Vikas Kaushal appointed as HPCL's new chairman and managing director

Kaushal has been appointed in the scale of pay of Rs 200,000 to Rs 370,000, the notification said. According to reports, the new HPCL head has taken an 80 percent pay cut to accept the job.

Vikas Kaushal was appointed as the chairman and managing director of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for a period of 5 years after clearance from Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, a government notification said on March 7.

This marks one of the rare cases where the government has chosen to appoint a private sector personnel to head a state-run agency. In the last few years, the government has struggled to appoint the heads of several public sector companies, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

Kaushal has been appointed in the scale of pay of Rs 200,000 to Rs 370,000, the notification said. According to reports, the new HPCL head has taken an 80 percent pay cut to accept the job.

Kaushal has decades of experience in the global oil and energy sector. He graduated as a chemical engineering from Panjab University and has done his Masters in Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Ahmedabad.

Prior to this, Kaushal was twice elected to Kearney’s Global Board of Directors, where he completed two full terms. He also served as chair of the finance, audit, and governance committees.

Kaushal, who has been the managing director and country head for Kearney India for five years, has also been an advisor and consultant to the leadership of several domestic firms, including HPCL, Indian Oil, BPCL, GAIL and several others.