Punj Lloyd’s JP Chalasani to join Suzlon as CEO

MUMBAI: Power sector veteran and former Anil Ambani aide JP Chalasani is in the process of exiting Punj Lloyd and is making a re-entry into the power sector, albeit in the renewable space, by joining wind energy company Suzlon Energy, according to people close to the development.

Chalasani would be joining Tulsi Tanti-promoted Suzlon Energy as the chief executive officer from the first week of April and will also be inducted on the board of the company as managing director.

An email sent to Tanti remained unanswered till the time of going to press. “Chalasani has known Tanti for a very long time and his experience in the power sector will help Suzlon at a time when the company is trying to come out of the woods,” a person in the know told ET.

Chalasani and Tanti’s association dates back to 2007 when the former was with Reliance Power and had placed an order for a wind farm from Suzlon Energy. Chalasani, who was seen as the trusted lieutenant of Anil Ambani in Reliance Power, quit the company in September 2013 and joined engineering firm Punj Lloyd as CEO in January 2014.

He started his career with state run utility-NTPC where he was part of the team that set up one of the company’s first few plants at Ramagundam. He joined the Reliance Group in 1995 and moved to lead Reliance Power after Dhirubhai Ambani’s Reliance empire was divided between the sons, Anil and Mukesh.

Chalasani emerged as one of Anil Ambani’s closest aides. He was tasked with the responsibility of fuelling the group’s power ambitions and was a key member of the team that launched the IPO of Reliance Power in 2008 which raised.`11,000 crore, the highest in the country at the time.

During the bitter battle between the Ambani brothers over gas pricing, Anil Ambani trusted Chalasani to press his group’s case for gas supply at highly discounted prices.