U Saravanan assumed the position of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) at National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) on Friday. Previously, he served as the CMD of Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL), which is also a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Departments of Fertilizers.
The appointment of Saravanan for the post was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on June 15. As per a DoPT order, he has been appointed until the date of his superannuation, which is January 31, 2027, or until further orders, whichever comes earlier. In February 2023, the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) conducted an interview of two candidates for the selection of the Chairman & Managing Director position at National Fertilizers Ltd. Subsequently, the PESB recommended the appointment of Saravanan U for the said post.
Saravanan holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Anna University and an MBA from the University of Madras. With a rich experience of over 33 years in the oil refinery and fertilizer industries, he brings valuable expertise to his new role.
He is a Life member of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers and has also completed graduate training on Process Design conducted by UOP in Chicago, USA. Furthermore, he has worked on the project team for pre-commissioning and commissioning activities of the 0.6 MMTPA Olefin Project at Rayong, Thailand, under Toyo Engineering, Japan.
Prior to assuming the role of CMD at MFL, Saravanan served as the Director (Technical) of the company. He also held an additional charge as the Director (Technical) of another fertilizer PSU, FACT Limited, Cochin, for over a year. Moreover, he served as a board member of Indian Potash Limited and Fortune Biotech.
NFL acknowledged Saravanan's contribution to transforming MFL into a profitable entity during his tenure as CMD. In an official statement, NFL stated, "As CMD of MFL, Saravanan is credited for turning around the company into a profit-making one."
