence Award 2012 from SAE India Foundation * CV Man of the Year 2012 by Apollo CV Awards * Man of the Year 2007 and 2011 by Autocar Professional * Fellow of SAE International in 2004 * Fellow of INAE (Indian National Academy of Engineers) in 2004 * Distinguished Alumni Award from I.I.T. Kanpur in 2004 * Outstanding International Advisor Award by SAE in 1997 * Charles L. McCuen Achievement Award for the years 1985 & 1991 * Extraordinary Accomplishment Award from General Motors in 1986

Personal life

Goenka is married to Mamta Goenka who "volunteers her time to counsel cancer patients and help them receive proper treatment and post-operative care".

References

External links

Mahindra & Mahindra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goenka, Pawan Kumar 1954 births Living people Cornell University alumni Indian chief operating officers IIT Kanpur alumni Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry