Mr. Naresh Goyal, a non-resident Indian national, is the chairman of the Company. He is also the chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Goyal holds a Bachelors of Commerce degree and after completing his education in 1967, Mr. Goyal joined the travel business and underwent extensive practical training with several foreign airlines.
Mr. Naresh Goyal has more than 35 years of experience in the civil aviation industry. Immediately after graduation in Commerce in 1967, Mr. Goyal joined the travel business with the General Sales Agents for Lebanese International Airlines. Subsequently, Mr. Goyal was appointed the Public Relations Manager of Iraqi Airways in 1969 and from 1971 to 1974 was the Regional Manager for ALIA, Royal Jordanian Airlines. During this period, Mr. Goyal also worked with the Indian offices of Middle Eastern Airline (MEA) where he gained experience in various areas including ticketing, reservations and sales. During this period, he underwent extensive training in all facets of the travel business and undertook considerable international travel on business. He was thereafter appointed Regional Manager of Philippine Airlines where he handled the commercial operations of the airline in India. With the wide experience, expertise and technical know-how Mr. Goyal acquired, he founded Jetair Private Limited (then known as Jetair Transportation Private Limited) in 1974 with the objective of providing sales and marketing representation to foreign airlines in India. Shortly thereafter in 1975, he was appointed Regional Manager of Philippine Airlines in India.
In Jetair, Mr. Goyal was directly involved in marketing studies and traffic development in the Far East, Middle East, and Europe, the U.K. and the U.S.A. Mr. Goyal has also been involved in developing studies of traffic patterns, route structures, operational economies and flight scheduling, all of which have made him an authority in the world of aviation and travel.
As Chairman of the GSA company, Jetair Private Limited and the other promoter group companies such as International Cargo Carriers Limited, National Travel Service and France Air Ltd. he has imparted expertise to these companies and further refined his knowledge of the operation of passenger and cargo services and promotion and development of tourism.
In 1992, as part of the ongoing diversification of his business interests, Mr. Goyal caused to be promoted our Company for operating scheduled air services in India.
In recognition of his achievements, Mr. Goyal has been the recipient of several national and international awards. In 2000, he received the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ for Services from Ernst & Young and the ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’ for distinguished performance as an entrepreneur. Other awards conferred on Mr. Goyal include the ‘Outstanding Asian Indian’ award for leadership and contribution to the global community given by the Indian American Centre for Political Awareness in 2003, the Qimpro Gold Standard Award in 2002 and the Aerospace Laurels Award for outstanding achievement in the field of commercial air transport, which has been awarded to him twice, in April 2000 and February 2004. Mr. Goyal has also been recently elected to the Board of Governors of IATA in June 2004.
Mr. Ali Ghandour, a Jordanian national, has been a Director of the Company since February 1998. Mr. Ghandour is a qualified aeronautical engineer from New York University, U.S.A. Mr. Ghandour has over 50 years of experience in the civil aviation industry. He was an advisor to the late King Hussein of Jordan and was earlier the Chairman of the Royal Jordanian Airlines. He has also been associated with the development of a number of airlines in the Middle East.
Mr. Victoriano P. Dungca, an American national, has been a Director of the Company since January 1999. Mr. Dungca holds an MBA from Cornell University, U.S.A. and is a Certified Public Accountant from the U.S.A. Mr. Dungca has had a long and distinguished career with Philippine Airlines and retired as its Executive Vice President. He is currently a financial advisor based in California, U.S.A.
Mr. Javed Akhtar, an Indian national has been a Director of the Company since March 1993. Mr. Akhtar holds a Bachelor of Arts degree. Mr. Akhtar is a well-known poet, lyricist, screenplay and scriptwriter and is a famous media personality. Mr. Akhtar has won the Filmfare Award thirteen times, and is a five-time National Award winner for the best lyricist.
Mr. Iftikar M. Kadri, an Indian national, has been a Director of the Company since February 2000. Mr. Kadri holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering from Pune University. He is a member of the Council of Architecture, New Delhi and a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Architects and a fellow of the Indian Institute of Interior Design. Mr. Kadri set up his practice as an architect in 1960 and is actively involved with the problems relating to rebuilding of dilapidated buildings in Mumbai and exploring technological solutions for mass housing schemes. He was also a member of the Steering Committee appointed by the Government of Maharashtra to suggest strategies for solving the housing problems of Mumbai. Mr. Kadri was awarded a citation in 1993 as an Outstanding Architectural Engineer by the Institution of Engineers in India. He is also the general secretary of the prestigious Nehru Centre in Mumbai.
Mr. Charles Arthur Adams, an American national, has been a Director of the Company since September 2003. Mr. Adams hold a Bachelors of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Hartford, U.S.A. and has 40 years of experience in the aviation industry. After a distinguished career in the United States Army, Mr. Adams joined Trans World Airlines, or TWA, in 1965 and held numerous management positions with TWA in the U.S.A., Europe and Asia. He retired from TWA in 1991 and subsequently then joined United Parcel Service, or UPS, as the Executive Vice President for UPS Yamato Japan. He retired from UPS in 2003 as President, Asia Pacific.
Mr. P.R.S. Oberoi, an Indian national, has been a Director of the Company since March 2004. He is a graduate in Hotel Management from Lausanne, Switzerland. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EIH Limited and he is also the Chairman of Oberoi Hotels Private Limited and the major shareholder of EIH Limited. Besides providing leadership for the management of Oberoi hotels across six countries, Mr. Oberoi has been instrumental in pioneering the development of new Oberoi hotels and resorts. Mr. Oberoi is credited with placing India on the international luxury traveller’s map and redefining architectural and design standards in luxury hospitality.
Mr. Aman Mehta, an Indian national, has been a Director of the Company since September 2004. Mr. Mehta holds a Bachelors degree in Economics from Delhi University. He joined the HSBC group in 1968. He subsequently held several senior positions with the HongKong Shanghai Banking Corporation and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Asia Pacific in January 1999, a position he held until his retirement in December 2003. Mr. Mehta is also a member of the governing board of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and of the Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations, New Delhi. Mr. Mehta serves as an independent director on the boards of several companies in India as well as in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Dr. Vijay Kelkar, an Indian national, was appointed as a Director of the Company in November 2004. Mr. Kelkar holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A. He was a senior faculty member of the Administrative Staff College of India at Hyderabad. Dr. Kelkar joined the Planning Commission in 1973 and was Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce in 1977. He was Secretary to the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister between 1985 to 1988 and Director-International Trade, UNCTAD, Geneva between 1991 to 1994. He was subsequently Petroleum Secretary between 1994 to 1997 and Finance Secretary between 1998 to 1999. Dr. Kelkar has been an Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, overseeing its operations in India and South Asia between 1999 to 2002. He was also the Chairman of the Tariff Commission and an Advisor to the Finance Minister, holding the rank of a Minister of State in the Government of India.
Mr. Satyan G. Pitroda, an Indian national, was appointed a Director of the Company on December 21,2004. Mr. Pitroda holds a Masters degree in Physics from India and a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, U.S.A. Mr. Pitroda began his illustrious career at GTE and formed Wescom Switching Inc. In 1980 Wescom was acquired by Rockwell International where Mr. Pitroda became Vice President, overseeing Rockwell’s telecom business worldwide. He held this position until 1983.
In 1984, Mr. Pitroda returned to India and founded the Centre for Development of Telematics. In 1987 he became an advisor to the Prime Minister of India, with the rank of a Minister, on national technology missions relating to drinking water, literacy, immunization, oil seeds, milk and telecom. Mr. Pitroda was the founding Chairman of the Telecom Commission in India, responsible for national and international telecommunication operations, policies and administration, with over 500,000 employees. As the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Pitroda revolutionized telecommunications in India and was successful in getting it accepted as a fundamental component of modernization of India.
In 2000, Mr. Pitroda was invited by the UN Secretary General to join a special Advisory Committee on Information and Communications Technology. Mr. Pitroda has recently been appointed a member of the National Advisory Council, in the Prime Minister’s Office in India under the chairmanship of Ms. Sonia Gandhi. Currently, Mr. Pitroda is the Chairman of WorldTel Limited. He is also the Chairman and Founder of several high-technology start-up companies in the US, Europe and India. Mr. Pitroda is also the founding Chairman of a non-profit Foundation for "Revitalization of Local Health Traditions in India." Mr. Pitroda holds over 50 worldwide patents.
Mr. Yash Chopra, an Indian national, has been appointed a Director of the Company since April 2006. Mr. Chopra has had a distinguished career spanning over five decades in the Indian film industry. His work has been recognized in India and overseas and he has received several prestigious awards for his outstanding contribution to Indian Cinema. These include the National and Filmfare awards, the BBC Asia Awards (in 1998 and 2001), the Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Millennium Lifetime Achievement Award (in 2001), the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (in 2001) and the Priyadarshini Award to name a few. Mr. Chopra has also been awarded a Certificate of Recognition from the British Tourist Authority and British Film Commission for promoting tourism in the U.K. through his films. In 2005, Mr. Chopra was conferred the Padma Bhushan, one of the Country’s highest civilian honours.
Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, an Indian national, has been appointed a Director of the Company since August 2006. Mr. Shah Rukh Khan is a well-known Actor from the Indian Film Industry. He is the recipient of thirteen Filmfare Awards, three National Honours including Best Indian Citizen Award in 1997, Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in 2002. In 2005, Mr. Khan was conferred the Padma Shri, one of the prestigious civilian honours conferred annually by the Government of India. He is also recognized as a cultural ambassador of India to the rest of the world.
Dr. Pierre J. Jeanniot, a Canadian national, has been appointed a Director of the Company since August 2006. Dr. Pierre J. Jeanniot is a prominent, distinguished and widely acknowledged contemporary leader of the aviation industry. Dr. Jeanniot was Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) from 1993 to 2002. He is now Director General Emeritus of IATA, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to international civil aviation. From 1984 to 1990 Dr. Jeanniot held the position of President and CEO of Air Canada. He is currently Chairman of Thales Canada Inc. Dr. Jeanniot has served on the Board of Directors of various airlines, telecommunications companies, airports, air navigation consultancies, and publishing houses. He is also President of Jinmag Inc., a management and investment company which he created in 1990, providing advice to various international civil aviation authorities and companies.
Mr. Saroj K. Datta, an Indian national, has been a Director of the Company since March 1993. Mr. Datta holds a Masters degree in Economics from Delhi University. Mr. Datta has over 40 years of experience in civil aviation in India and abroad. He joined Air India in 1962 and rose to the position of Deputy Director, Planning and International Relations in 1977. In 1987, he left Air India to join in a senior position in Kuwait Airways. He has been involved with the Company since its inception and is currently the only Executive Director of the Company.
