Board of Directors

Mr. Francois-David Martino, aged 51 years, pursued his education in Mechanical Engineering from CNAM in Saint-Etienne, France, and FH Weingarten, Germany. He furthered his education with an Executive MBA from HEC Paris, solidifying his expertise in business management.

Mr. Martino also obtained a Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School, enhancing his strategic leadership capabilities.

Mr. Martino’s career began with roles at esteemed companies like ZF
Freidrichshafen AG and PSA Peugot Citroen, where he gained experience in supply chain management. His tenure as CEO of Becker Stahl Service GmbH in Germany saw significant growth in the automotive industry, where he successfully expanded the Company’s presence and solidified its position as a key player in the market.

Internationally, Mr. Francois-David Martino led operations in China for SIEMENS Ltd. and Thyssenkrupp IS, contributing significantly to the growth of these organisations. As President & CEO of Danieli & c. Officine Meccaniche Co. Ltd., in Shanghai China, Mr. Martino played a part in a notable business turnaround, contributing to increased revenue and profitability while expanding their presence in China.

He currently serves as the Executive President & CEO of John Cockerill Industry and aims to steer the Group towards its revenue targets, always prioritizing the well-being of the team and the organization.
Mr. Martino is known for his dedication and teamwork and values collaboration and fosters an environment of mutual respect and support.

Mr. Michael Kotas has over 22 years of within international business environment, mainly within ferrous / non-ferrous metal sectors in various functions. He is passionate in delivering productivity, operations and process efficiency that will impact the bottom-line of the organization. Mr. Kotas has high analytical skills and is enthusiastic about building and improving high performing teams. He is fluent in multiple languages German, English, Spanish and has extensive work experience abroad.

Mr. Michael Kotas is a German National and has completed his Business Administration from HSB Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from ESSEC Business School and Mannheim Business School.

Mr. Michael Kotas is associated with John Cockerill Group since 2018. He was the Company Manager at John Cockerill UVK for 3 years and then he moved to Cockerill Engineering Beijing since July, 2021. Mr. Kotas has worked with Danieli Group, Meinerzhagen, ArcelorMittal and Sidstahl before joining John Cockerill Group. In his last assignment, he was the General Manager for Cockerill Engineering Beijing in China.

Mr. Michael Kotas has strong leadership qualities and has grown well in his career. His geographical exposure covers India and overseas markets enabling him to gain hands-on exposure of cross-cultural working. He has contributed significantly towards effective business decisions, as well as developing and shaping up professional teams in his previous roles and he has displayed strong functional capabilities combined with leadership and drive to achieve business outcomes.

Mr. Michael Kotas specialises in Strategy Development, Marketing Management, Technology Management, Manufacturing Management, New Business Development and Leadership Development.

Mr. Frederic Lemaitre

Mr. Lemaitre’s career began with Cockerill Sambre, Steel Industry as Internal Auditor from where he moved to UCA (Usinor Cuivre and Alliages) as Controller. Back in Steel Industry in 2001, his tenure within this business (Unisor, Arcelor, ArcelorMittal) for more than 19 years moving from Head Treasury to Operational Manager Accounting, Shared Services, where he gained experience in operational management and setting up of shared services. He actively participated in setting up of central organization and was responsible for reorganization plan and cost reduction.

He joined John Cockerill Group in January, 2010, initially as interim manager and on the payroll from January, 2012. After holding various positions in the Finance department, he is currently nominated to be the Group Chief Financial Officer of John Cockerill. Mr. Frederic Lemaitre is known for his expertise, dedication and teamwork and values collaboration and fosters an environment of mutual respect and support.

Mr. Vivek Bhide, has over 33 years of experience in the chemicals and industrial manufacturing domain. Mr. Bhide holds Bachelor of Technology Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He also holds the Master of Science Degree in Statistics from the University of Delaware in U.S.A. He has a Certificate in Disruptive Strategy from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Vivek Bhide started his career in the process engineering and R & D domain with DuPont in the U.S.A. where he was instrumental in spearheading multiple projects across technology, manufacturing, new business / product development and analytical science.
Mr. Mr. Vivek Bhid e moved back to India with DuPont India to lead the Packaging and Industrial polymers business for the South Asia region. Later he was in a Global Marketing role for DuPont’s pigment business. As a senior leader, he has worked with Danaher Group as the Managing Director of Gilbarco Veeder Root India. He then became the President of Fortive India, overseeing strategy for Fortive’s growth in India across multiple businesses. In his last position, he was the Managing Director for John Cockerill India Limited and a member of the Extended Group Executive Committee. He is the Regional President India of John Cockerill Group.
Mr. Vivek Bhide has strong leadership qualities and keen interest in mentoring professionals. His geographical exposure covers India and overseas markets enabling him to gain hands-on exposure of cross cultural working. Mr. Bhide specialises in Strategy Development, Marketing Management, Technology Management, Manufacturing Management, New Business Development and Leadership Development.
Mr. Vivek Bhide is a member of the Rotary Club of Bombay Powai. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in India

Mr. Nandkumar Dhekne has over 40 years of experience in diverse areas including Field services, Operations Management, Sales & Marketing & General Management. He was Managing Director, India & South Asia of GE Water during 2001-2004, and was President & CEO of GE Energy India during 2004-2007. During 2007-2009, he was the Managing Director – Asia, Aqualon Division of Hercules Inc. based in Shanghai. From 2009-2014, he was Vice President – Asia at Ashland based in Shanghai. In his last assignment, Mr. Dhekne was the Vice President – Asia Pacific for Solenis LLC, USA, a global leader of paper making and industrial water treatment chemicals. He was responsible for the business growth and performance in over 10 countries including China, Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and South Asia including India. He is a recognized growth leader with outstanding team building skills and has delivered consistent profitable growth in a broader geography for these MNCs.

He is a Chemical Engineer graduate and a distinguished Alumnus of University Department of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and a Alumnus of Harvard Business School (AMP).

He was the Chairman of American Chambers of Commerce, Bangalore, 2005, Chairman of Energy Committee – Bangalore, Chamber of Industry and Commerce and an active CII Committee Member CII – Delhi, 2006. He has served on the Board of AICM and ENACTUS in China, a non-profit organisation br />

Mr. Praveen Kadle is an Independent Director on the Board of the Company.

Mr. Praveen Kadle is the Founder & Chairman of Prachetas Capital Private Limited. Prior to that, Mr. Kadle has been part of the Tata Group for more than 30 years and held senior positions like Founding CEO and a Board Member of IBM’s JV with Tatas in India from 1991 to 1996, CFO and a Board Member of Tata Motors from 1996 to 2008, Founder Managing Director and CEO of Tata Capital from 2008 to 2018 and Chairman of Tata AutoComp System from 2018 to 2021 which position he still holds in a non-executive position with effect from April, 2021. He is also on the Board of few other Tata Companies in a non-executive position and is also on the Board of various non-Tata Companies. During his stint in Tata Motors, he led the teams that acquired Daewoo Truck Company in South Korea in 2004 and Jaguar LandRover in 2008. In 2004, as a CFO & Finance Director, he was instrumental in getting Tata Motors listed on New York Stock Exchange and has played a major role in the turnaround and growth of the Company. During his ten years in Tata Capital, he had successfully floated 5 PE funds and set up a very successful Private Equity business of US$ 1 billion which has delivered a very attractive IRR in US dollar terms for the international and domestic investors.

He is a Chemical Engineer graduate and a distinguished Alumnus of University Department of Chemical Technology, Mumbai and a Alumnus of Harvard Business School (AMP).

Mr. Kadle has received a number of awards in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Tata Motors Limited, which are : CNBC-TV18, the Country’s best performing CFO in the Auto & Auto Ancillaries sector for 2006; ‘The Best CFO of the year 2005’ in India by Business Today; The ‘CFO of the year 2004’ by IMA (formerly known as Economist Intelligence Unit) and has been inducted as Founding member to the CFO Hall of Fame in India. Mr. Kadle has received the Global Indian Business Leader of the year award from Horasis, an international think tank in the year 2015. He is a Hons. Graduate in Commerce & Accountancy from Mumbai University and has qualified as a Chartered Accountant, Cost & Management Accountant and Company Secretary.

Equipped with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from University of Pune and Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with specialization in Human Resource Development from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. Anupama has evolved as a seasoned business management professional with more than 30 years of rich and diverse experience across industries including Conglomerates, Manufacturing/Engineering, Construction, Information Technology & Services and various organizational functions. Awarded the “Super Women Achiever – 2021”, “100 TOP Coaching Minds – 2020”, “TOP HR Minds – 2018” by World HRD Congress.
Her work experience includes working with Saint-Gobain India Ltd. (Grindwell Norton & HPM Sector, Group Interventions), Lodha Group, Colgate Palmolive, Hinduja Group, Geometric Software, Mafatlal Industries and as a Free-lance Business Strategist Partner and Founder Entrepreneur.
lmpactful contributions in the area of Business strategies, roadmaps and handholding to translate these into business models, processes and organization design to drive the people strategies and interventions are her core strength. Extensive contributions in General Management, HR Management, Corporate Marketing & Communications; Project & Event Management; Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and she has been a part of the top management teams to drive the business objectives. Ms. Anupama brings in a contemporary approach to the understanding of human dynamics and behavioural sciences with her extensive study and her work in the space of leveraging neurosciences for organization and people development (individual, team, leadership). As a certified neuroscience practitioner (MiND certified), she seamlessly integrates neurosciences for business impact, a future forward approach to human-centred organization building interventions.

Ms. Anjali Rajesh Gupte is a B. Com. Graduate, Chartered Accountant & Cost
Accountant with over 25 years of experience across a varied range of industries from media to financial information, to manufacturing and real estate. She was the Head of Finance, South Asia & Director for Thomson Reuters India Private Limited from April 2008 to May 2014. She also held the position of Finance Manager, South Asia & Director at Thomson Reuters India Private Limited from November 1997 to March 2008. Ms. Gupte has worked as a Finance Manager in Godrej Properties & Investment Limited from April 1995 to October 1997. She has formerly worked as a Finance Executive in Gujarat Godrej Innovative Chemicals Limited from September 1993 to March 1995.
She was working as Chief Financial Officer, South Asia & Director of Grey Worldwide (India) Private Limited since August 2016 till mid of June 2021. In her last position, she was the Group CFO of the Havas Group.