Mr. Harish Badami
B.Tech., 1985, Chemical Engineering

Mr. Harish Badami is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ACC Limited – one of the leading manufacturers of cement and concrete. Prior to joining ACC Limited in 2014, Mr. Badami served as the Managing Director of Celanese India and as a member of the Celanese Executive Council. He was the President and Managing Director of Dow Chemical India, and of Rohm and Haas India — before its acquisition in 2009 by Dow Chemical. Mr. Badami was named Corporate Vice President of Rohm and Haas Company, USA in 2007.

Early in his career, Mr. Badami spent an year in the gases industry with British Oxygen Company, which was followed by six years with ICI India, where he served in the Chemicals, Fertilizer and Catalysts divisions in various commercial and business roles. In 1995, Mr. Badami joined Rohm and Haas in India, and held positions of responsibility in sales and business development, regional procurement and strategic planning. In 2001, he was appointed Country Manager of Rohm and Haas India, and also Area Business Manager overseeing two core businesses of Rohm and Haas – Coatings and Adhesives & Sealants. Mr. Badami was instrumental in leading the highly successful India strategy for the company, which saw investments in state-of-the-art manufacturing plants at Taloja near Mumbai and in Sriperambudur near Chennai in 2003 and 2007 respectively. Under his leadership, Rohm and Haas achieved rapid growth across several specialty chemical markets. He also led the successful integration of Dow Chemical’s and Rohm and Haas’ businesses and operating sites in India between 2009 and 2011.

Mr. Badami did his B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1985 and then went on to pursue a postgraduate diploma in Management from IIM Calcutta in 1989. He is well known for his leadership skills and has been a part of several industrial bodies and committees such as CII, FICCI and Indian Chemical Council. His hobbies include traveling, listening to music and spending time with his friends.


Special Memories

The four years at IIT Bombay were indeed the best years of my life. I was not someone who excelled in academics, and still get nightmares about scoring passing grades. However, I firmly believe that life's real lessons were learnt and best friends were made during the innumerable, all-night intellectual interactions with a bunch of incredibly smart, albeit socially challenged hostel mates, and by becoming a near-permanent fixture at the lake-side Marine Drive in Hostel No. 7.