Pankaj Raghbeer
Mr. Pankaj Raghbeer is the Founder and CMD of the Panalfa Group. A serial entrepreneur and an effective leader with tremendous experience in setting up and running manufacturing companies, Pankaj has steered Panalfa through joint ventures with global entities over the last 20 years. His strong business management skills, unwavering focus on excellence, commitment to processes and quality, and the ability to develop strong customer relationships have enabled him to script a success story for the Panalfa group.
Pankaj has led Panalfa to establish three successful joint ventures—with the Korean giant Daewoo Motors in 1996, with Japanese auto major Honda’s largest subsidiary in 1997, and with a European partner in 2007. Under his leadership, each business increased its operations, expanded its customer base, entered new markets and achieved a consolidated peak annual revenue of INR 3000 million. The group also emerged as a major OE supplier of automotive components and systems in India. As a strategic step, Pankaj recently piloted Panalfa through a successful exit from its auto-component business and is now looking to enter newer high-growth sectors.
Pankaj began his career in 1987 when he joined his family enterprise that was primarily into trading of printing machines. However, since his interest was more in manufacturing, he took on the challenge of transforming the then nascent manufacturing companies that were going through troubled times. His efforts transformed the companies—a CAGR of 35 per cent in top-line growth was achieved, profitability increased significantly, new facilities were set up and employee strength grew fourfold. Subsequently, in 1994, he shifted his focus from the family business and started on his own with Panalfa Automotive, a holding company to set up businesses of manufacturing automotive components and systems in India.
Pankaj is a commerce graduate from Delhi University with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Boston University. He has also attended executive courses at ISB, Hyderabad and University of California, Berkeley. He is an active member of the Delhi chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).