MAM
Vir S Advani named chairman & MD of Blue Star
Mumbai: The Board of Blue Star Ltd has unanimously approved the elevation of Vir S Advani as chairman & managing director with effect from 1 April 2024. He will succeed Shailesh Haribhakti, who will be completing two consecutive terms as an Independent Director and will be retiring from the Board on 31 March 2024.
Shailesh Haribhakti joined the Board of Blue Star in 2005 as an independent director and was elevated to the position of Independent chairman in 2019. Under his exemplary leadership, the company grew significantly with all its businesses performing very well.
Vir S Advani holds bachelor’s degrees in Systems Engineering and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He has also completed a comprehensive executive management program at the Harvard Business School. After a two-year working stint in a private equity firm in New York, Vir joined Blue Star Infotech Ltd in 2000 and later founded Blue Star Design & Engineering Ltd in 2003, designated as its chief executive officer. In 2007, he moved to Blue Star as vice president – corporate affairs. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2008; President of corporate affairs & special projects in 2009; Executive director in 2010. In 2016, Vir was appointed managing director of the company. He was, thereafter, elevated to the position of vice chairman, and re-designated vice chairman & managing director on 1 April 2019.
Vir will succeed Shailesh Haribhakti as chairman and managing director with effect from 1 April 2024.
Blue Star Ltd chairman Shailesh Haribhakti added, “Vir has been with the Blue Star group of companies for nearly 25 years. Having initially managed several independent assignments in associate companies, he joined Blue Star Ltd in 2007 and made valuable contributions in several senior staff and operational positions. India is a fast-growing market for air conditioning and refrigeration products, and Blue Star is well-positioned to consolidate its market leadership and accelerate its growth. Vir is leading from the front and is spearheading the company’s plans to grow faster than the market and improve its profitability through significant investments in R&D, Manufacturing, and expansion of its international footprint. There is no doubt that he is the most deserving and the Blue Star Board is unanimous in selecting him as my successor with effect from 1 April 2024. I am confident that under his able leadership, Blue Star will sustain its good performance and reach new heights as it marches towards its centennial.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
