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Leadership team

Leadership team Leadership team

Leadership team

Chief Executive Officer,
Aditya Birla Science and Technology Company Private Limited

Chief Technology Officer,
Aditya Birla Group

Chief Technology Officer,
Grasim Industries Limited

Dr. Aspi N. Patel has more than 30 years of experience growing and leading teams in various manufacturing industries. He has held leadership positions with GE, DuPont and Invista in the United States, and is currently the CTO of Aditya Birla Group in Mumbai. His expertise includes managing P&L accountabilities, stewardship of global technology initiatives and oversight of manufacturing and technical marketing functions across several business lines including fibers, chemicals, textiles, aerospace and defense.

Aspi’s ability to lead and mentor global cross-functional teams with responsibility for technology development and commercialization of new products, processes, engineering, manufacturing and marketing has earned him an established track record of excellence working with multiple stake holders. He is proficient in developing technology vision and strategy, recognizing emerging industry trends, identifying competitive threats and acquisition opportunities.

Aspi has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades during his career. He was a recipient of the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Leader in 2015 and most recently, in 2019, he was conferred the prestigious Aditya Birla Group’s Leader of Leaders Award for his tremendous contributions in shaping the Groups’ technology strategies and for the depth and lasting impact of his leadership on business innovation.

Responsible for Copper, Aluminum upstream (alumina & smelting) and cement R&D portfolios. In 2004, Vilas joined Tata Steel R&D as Principle Researcher and worked closely with Ferro-Alloys and Titania Business units of Tata Steel. In 2008 he became head of Ferro-Alloys and New Business research group and later led research in the area of iron making and agglomeration. In 2012, he was promoted as a Chief Researcher of Iron-making and Ferro-Alloys research group.

Vilas began his career in research in 1991 as Scientist at Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Hyderabad and worked on development of ultra high purity metals for electronics applications. After completion of Ph D, he worked as Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Institute for Materials Research, University of Leeds, UK in 2002 on development of process technologies for extraction of titania and titanium and inert anodes.

Vilas holds a B. Tech in Metallurgical Engineering from College of Engineering, Pune; M. Tech in Materials Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and PhD in Extractive Metallurgy from University of Leeds, UK.

Responsible for Pulp & Fibre, Textiles and Chemicals portfolios. Prior to this role, Shirish was Assistant Vice President and responsible for projects in pulp & fibre, chemicals & process engineering. He handled the responsibility of developing portfolio on Copper and Alumina research as General Manager since 2007.

Shirish joined ABSTC in 2005 as Deputy General Manager and played an important role in the organizational growth and development of vital business portfolios. Prior to joining ABSTCPL, he was with Satyam Computers Ltd., as Assistant Consultant and worked with Cummins Research and Technology India on deputation for simulation based research on engine exhaust filters and manifold designs.

Shirish began his career with General Electric India Technology Center in 2000 as process engineer. In a four year span, he was involved in the process development and engineering of green process for GE Plastics and was conferred with Innovation and team excellence award.

Shirish earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from ICT (erstwhile UDCT), Mumbai and Post-doctoral fellowship from INSA, France. He has numerous research publications and process patents to his credit.

Responsible for Cement & Carbon black portfolios within ABSTCPL. Ram has 23 years of experience in the fields of materials chemistry and engineering polymers. He has led R&D teams in both USA and in India towards new product development and commercialisation. His expertise includes tailoring ceramic, polymeric and coating formulations to address evolving market needs in construction, automotive and electronics segments. He has experience in designing technology strategy for the businesses by identifying strengths and differentiation opportunities. He has led cross-functional teams and projects to develop and launch products across the globe. He has led teams that successfully commercialised products such as environmentally friendly fiberglass products, sanitaryware with antimicrobial surfaces, heat and flame-resistant polymer composites, corrosion and scratch resistant coatings for multiple substrates etc.

Ram obtained his Ph.D in Materials chemistry from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA and worked in USA for 13 years after that, in companies such as PPG Industries, American Standard and Celanese Chemicals. He relocated to India in 2011 and has since worked in Carborundum Universal Limited and in Momentive Performance Materials, in R & D and business leadership roles. He was responsible for establishing the R & D teams to develop new value-added products in multiple segments ranging from agricultural inputs and chemicals to electronics and aerospace applications.

Ram is a certified Six Sigma champion and has mentored many teams in adapting statistical tools and project management techniques effectively in new product development. He has received a Customer Focused Growth & Innovation award for his work in flame retardant polymer composite development while at Celanese Chemicals and a New application focus award for his work in abrasion resistant ceramic polymer composites, while at Carborundum Universal Limited.