Meet IIT graduate who worked in US for 5 yrs, returned to India, now leads Rs 34703 crore company as...

Several IIT and IIM alumni are heading big corporate companies in India. They also go to work abroad including US and UK for better careers. However, some of them decide to come back to India and work here in the country. One such person is Ashish Bhandari, Managing Director and CEO of Thermax Group. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and has been leading the company since September 2020.

Before joining Thermax, Bhandari was the Vice President - India and South Asia region at Baker Hughes (formerly a GE company). He joined GE in 2005 in Houston, US and worked there for 5 years. He then relocated to Gurugram in 2011. His prior work experience includes Schlumberger, consulting with McKinsey & Co. and two start-ups overseas.

He now leads Thermax which has a market capitalisation of Rs 34703 crore as of December 29. The company is headquartered in Pune and is involved in clean air, clean energy and clean water. Bhandari holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (B Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai. He received his master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Duke University, US.  

Over his 15-year GE career, Bhandari has worked in a variety of industrial businesses including GE Enterprise Solutions, GE Energy, and GE Oil and Gas. He has been instrumental in consolidating legacy businesses. He is credited with building GE Oil and Gas into one of GE’s biggest businesses in India and for the successful integration of Baker Hughes and GE Oil and Gas during a time of significant transition.

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