Mr. JD Patil
President, Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE)
Member of Executive Committee of Management and Advisor (Precision Engineering & Semiconductor Technologies) to CMD – L&T, Former Whole Time Director Larsen & Toubro Limited; Member of the Board of IN-SPACe; Founding Chairman, Indian Space Association (ISpA) ; Founder Vice President & Past President Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers

Mr. J D Patil served on the Board of L&T as a Whole Time Director Defence & Smart Technologies and is currently Member of the Executive Committee of Management of L&T and Advisor to the Chairman & Managing Director for L&T’s Precision Engineering and Systems & Semiconductor businesses. He is an alumnus of IIT Bombay, Mumbai, having pursued M. Tech (Mechanical Engineering) in 1978.

He has a rich, more than four and a half-decade long career in L&T, and has been instrumental in growing the nascent Technology and Product Development Group of L&T’s corporate R&D with a focus on top end inter-disciplinary Product Development.

Mr. Patil spearheaded the L&T’s foray in the Defence sector since the inception of this segment in L&T in mid-eighties; a decade and a half ahead of the opening up of Defence Production for participation by Private Companies in 2001 (licensing it in 2002). He led the development efforts for realization of weapon delivery systems for DRDO and for Indian Navy. Over the years, under his leadership, L&T built a portfolio of indigenous, in-house products, systems, technologies and platforms both on its own and by teaming up with DRDO and with the Indian Armed Forces, and is today engaged in design-to-delivery of solutions across its chosen Defence segments.

Mr. Patil was instrumental for growth of L&T’s Defence Business in focus areas of Naval Platforms (Submarines & Warships), Naval & Land Weapon Launch & Engineering Systems, Guns Systems, Missile Systems, Armoured Systems, Radar Systems, Military Communication Systems, Unmanned Systems & Avionics. He was instrumental in establishment of dedicated Defence Production Centres at Talegaon (near Pune), Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam and Kattupalli, besides specific dedicated centres at L&T’s Powai, and Hazira complexes as well as Technology Development Centres, Design Centres, & Prototype Development Centres at Powai & at Bengaluru.

He oversaw evolution of L&T’s Space businesses as the longest and most mature industry partner of ISRO (spanning more than five decades) towards development and serial production of main lift-off Solid Boosters through entire range of the six Space Launch Vehicles including those for Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan missions and Human rated boosters, crew module hardware for manned missions as also for development of special test facilities, such as Hypersonic Wind tunnel, high-altitude shock tunnel, ultra-precision angular motion simulators, range instrumentation like Precision Instrumentation Grade Radars, Deep Space Communication facilities, etc. Under his leadership L&T contributed ISRO build strategic material independence. The relationship with ISRO matured to include host of other hardware such as payload heat shields & Deck panels in advanced composites, solar array deployment devices, interstages, etc.

He guided the growth of Smart Cities, Safe Cities and Communication business with a focus on making our cities Smart and Safe. In this sector L&T has emerged as the largest Indian player in this sector with series of success stories such as Prayagraj Kumbh mela, Odisha costal storm warning system, and transforming 26 major cities of India into smart cities.

Besides being Advisor to L&T’s CMD, he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of L&T MBDA Missile Systems Limited and Board Member of L&T Semiconductor Technologies. He is Founder Chairperson of Indian Space Association (ISpA), a society dedicated to the cause of Space Sector. He is past President of Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers – a unique society representing Indian Defence Manufacturers with focus on indigenising the Defence Sector, and was founding Vice President of SIDM, set up under the aegis of the CII. Earlier he served as Member of Steering Committee, National Executive Committee and Chairman Defence & Aerospace Committee of FICCI. He led the Apex Industry chambers for over two decades to advocate policy change by the Government of India pre and post opening of the Defence Sector for participation by Private Sector Companies. The policy initiatives through unstinted engagement with MoD saw continual reforms over past two decades to encourage & embrace Private Sector in Defence, Level Playing Field, facilitate R&D for self-reliance and the growth of a Defence Industrial Base in the country.

He is ACC appointee on the Board of IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre) the regulator and promoter for Space sector. He is immediate past Chairman of National Committee on Space of CII. He also serves on the Project Management Associates (PMA) India Managing Committee and has been conferred Honorary Fellowship in recognition of exemplary contribution made towards successful projects of National importance.

He is Fellow, President and former Vice-President (Academic, Professional and International Affairs) of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and been conferred by IIT Bombay, his alma mater, with the prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award in the Diamond Jubilee Year of IITB. He has also been conferred Honorary Membership by Indian Institute of Metals (IIM). Further, Mr. Patil is featured in ‘100 Great IITians’ for his dedication & service to the nation building, this achievement is extended to only those Indian IITians who refused to be lured by the west and contributed significantly to India’s growth. Mr. Patil is also serving as Advisory Board Member of Center for Research Excellence in National Security (CRENS), a unique board established at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus to guide towards advanced research to meet national security challenges and focus towards futuristic technologies & needs.

Having joined as Engineer Trainee, Mr Patil has been groomed by L&T through series of in-house Executive Development programs as well as Management Development Programs of eminent institutions in India and abroad. Notable among them are the Administrative Staff College of India’s Middle Management Level Program, MDI Gurgaon’s Senior Management Level Program, Manchester Business School’s Technology Management Program, London Business School’s Senior Management Program, and Customized Top Management program by Harvard Business School.