Gauri Kirloskar

Vice-Chairperson and Managing Director - Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited (KOEL)

Gauri has served on the Board of Kirloskar Oil Engines since 2014 and has played an active role across the Kirloskar Group, contributing both at the governance level and in key operational capacities. Under her leadership, Kirloskar Oil Engines went through a significant business transformation journey, covering all areas of the company, including leadership, products and technology roadmap, redefining the core purpose of the company, focusing on its core competencies, employee value proposition and making KOEL a great place to work, all resulting in a significant jump in the topline, profits and market share of the company.  

She also plays a key role at Arka FinCap Limited, a 100% owned subsidiary of KOEL in the banking and finance space. At Arka, she works on business strategy, by working closely with the leadership in laying out the long-term strategy for the business and the execution of the same.  On the leadership side, she focuses on building the right team, making sure strong leaders are in place, and fostering a culture that attracts and retains top talent.  

At the Group level, she is involved in the overall Kirloskar Group strategy, which includes charting out the growth aspiration of the Group and formulating the diversification strategy for the Group. She also plays a key role in building the right leadership at all Group companies, while handholding and guiding the newer businesses as they grow. 

Prior to being appointed Managing Director of Kirloskar Oil Engines, her primary role was establishment of the Group’s real estate business in Pune. This involved strategic alternatives analysis of value creation opportunities around the sale and development of the group’s land banks. 

She is a member of the boards of Kirloskar Oil Engines’ subsidiaries, Koel Fluid Dynamics, which is into fluid management solutions, and Arka FinCap. She is also currently serving as an Independent Board member of Godrej & Boyce and has previously served on the boards of Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation and Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company as an Independent Director. 

She graduated from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business. Previously she attended Phillips Academy, Andover, near Boston. After graduation, Gauri worked as an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch in New York in their Mergers and Acquisitions group. She then moved on to Pearson’s Corporate Finance and Strategy group where she looked at business strategy and acquisitions for their education business. 

Gauri was awarded the Maharashtra Udyogini award by the Ministry of Industries, Maharashtra in 2023.