Leadership Team

Ranjit has extensive experience in Renewable Energy, Thermal Power and the O&G industry with specialities in Project Management, Business Development, Bidding, and Project Finance.

Prior to Azure Power, Ranjit co-founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Ostro Energy where he spearheaded growth through a prudent renewable energy auction strategy entailing an equity investment of $280 million and a debt of about $900 million to build a 1100 MW renewables platform. Prior to Ostro, Ranjit co-founded Orange Renewable where he steered the capital raise of $65 mn equity and executed RE projects of 180 MW on BOO basis and developed a pipeline for another 350 MW. He has also served as founding CEO of Indiabulls Power, leading construction of over 5000 MW of Thermal Power projects. Prior to his, Ranjit worked at Schlumberger for 12 years in various field and management positions across various geographies.

Ranjit holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.

Murali comes with leadership experience in both structured and entrepreneurial environments in managing operations and building businesses in Energy, Power, Renewables and Infrastructure space.

Prior to Azure Power, Murali, co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ostro Energy and oversaw the deployment of $280 mn equity capital raised from global PE Actis for the development and execution of 1100 MW renewable energy capacity. Prior to Ostro, Murali also co-founded Orange Renewable where he steered the enterprise from start-up stage into a profitable company, together with developing and executing projects of 180 MW capacity on Build-Own-Operate basis. Earlier, Murali worked with Indiabulls Power as COO where he executed the Group’s vision and strategy to become a serious IPP in the Power sector. Prior to this, Murali worked in Schlumberger in various field and management positions.

Murali holds a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.

Pawan has experience in corporate and structured finance, portfolio monitoring, financial analysis, credit rating, business development and relationship management in the infrastructure sector with special focus on renewable energy. Previously, he was the Chief Investment Officer of Azure Power and overlooked the capital and investment portfolios for the company. Prior to Azure Power, Pawan has served as Group President II & Dy. Head – Corporate Finance Infrastructure Banking and National Head Renewable Energy at YES Bank. Pawan was instrumental in issuance of India’s first Green Bond as well as India’s first IIFCL/ADB braced Partial Credit Enhanced Bond in Indian Solar Sector. Pawan has also worked with CRISIL, Indian-Oil and Ernst & Young.

Pawan is a Rankholder Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, and has also cleared all 3 levels of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA, USA).

Kuldeep brings with him 34+ years of rich experience in the power sector across project management, Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and Operations and Maintenance (O&M). Prior to Azure Power, Kuldeep served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Vikram Solar, leading the domestic and international platforms for rooftop and ground-mounted solar power projects. Prior to this, he completed successful stints in various management positions across business development, operations, and project development at Sangam Renewables, Astonfield, Lanco Solar, Wartsila, Triveni Engineering, and BST Limited. He has handled various Solar PV projects and 3rd party EPC projects at Ground, Marine & Navy Shipyards, including piping projects, hydropower projects and  fuel-based power plants across India, Middle East & Africa

Kuldeep holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and has completed his Executive MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management.

Samitla has experience in marketing strategy, public relations and communications. She tracks all policy matters in the renewable energy space, liaises with policy and regulatory stakeholders on various short & long-term reforms to secure a stable and predictable regulatory environment for the sector. She also leads corporate communications for the company and focuses on building relationships with the company’s key stakeholders including investors, customers and media. She was a key member in taking the company to its initial public offering on NYSE in 2016. Prior to Azure Power, Samitla worked with Northern Trust as Financial Analyst.

Samitla holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bangalore University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Marketing from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.

Nathan has experience working in the financial industry across sectors including alternative energy, utilities and MLPs/pipelines. Prior to Azure Power, Nathan has served as senior sell side analyst with several firms including Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Janney Montgomery Scott and Atlantic Equities and was ranked as the #1 analyst in Europe over many years for his analysis and stock picking. He has also served as an adviser to many S&P 500 companies about investor relations, strategy, and capital raising.

Nathan is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Texas Christian University.

Gaurang has cross functional experience across the power & renewables sector, which covers bidding strategy, sustainability and energy markets. Under his leadership at Azure Power, the company’s portfolio has grown by over 2,500 MWs. Prior to joining Azure Power, Gaurang has worked with Vestas Wind India, Caterpillar Inc., and other clean energy startups.

Gaurang holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology. He also holds Master’s degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance & Strategy and another Master’s degree in Energy & Sustainability, from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Akriti brings in with her rich and diverse experience in undertaking complex legal and regulatory issues. She has been involved in several crucial projects in diverse areas of law including Power and Energy, Corporate and Commercial Laws, Intellectual Property, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. At Azure, she has been instrumental in strategizing and driving litigations and non-adversarial tariff claims before various Electricity Regulatory Commissions, negotiating complex documentation, providing cross-functional strategic support by advancing business interest within the legal parameters. Prior to joining Azure Power, Akriti has worked with S&R Associates, A&M Law offices and at Chambers of Senior Advocate, Mr. Ritin Rai. She has also represented the Government of India before Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India in Service, Tax and Constitutional matters.

Akriti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Hons) from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Faculty of Law, Delhi University. She is registered with the Bar Council of India.

Sarvesh brings with him 24 years of techno-commercial experience in the power sector, including 10+ years of experience as head of contracts, commercial, and business development. Prior to joining Azure Power, he was associated with Sarkun Solar Private Limited where he was instrumental in developing a 290 MW solar business for the group and leading the business development for a 1,320 MW thermal project. Earlier he had worked with Hindalco, Reliance Energy, Bajaj Energy, and Indiabulls Power Limited in various management roles across procurement, project management, and O&M of solar power.

Sarvesh holds a B.E. degree from Motilal Nehru Institute of Technology and has completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from MDI, Gurugram.

Kapil brings with him 14 years of extensive global experience in the solar energy sector. Prior to joining Azure Power, he was associated with Fortum Solar India Private Limited and was instrumental for its success in India, while leading technology team experts in India and Finland. While in Fortum, he was also responsible for various greenfield/brownfield projects development in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Finland. Prior to this, he worked with the ETA Ascon group to establish its EPC arm for utility-scale solar power plants. He has also been associated with CSEM-UAE Innovation Center, a non-profit joint venture company of Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology and Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) - United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Kapil holds B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT, Bombay. He has also been awarded Diploma in Leadership under Hanken & SSE Executive Education, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.

Sumit has a strong track record of improving ESG performance of large-scale infrastructure projects.
At Azure, he leads the sustainability initiative of the company. He frequently interacts with lenders, consultants and other key stakeholders on ways to enhance sustainability and improving ESG performance of the company and leads implementation of such sustainability initiatives. He also heads the Health and Safety department and plays active role in CSR activities of the company.
Prior to joining Azure, as the Associate Director of Arcadis India, Sumit advised more than 5 GW renewable energy projects on meeting and exceeding their ESG targets. He also acted as the project director of Resettlement Action Plan and Social Impact Assessment including land acquisition support for implementation of the first High Speed Rail (Mumbai Ahmedabad) project in India.
Sumit is a Bachelor in Planning from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi and has completed his M.B.A from K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai. Apart from this he has undertaken number of diploma / certification course on Health, Safety, Environment and Social aspect.