After an illustrious 45-year career with Saint-Gobain (SG), the France-headquartered €48 billion-plus global glass and building material major, B Santhanam – CEO of Asia Pacific & India and Chairman of Saint-Gobain, India – will retire on May 5, marking the end to a distinguished chapter in corporate leadership.
A few days ago, the Saint-Gobain Group announced that N Sreedhar, currently serving as Group Chief Financial Officer, will take over as CEO of the Asia-Pacific Region – including Australia and New Zealand – as well as CEO of Saint-Gobain India, effective April 1.
“I am filled with a sense of gratitude to my colleagues on whose shoulders I have grown, my sponsors who have nurtured me, the SG group that gave me a platform of trust, empowerment, and collaboration to express myself, my school, college, IITM, IIMA that shaped my character and expanded my mind; the industry that helped me to make a difference; my nation that enabled me to bring my best every day to play a modest role in its growth; my friends, classmates who have always been present to support, cherish, applaud my development and most importantly, my family who have been a bedrock of encouragement,” Santhanam said in a social media post.
As he steps away from his corporate role, Santhanam looks forward to contributing to India’s development by leveraging his personal and professional networks.
A stalwart in India’s industrial landscape
Santhanam has played a transformative role in shaping Saint-Gobain’s presence in India. A B. Tech graduate in civil engineering from IIT Madras (1978) and a management postgraduate from IIM Ahmedabad (1980), he began his career as a management trainee at Grindwell Norton, a Saint-Gobain Group company, in May 1980.
His leadership proved crucial in Saint-Gobain’s strategic entry into India’s flat glass sector. In 1996, he worked closely with the Group to develop a roadmap for its investments in the country. As the first Managing Director of Saint-Gobain Glass India, he led the company’s expansion, overseeing investments exceeding ₹8,000 crore in the flat glass business.
Under his leadership, Saint-Gobain diversified its footprint across multiple sectors, investing over ₹12,000 crore in glass, gypsum, insulation, construction chemicals, abrasives, and ceramics. Today, the company operates in 33 locations across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, with a strong manufacturing presence.
A legacy of leadership and innovation
Santhanam has been instrumental in establishing Saint-Gobain as a market leader in India. Since January 1, 2020, he has served as Chairman and MD of Saint-Gobain India Private Ltd and, from April 1, 2020, as MD of Grindwell Norton Ltd. His role expanded on July 1, 2021, when he became the CEO of Saint-Gobain Asia Pacific & India Region and a member of the Global Executive Committee of Saint-Gobain, France.
Beyond the corporate world, Santhanam has actively contributed to organisations like CII, EFI, NHRD, Anna University, IIT, and IIIT D&M, focusing on enhancing India’s human resource potential and driving global competitiveness in industries.
At home, he is supported by his wife, Rajani Seshadri, a tech professional with over three decades of experience and now the co-founder of IndePenn Connections – a start-up dedicated to helping professional women return to the workforce. His son, Navaneethan Santhanam, is the co-Founder of SmartTerra, a start-up that helps water utilities reduce losses and improve efficiency using AI and ML .