Aravind Melligeri
Chairman & CEO, Aequs

Aravind is a first-generation entrepreneur who has built India’s foremost vertically integrated aerospace manufacturing ecosystem over the last decade that drives scale & efficiency through co-located capabilities delivering end-to-end value streams.

Driven by a vision to transform India into a global manufacturing hub, his laser-sharp focus has helped him create long-term value through innovative strategies leading India to increase in-country value add and gain a competitive advantage. His passion for building economic engines for India’s future led to Aequs’ diversification into the consumer vertical in 2016. Today, Aequs is at the helm of developing and building India’s first 400-acre toy manufacturing ecosystem in Koppal, Karnataka, and India’s first sector-specific Consumer Durable Goods Cluster in Hubballi.

Aravind is a mechanical engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, and holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.


Rajeev Kaul
COO & MD, Aequs

Rajeev is a veteran in manufacturing with over 25 years of rich experience cutting across sectors. At Aequs, he is responsible for the overall operations and performance of different verticals in the group, including Aerospace, Toys and Consumer Durable Goods. He has been with Aequs since its inception. Rajeev has been instrumental in setting up various lines of business and establishing Joint Ventures. His firm belief in excellence and quality has played a significant role in advancing Aequs’ presence in India, France & the US. He is a mathematics graduate from Delhi University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.


Amit Chakraborty
President, Toys

Amit is a Toy and Consumer industry veteran with experience spanning over three decades with global brands and organizations.

At Aequs, he is the President of the Toys Division and is responsible for forming strategic alliances with global toymakers to drive capabilities,  rapid growth and profitability of the Aequs’ toy manufacturing ecosystem.

Amit pioneered the globalisation of toy manufacturing out of China especially to India, Vietnam, Mexico and Turkey in his previous role as the Managing Director and Chief Global Sourcing Officer, Hasbro.

Previously, he worked as the Chief Purchasing Officer, Royal Philips N.V, responsible for Greater China and managing over $5B in spends. He has also held responsibility as the Chief Supply Chain Officer of Philips Lighting, Asia.

Amit is an engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Karnataka, and holds a Master’s Degree in Management from IIM, Calcutta. He is certified in APICS and Executive Leadership Program from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA.


Dinesh Iyer
Chief Financial Officer

Dinesh is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience in all areas of finance. At Aequs, he is responsible for end-to-end management of the finance function, including corporate governance, risk management, business partnering, treasury and funding, cost management, financial operations, taxation, financial accounting, and reporting. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and is leveraging his extensive experience in building better efficiencies in the financial systems at Aequs.


Mohamed Bouzidi
President, Aerospace

Mohamed is a distinguished industry veteran with experience spanning three decades in aerospace manufacturing and strategic customer accounts. At Aequs, he is responsible for building sales portfolios that make value-creating partnerships with leading aerospace OEMs. He also brings on board an in-depth understanding of diverse supply chain geographies that give Aequs an edge over other manufacturers. Mohamed is a graduate of the University of Paris. He holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration from EDHEC Business School and a PhD in Metallurgy from the Paris School of Mines.


Rohit Hegde
President, Consumer Durable Goods

Rohit is an all-around professional with experience in private equity, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing over the last three decades. At Aequs, he is responsible for growth and strengthening domestic alliances for the consumer durables business. His knowledge of business systems, financial processes, and manufacturing gives him the ability to envision and add value to the entire supply chain. He is a mechanical engineering graduate from Anna University Chennai and holds a master’s in industrial engineering and an MBA from the US.

Ravi Guttal
CTO & Sr. Vice President, Engineering & Quality

A veteran of over 25 years in product management and technology development, Ravi has steered research, innovation, NPI, operations, strategic planning, business and market development for Fortune 500 companies and reputed research and academic institutions.

A Master of Science in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, and a Doctorate in Computational Mechanics from Rensselaer Institute, Troy, NY, he has planned and established several R&D and product development centres.

Ravi has the distinction of setting up the Asia Technology Innovation Center and the JD Technology Center for John Deere in India, employing over 6000 engineers for product engineering for the MNC’s centres worldwide. While at John Deere, he also managed the NPD and the Program Management Office leading a cross functional team of engineers, supply chain professionals, and marketing managers to develop innovative products.

Ravi’s area of expertise include product design, technology development and product development, operational excellence, additive manufacturing and design optimization.

He set up the Centre for Innovation and Product Development for KLE Technological University where he is currently also the head of MSME, the KLE Tech University Incubation Center and the Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell and Product Design Centers.


Walt Sirmans
President, Corporate Ventures & Strategy

Walt is an experienced professional with a career spanning 30 years in aerospace and manufacturing. At Aequs, he is responsible for strategic decision making, business growth, establishing global partnerships, and achieving organizational excellence. His experience and focus have strengthened Aequs’ market position. Walt is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been part of the Executive Integral Leadership program at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business and the Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.