Kamal Nanavaty joined Reliance Industries Ltd. in 1989 and was involved with forming the cracker and polymers business at the huge, Mumbai, India-based company.
He earned a chemical engineering degree from University of Utah in the United States, and went on to work for USI Chemical Co. Upon returning to India, he worked with Indian Petrochemicals Corp. Ltd. He joined IPC's board in June 2002 remained a director till its amalgamation with Reliance in September 2007.
Reliance Industries is India's largest private-sector enterprise with annual sales of $27.2 billion and an asset base of $27 billion. The company accounts for nearly 3 percent of gross domestic product and 12 percent of all exports in the nation of 1.1 billion people. A significant oil and gas producer, RIL also is the subcontinent's biggest maker of polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC and PET resin, with an estimated 45 percent market share in polymers overall.
Nanavaty, who has been closely involved in Reliance's recent launch of a nationwide chain of retail and convenience stores, has spoken at many national and international forums. He is a member of the American Chemistry Council, the Indian Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers, and the U.S.-based Founders Club of the Petrochemical Industry. He was elected honorary fellow of the India Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2001.