Action Against Aids

Richard B. Saldanha
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
7, B.S. Zafar Marg
New Delhi – 110 002, India.
Phone : +91 11 2349 2249
Mobile : +91 98108538800
Email : richard.saldanha@timesgroup.com

Mr. Saldanha, a graduate Mechanical Engineer, served Hindustan Lever & Unilever Plc. with distinction for 30 years. He spent almost 10 years in Latin America. He was Technical Director of Unilever Venezuela, Vice-President – Supply Chain for Unilever Andina, (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador) rising to be Chairman and CEO of Unilever Peru and a Member of the Unilever Latin America Board.

As Managing Director of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, a 1.5 BN $ enterprise, Mr. Saldanha brought to the Company, experience and expertise gained in Unilever Companies worldwide as well as in India. He defined his Role at Haldia as “ a role that provided clear vision and strategic direction, that builds culture, business ethic, structure and processes to deliver outstanding business performance and Good Corporate Governance”.

He is currently Executive Director and Member of the Board of The Times of India Group to help build organizational capability, culture and competitiveness.

His 40 years of corporate experience in a gamut of functions that ranged from Manufacturing and Planning to Corporate Development and General Management have given him learning and insights which have proved to be invaluable for restructuring and reorganizing companies as well as for managing partnerships and strategic alliances in an international arena. He has been a Board Member since the mid 80’s on several Boards nationally and internationally.

Mr. Saldanha also has wide international experience gained, as Founder Member of the National Board for Advertising Self Regulation (Peru); Founder Member of the National Board for e-Commerce (Peru); President of the International School in Valencia, Venezuela; Member of the Dutch–Peru Chamber of Commerce; Member of the UK–Peru Chamber of Commerce.

On return to India, was Chairman, Eastern Region of the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Vice-President, Eastern India Council of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce; Member of the Confederation of Indian Industry – Eastern Region; Member of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Member of the National Advisory Board for Chemtech World Expo. He is a founder President of Save the Children, India and President of Delhi Management Association.

He is married. His wife is an Author (Rhythms of South America and the Beats of India), a journalist and works with the Mentally and Physically Challenged. His daughter is an MBA from Duke University and is working with ICI based in Chicago, USA. His Son, after working in Panama with Kimberley Clark, completed his MBA from Rotterdam and is presently working with L’Oreal in Madrid, Spain.