An engineering and management professional with 29 years of cross-functional experience, Sourav Daspatnaik is currently chief executive officer, Swach Environment Private Limited, a SREI Group initiative. He also serves as an independent director in several Indian companies and mentors social enterprises in the area of innovative and clean technologies for water supply, health, sanitation and hygiene under the Swachh Bharat Mission of the Ministry of Urban Development. Daspatnaik has been instrumental in nurturing several National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) initiatives for Skill India under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
He started his professional career with Tata Motors and was thereafter associated with companies such as Tata Steel, Mittal Steel (formerly the Ispat Group), Mercer HR Consulting, and the Apeejay Surendra Group. The diverse positions that he has held have enabled him to gain cross-functional expertise, and strategic and operational leadership skills. Daspatnaik possesses a unique mix of managerial talent and leadership skills with deep insights across several functional areas – engineering, marketing and sales, strategy, human resources, sustainability and public policy. He also has a sound understanding of policy advocacy.
In the past, Daspatnaik has served as a national board member for the National HRD Network, an apex body for human resource professionals. Further, he was a founder director of the Indian Iron and Steel Sector Skill Council, under the NSDC. Daspatnaik has also served as the chairperson of the Skill Development Task Force constituted by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Besides these professional forays in India, Daspatnaik has worked extensively in Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Myanmar and Thailand. He has played a vital role in the launch of the India-Myanmar Solar Energy Forum which facilitates bilateral trade ties between the two governments.
Daspatnaik has a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. He has a master’s degree in operations management from the Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey, USA. Besides his professional interests, Daspatnaik is a keen sportsperson and is interested in contributing towards the development of sports in the country, especially football. His family includes his wife Ranjana, an educationist by profession, and their son Nikhil, a civil engineering graduate who is currently working with Amazon.