Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited informed that at the Board Meeting held on March 17, 2023, Shri Krishnakumar Gopalan has been appointed as Chairman of the company and has accordingly taken over the charge effective from March 17, 2023. In terms of the letter dated March 17, 2023 from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the appointment will be with effect from March 17, 2023 till the date of his superannuation or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Shri Krishnakumar Gopalan is an alumnus of the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli (formerly REC Trichy) with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

He also holds a Master's degree in Financial management from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management. During the 36 years of his professional career in BPCL, he has held key positions across the Marketing and Human Resources functions with diverse leadership experience across business and functional domains. Shri Krishnakumar Gopalan was at the core of BPCL's pioneering work in revolutionising the downstream fuel retailing industry in the country, leading the organisation's customer-centric forays in convenience retailing, premium fuels, in a way heralding the digital age of BPCL at the turn of the century using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Loyalty, a first in the Indian oil Industry.

He has developed and nurtured winning brands like Petro Card, SmartFleet Speed, In & Out, which have been significant contributors to BPCL's differentiated customer value proposition in the marketplace, reinforcing the Pure for Sure customer promise. As the head of BPCL's Lubricants business, he spearheaded brand MAK's aggressive growth in the domestic and international markets, and in the expansion of the product portfolio to cover new and emerging industrial, agricultural, passenger and commercial vehicle segments. He also championed the expansion of the service dimension of the MAK brand - MAK Quik, for quick oil change for 2-wheelers which has since been adopted by millions of customers.

As Executive Director (HRD), he was focused on major initiatives in the areas of Learning & Development and Talent management. Shri Krishnakumar Gopalan is not debarred from holding the office of director by virtue of any SEBI Order or order of any other authority. Further, he is not related to any of the Directors and Key Managerial Personnel in the Company.