Akhil Mehrotra is a business leader in the energy sector with over 28 years of experience across the oil and gas, and power industries. As chief executive officer of Pipeline Infrastructure Limited (PIL), his work is cut out for him – to grow volumes and revenues for the 1,375 km, 48 inch diameter gas pipeline that runs from Kakinada to Bharuch. “With energy demand set to grow with increasing population, urbanisation and industrialisation, gas has to play a critical role as a clean fuel to help grow the GDP,” he says. In July 2019, he accepted the challenge of leading the pipeline business for Brookfield-owned PIL.
Mehrotra is widely recognised for his leadership in the oil and gas industry and has helped shape the gas sector for the past 15 years. He has been instrumental in drafting many gas sector regulations and also led a report for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2013 on “Vision 2030”. He believes that the government and regulators need to work on innovative means of monetising old pipelines while building new pipelines in regions that are uneconomical for the private sector.
Before joining PIL, Mehrotra led Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) and the Hazira import terminal business of Shell Plc as general manager of IG Ventures and head of the city gas distribution business. As chairman of MGL, he was instrumental in leading its initial public offering (IPO) in 2016, one of the most successful IPOs in its time. In the past, he has also been on the board of many companies including Shell Energy India Private Limited and Hazira Ports Private Limited.
Mehrotra has a diverse experience in managing profit and loss of businesses, setting up and growing businesses, and ideating and developing strategies, amongst other things. He has also successfully negotiated and concluded complex merger and acquisition deals. He has worked as director of the downstream business and director of regulations and business development at BG India and Gujarat Gas Limited. Prior to working with Shell, he also worked with the Reliance Group for nine years.
Mehrotra is a graduate in mechanical engineering, holds an MBA in finance and a PhD in gas markets. He has also attended a 10-month management programmr at IIM Bangalore and specialised courses at Harvard Business School, Kellogg’s School of Management and London Business School. He has two daughters and his wife has taken the responsibility of managing the house. He spends his spare time reading and is fond of travelling to interesting places.