Hitachi India names Bharat Kaushal as its MD

Hitachi India has appointed Bharat Kaushal as Managing Director of Hitachi India. Bharat will be the first Indian to spearhead Hitachi India’s operations. He succeeds Kojin Nakakita who has been elevated as Chairman of Hitachi India and Hitachi Asia. The appointment will be effective from 1st June, 2017.

Bharat is currently serving as Chairman in India of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). He is the first non-Japanese to be appointed as SMBC India’s CEO and served the role between 2012 and 2015.

In his role, Bharat will focus on promoting Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business in India. Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business resolves issues faced by society and customers by combining advanced IT with operational technology (OT) and products/systems, allowing us to provide total solutions.

Bharat has over 25 years of industry experience specializing in macroeconomic policy, Government advisory, project finance, debt restructuring and mergers and acquisitions. He is currently a member of the Indo-Japan Task Force (IJTF) set up by the two Governments and is the Convener of the Financial Strategy Group to address policy as well as operational level concerns of the Japanese Government and private-sector institutions pursuing business opportunities in India.

Bharat has worked with SMBC for 20 years. While the greater part of his career has been in investment banking, he also served successful assignments as Strategy Advisor to the India Investment Centre, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and as part of the Economic Policy Unit of the World Bank in Washington DC.

Bharat is an alumnus of Columbia University, where he pursued a Masters in International Affairs (MIA) and Northeastern University where he secured a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). He graduated from St Stephen's College, Delhi.

Bharat Kaushal said, “It is a privilege to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading a company with an iconic legacy. I will aim at aggressively expanding Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business by building on the core ethos of the company. I look forward to being part of an already winning team and taking Hitachi to new heights by contributing to improvement of customers and the society.”