The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Vikas Kaushal, a global leader for energy and process industries at Kearney, as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). Kaushal becomes the first lateral entry from the private sector into a top leadership role at a public-sector oil and gas firm.

Kaushal, who previously served as Country Head and Managing Director of Kearney India until 2019, has taken an 80% pay cut for his new role, according to government sources. His pay scale has been set at Rs 2 lakh–Rs 3.7 lakh (IDA) for a five-year term, or until further orders, as per an official government order.

A veteran of the energy sector, Kaushal is the only Indian to have served on Kearney’s Global Board of Directors, completing two full terms. He has chaired finance, audit, and governance committees and collaborated with leading global oil and gas firms.

The HPCL CMD post has remained vacant since August 1, 2024, following the retirement of Pushp Kumar Joshi. Since then, Director (Finance) Rajneesh Narang has held additional charge. The government had conducted multiple rounds of interviews through the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) since March last year, but after failing to find a suitable candidate, opted for the search-cum-selection process.

Kaushal brings extensive experience in oil and gas, having led HPCL’s petrochemical diversification strategy, spearheaded the Centralised Procurement Office, and worked on digital transformation, refinery maintenance, and net-zero initiatives for Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

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