Anant Goenka Resigns: All You Need To Know About CEAT's Former CEO

On March 20, 2023, CEAT Limited, the multinational tyre manufacturing company owned by the RPG Group, announced a change in its upper management. As per the meeting held by the Board of Directors of CEAT Limited, Anant Goenka, the current MD and CEO of CEAT, has been appointed as the new Vice Chairman of CEAT w.e.f. April 1, 2023.

This announcement follows Anant Goenka’s resignation from his current position as the MD and CEO of CEAT after a 10-year-long stint in the position. While Anant Goenka moves on to become the Vice Chairman of CEAT, Arnab Banerjee, the current Chief Operating Officer of CEAT, will be taking charge as the new MD and CEO w.e.f. April 1, 2023.

If you’re still wondering who Anant Goenka is, here’s some interesting information about the new Vice Chairman of CEAT.

Anant Goenka is the son of  RPG Group Chairman Harsh Vardhan Goenka. He is an MBA in Management and Strategy from the Kellogg School of Management, as well as a BSc graduate in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Having worked for over 20 years, Anant Goenka’s extensive experience is spread across notable organisations such as CEAT Limited, KEC International Limited and Hindustan Unilever Limited.

The new Vice Chairman of CEAT, Anant Goenka, began his career in 2003 with Hindustan Unilever Limited, following which he joined his current employer, CEAT Limited, as Regional Manager - Sales. Soon, he assumed leadership of the Off-Highway tyres Business and became the Head of Specialty Tires in 2005.

In 2007, Goenka joined KEC International Limited (KEC) as Vice President (Corporate) and was responsible for the Telecom business, Business development in North America and Integrated Planning and Monitoring of Transmission and Distribution Business. Owing to his contributions in this business vertical, KEC soon promoted him to the position of Executive Director - Supply Chain. This position came with responsibilities encompassing manufacturing, procurement, planning, logistics, and quality functions. 

Anant Goenka then returned to his current organisation, CEAT, in January 2010 as the Deputy Managing Director. After an impressive tenure of two years, Goenka was subsequently appointed as Managing Director of the company in April 2012. He was also the Chairman of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) between April 2018 to March 2019.

Anant Goenka joined CEAT in 2005 for a short tenure and then returned in 2010 for a long run. After being appointed as Managing Director of the company in April 2012, Anant has led CEAT through a highly transformative ten-year period. During his tenure, the market capitalisation of the company grew from Rs 370 crore to Rs 5800 crore.

CEAT became the only tyre maker based outside of Japan to have received the coveted Deming Prize. Currently, it is the only tyre facility in the world to have been given the Lighthouse certification by the World Economic Forum.

Anant Goenka, like his father Harsh Vardhan Goenka, is also a Member of the Management Board of RPG Enterprises. He is also Vice-Chairman of Zensar Technologies Limited, a leading IT services Company under the RPG Group.

Anant Goenka has led CEAT as the CEO and MD for over a decade. During this tenure, he has been recognised by Forbes as the “Next Generation Business Leader of the Year” in 2017. Goenka was also named among “India’s 40 under 40 Business Leaders” by the Economic Times-Spencer Stuart. Moreover, he also led to CEAT winning the Deming Prize, one of the most prestigious global quality awards in the world.

As the new Vice Chairman of CEAT, Anant Goenka is cited to take up strategic functions at the group level for its next stage of growth.