IndiGo appoints Vikram Singh Mehta as chairman

IndiGo on Wednesday announced the appointment of Vikram Singh Mehta as the chairman of the board. Mehta has been a member of the board of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd , the parent firm of IndiGo, since May 2022.

Mehta succeeds Venkataramani Sumantran, who stepped down from the board after the completion of his five-year term as a board member. Sumantran was appointed as the chairman of the board in May 2022 and post COVID-19, navigated the board during IndiGo’s strong recovery and growth over the past three years.

Vikram Singh Mehta started his professional journey with the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in 1978 and served the country for two years before moving on to explore opportunities in the corporate sector. He is the chairman of the public policy think tank “Centre for Social and Economic Progress”, and former executive chairman of Brookings India and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution.

A seasoned business leader, Mehta was the chairman of the Shell Group of Companies in India and the Chief Executive Officer of Shell Markets and Shell Chemicals, Egypt.

Mehta has previously served on the Boards of Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, and Larsen and Toubro Ltd.

He was recognised as the “Businessman of the Year” by Asia House in 2010, and was named the “Best Independent Director” in India by Asia Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability in 2016. A Mathematics graduate from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Mr. Mehta holds two master’s degrees – one from Oxford University in Politics and Economics, and the other in Energy Economics from Tufts University.

With its fleet of over 400 aircraft, IndiGo is the country’s biggest airline. It operates over 2,200 daily flights, connecting 90 domestic and 40 international destinations. By 2030, IndiGo is looking to expand its fleet to over 600 aircraft.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers recently told Fortune India that he plans to take IndiGo from a formidable domestic airline into a global aviation giant. “For way too long, international traffic for India has been outsourced to hubs outside the geographical shores of India. This is a good time for India to start building those hubs,” Elbers told Fortune India in an interview.

IndiGo is hosting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in New Delhi, India, from June 1-3, 2025. This event marks the first time IATA has held its AGM in India in 42 years.