Vice Chairperson
Mr. K.M. Chandrasekhar worked in the Indian Administrative Service from 1970 to 2011. During the last four years of his career, he held the apex position of Union Cabinet Secretary, reporting directly to Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. After his retirement in 2011, he was the Vice Chairman of the State Planning Board, till 2016.
He has varied experience, particularly in public finance, industry, agriculture, fisheries, international trade and diplomacy and has been Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and Finance Secretary in his State Government. He has diplomatic and negotiating experience as Indian Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation, Geneva, and as Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Brussels, dealing with the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.
He has been at various times Chairman, Managing Director or Director of about 50 companies in the public, private, joint and cooperative sector. He was on the Boards of ten large private companies. He has been Chairman of the Federal Bank, President of the Sri Chithra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram and has chaired in an elected capacity, at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is also Distinguished Fellow of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, Member of the Council of Management of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru and Honorary Adviser to the AryaVaidyaSala, Kottakkal. He recently resigned from the position of Independent Director of KIMS HEALTH Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.
He has written and published extensively in various newspapers and magazines, including the Times of India, Indian Express, the Hindustan Times, the Economic Times, the Financial Express, the Business Standard, the Print, the Wire, the Week and others. His memoirs, “As Good as My Word”, was published by Harper Collins (India) in December 2023. He has jointly edited “The Kerala Club” published by Bloomsbury (India) earlier this year.
