The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) has announced the appointment of Satish Pai as its new Chair. Mr Pai is the Managing Director of Hindalco Industries, one of the world’s largest integrated producers of aluminium. Earlier serving as Vice Chairman, he succeeds Ben Kahrs, Chief Innovation Officer, Alcoa Corporation.

Miles Prosser, Secretary General of IAI, said “Satish is an exceptional leader who is as familiar with boots-on-ground issues as he is with geo-economic perspectives. He is well able to convert industry challenges into opportunities – strategic R&D led to Hindalco becoming the first aluminium company to achieve 100% utilisation of bauxite residue in three of the refineries. We welcome him to our board, and I very much look forward to working with him. I would also like to thank Ben for his dedicated service and leadership. Ben has made a very important contribution not only to the development of this association but to the entire industry. On behalf of the members and staff, I’d like to thank him for his service and look forward to his continued contribution to our work.”

The IAI’s purpose is to promote the sustainable development of the aluminium industry and to increase demand for aluminium products by raising awareness of their unique and valuable properties. Satish was the driving force behind Hindalco’s transformation from an upstream company to a fully integrated aluminium player with products that input into future-critical industries such as EV mobility and low carbon transportation.

“I’m excited to work even closer with my industry colleagues and to test the limits of what we can achieve together,” said Mr Pai. “Aluminium is clearly the material of choice of the 21st century and being endlessly recyclable, an integral part of the circular economy. I believe this positioning needs to be amplified so that as a sector, we are able to contribute to the world’s climate action goals. ESG and the sustainability agenda will be key to our future growth path. I’m looking forward to working through the IAI forum to engage with colleagues to take the aluminium story to a new peak,” he added.

An engineer by education and profession, Satish earlier worked with Schlumberger, based out of Paris, where he was responsible for Schlumberger’s operations globally.

Outgoing Chair, Ben Kahrs said “I am delighted at Satish’s appointment. He understands the association as a long-time member and will ensure all voices in the room are heard. His substantial global experience will help drive sectoral value. I’m confident Satish has all that it takes to lead our industry forward from here on.”

IAI members are engaged in the production of bauxite, alumina, aluminium, the recycling of aluminium, or the fabrication of aluminium in all major producing regions.

About Satish

Satish Pai is the Managing Director of Hindalco Industries Limited, a position he assumed in August 2016. Prior to his current role, he served as the chief operating officer of Hindalco’s aluminium business and also headed the company’s copper business. Headquartered in Mumbai, Hindalco is a global non-ferrous metals powerhouse with revenues of $26 billion. Hindalco is the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a diversified global conglomerate with operations spanning 36 countries.

Satish is responsible for guiding Hindalco’s transformation from an upstream-focused player to one of the world’s largest fully integrated producers of aluminium. He oversees the operations of Hindalco’s subsidiary Novelis Inc., the world’s largest aluminium rolling and recycling company.

He is also responsible for the deeper transformation of Hindalco to a company with a ‘Greener, Stronger, Smarter’ purpose at its core. Satish is steering the company’s shift to new energy sources, digitalising a large part of its supply chain, making safety a way of life, and pioneering initiatives such as the introduction of India’s first Sustainable Mining Charter. Many of these efforts have contributed to Hindalco being ranked the world’s most sustainable aluminium company by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices in 2020 and 2021.

Prior to joining Hindalco Industries, Satish held a number of engineering and management roles in Schlumberger over the course of his 28-year career with the company, including President of its software entity, VP-Technology, and Executive Vice President – Worldwide Operations.

He serves as Director on the boards of Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd. and ABB, Zurich.

Satish has a mechanical engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. He holds a patent in directional drilling.