Petronet LNG names GAIL's Sanjay Kumar as next MD and CEO from May 2027

New Delhi: Petronet LNG Limited's board has approved the appointment of Sanjay Kumar, Director (Marketing) at GAIL (India) Limited, as the company's next Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Kumar will take charge on May 13, 2027, when the post falls vacant, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The board approved the appointment at a meeting on October 2, acting on the recommendation of its Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

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Succeeding Akshay Kumar Singh

Kumar will succeed Akshay Kumar Singh, whose extended term as MD and CEO runs until May 12, 2027. Singh came to Petronet LNG from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), where he was Director (Pipelines), and took charge on February 1, 2021, for a five-year term. Petronet LNG extended that term in January this year.

Petronet LNG is promoted by four state-owned companies. GAIL, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) each hold 12.5 percent of the company. The rest is held by the public.

Three decades at GAIL

Kumar has been GAIL's Director (Marketing) since June 15, 2023. According to GAIL, he joined the company in 1988 and has more than 35 years of experience in the natural gas sector. His work there has covered gas marketing, LNG sourcing, trading and shipping, business development, gas transmission, project management, and pipeline operation and maintenance. He is a mechanical engineering graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and holds an MBA.

LNG trading has been a recurring part of his career. In 2011, Kumar set up GAIL Global (Singapore) Pte Limited, which GAIL describes as the first overseas LNG trading subsidiary established by an Indian oil and gas public sector undertaking. He has also served as GAIL's nominee director on the boards of GAIL Global (Singapore) and Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited.

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Before joining GAIL's board, Kumar was MD of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), the Delhi city gas distributor, from April 2022. He returned to the IGL board as an additional director with effect from January 14, 2025.

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