India
Sharmila Barathan
Government Affairs & Policy Leader, South Asia
Responsible for driving government affairs and policy initiatives for GE Aerospace in South Asia.
Biography
Sharmila Barathan is the Government Affairs & Policy Leader for GE Aerospace in South Asia, overseeing key strategic initiatives to support operations growth in the region. With over 25 years of international experience in policy, regulation, and climate change, Sharmila brings deep expertise in managing complex business portfolios across energy, healthcare, aviation, and transportation.
Sharmila joined the legacy GE in 2005 as Regional Market Development Manager and has held senior leadership positions within the organization. She has worked in Europe, South Asia, and East Asia, building strong relationships with national governments and multilateral organizations, including the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Before joining GE, Sharmila was a consultant to various organizations, including the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation and the Embassy of Switzerland. She also spent over a decade at The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), a leading policy research organization in India. Her work in climate policy included serving as a reviewer at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and a Member of the IPCC Steering Group. Sharmila was one of the contributing authors to the IPCC's Third Assessment Report, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
After graduating in mathematics from Stella Maris College, Sharmila pursued a master’s degree in econometrics from the University of Madras, India, and later completed a second master’s degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA.
She also completed a course in energy-environment modeling training at Stanford University, USA, and a management program for women entrepreneurs at the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, India.
Sharmila lives in Bengaluru, India.
Neerja Bhardwaj
Chief Human Resources Officer, South Asia
Responsible for strategic HR direction and talent development for GE Aerospace in South Asia.
Biography
Neerja Bhardwaj is the Chief Human Resources Officer for GE Aerospace in South Asia. In this role, Neerja is responsible for providing strategic direction on talent development and fostering a culture of engagement and empowerment. She also ensures consistency, compliance, and governance in alignment with local regulations and market conditions.
With more than 21 years of experience in human resources, Neerja has spent more than 19 years with legacy GE businesses in various roles across the Asia region.
Prior to her current role, Neerja served as the Executive HR Business Partner for the GE India Technology Centers and GE Gas Power, South Asia. She also led the HR function for GE Renewables across the Asia Pacific region from 2016 to 2020. Neerja’s extensive experience includes serving as the HR Partner at the John F. Welch Technology Center, Bengaluru, where she supported technology teams across GE Energy, GE Transportation, and GE Research. Earlier in her career, she was the HR & Training Manager for GE Money from 2005 to 2010.
Before joining GE, Neerja worked as a Learning & Development Consultant at NIS Sparta Limited.
Neerja is passionate about creating a work environment that fosters inclusion. She is a strong advocate for empowering people and building a collaborative culture.
Neerja lives in Bengaluru with her family.
Vani Mehta
Regional General Counsel, South Asia
Responsible for driving legal strategy and providing counsel across GE Aerospace’s operations in South Asia.
Biography
Vani Mehta is the Regional General Counsel, South Asia for GE Aerospace. In her role, Vani is responsible for overseeing the legal teams across all GE Aerospace businesses in South Asia, ensuring a consistent and cohesive legal strategy across the region. She also advises senior leadership on critical legal matters and drives GE Aerospace’s legal thought leadership in South Asia.
Vani joined the legacy GE in 2011 and has held senior leadership positions within the organization across South Asia, Asia Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand, and brings a wealth of expertise in handling complex legal matters ranging from mergers and acquisitions, corporate advisory law, real estate, commercial litigation, and securities and capital markets across various business sectors.
Prior to joining GE, Vani was an Attorney for SAP Ariba, managing legal affairs in multiple jurisdictions. She began her career in private practice with Little & Co, India’s oldest law firm, where she worked on a range of litigation and corporate law matters, employment, capital markets, and joint ventures.
Vani holds a law degree and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Delhi University, India. She also has done her specializations in environmental law and cyber law at Nalsar University, Hyderabad.
She lives in New Delhi with her family.
Alok Nanda
Chief Technology Officer, India
Responsible for leading technology teams at GE Aerospace’s India Technology Center.
Biography
Alok Nanda leads GE Aerospace’s India Technology Centre.
In this role. he inspires multi-disciplinary Research and Engineering teams to live the GE Aerospace purpose of “invent the future of flight, lift people up, and bring them home safely.”
Alok nurtures GE Aerospace’s contemporary research innovation in India and maximizes value creation for customers through strategic deployment of IQ/IP to industrialize solutions. Alok’s team of talented engineers provide engineering design, analysis, and software solutions for jet engines, in collaboration with the global GE Aerospace engineering team.
He collaborates with GE Aerospace’s internal and external partners to maximize value from the India ecosystem. He stimulates a world class inclusive work environment for the organization and propagates a culture of innovation that fosters best-in-class talent and delivers value to customers.
His high-performing team has created deep technical impact across the GE Aerospace business and established a successful services engineering organization in the region to support the key customers.
Alok joined the legacy GE in 2000 and has held engineering and technical leadership positions across its legacy businesses.
Prior to joining GE, Alok spent eight years at the Indian Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO).
Alok is the co-chairperson of the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) National Committee on R&D and Innovation. He has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay.
He is based in Bengaluru, India.
Vikram Rai
Chief Executive Officer, South Asia
Responsible for growing GE Aerospace’s commercial footprint in India and South Asia.
Biography
Vikram Rai is the Chief Executive Officer for GE Aerospace in South Asia. In this role, Vikram is responsible for growing GE Aerospace’s presence in India and South Asia. With nearly two decades of experience in the civil aerospace sector, his leadership has been instrumental in driving business growth and forging key strategic partnerships in the region.
Vikram joined GE Aerospace in 2012 and has held several senior roles, including leading the commercial engines business for South Asia since 2017. He was appointed to his current role in July 2023. His leadership has helped GE Aerospace establish a deep footprint in South Asia, including garnering two of the world’s largest engine orders from local airlines.
Before joining GE Aerospace, Vikram worked at Rolls-Royce as General Manager for South Asia, responsible for business development in the region. Prior to that, he gained valuable experience at HBE – Aviosec, a start-up in the airports and broadcasting domain.
His contributions to the aerospace industry were recognized in 2021 when he was named in The Economic Times’ ‘40 Under Forty’ list of “India’s Hottest Business Leaders.”
Vikram holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering.
He lives in New Delhi with his wife and son.
