Kanwal Jeet Jawa
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer,
Daikin Airconditioning India Pvt. Ltd.
&
Member of the Board (non-resident) & Regional General Manager,
Air Conditioning business, India & East Africa
Daikin Industries Ltd., Japan
Mr. Jawa is a veteran in the air conditioning industry with over 37 years of experience that incorporates establishing leading air-conditioning organizations and further creating value simultaneously for the brand and the customers alike. Throughout his career Mr. Jawa has held various senior management positions in the field of General Management with highly reputed Indian and multi-national air-conditioning companies.
Mr. Jawa joined Carrier India in 1987, where he was one of the key founder members. His spell at Carrier India lasted for 14 years. In 2001, Mr. Jawa joined Voltas Limited Cooling Appliances Business Division. Later on, he was inducted to the Board of the Joint Venture, Universal Comforts Products Limited (Voltas & Fedders USA). In his last assignment prior to joining Daikin, Mr. Jawa was the Managing Director of Uniflair India, a part of Uniflair SpA Italy (now Schneider Electric), an Italian precision air-conditioning Multinational Corporation. During his tenure at Uniflair, he successfully established a Green field venture with a local manufacturing unit with integrated supply chain and a robust distribution channel.
In June 2018, Mr. Jawa was appointed as the first Indian Director (non-resident) on the board of Daikin Industries Ltd., Japan. His rise to the Daikin board underscores his ability to surpass revenue & profit targets, delivering excellent service, optimizing business efficiency thereby creating a sustainable business value. Mr. Jawa steered the Daikin India ship since 2010 through volatile economic environment to achieve a turnover of INR 5000 CR, leveraging two factories and a research & development center. Today, Daikin India has established market presence across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, South America & East Africa. Mr. Jawa’s mantra of success can be summarized as speedy execution coupled with a go to market strategy which helped Daikin India become the No.1 HVAC brand in India. Today, Daikin India, under his leadership is heralding other Japanese organizations to follow its lead.
His long term vision to improve the lagging skill level prevailing in the Indian HVAC industry, especially in the unorganized sector, led to the inception of a successful CSR initiative, focused on training and learning, which has now come to be named as Daikin “Centers of Excellence”. His interest in the skill development; and improvement in the employability of the workforce has made him dabble in the field of academics & skill development. And as the President of Daikin Japanese Institute of Manufacturing Excellence (DJIME), he is supporting and spearheading the Indo-Japan collaborative initiative in India on behalf of Daikin.
He holds prestigious position in the Executive Committee of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC); and the Vice Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Delhi State. He is the President of Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Manufacturers Association (RAMA) and sits on the advisory board of Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Management, Delhi; and a member of the governing body of the renowned Bhartiya Skill Development University, Jaipur.
The relentless pursuit in achieving excellence in each and every field of air-conditioning and refrigeration industry makes him the man with the “Midas Touch”.
Awards, Felicitation & Recognition:
- Daikin CEO Award, 2020
- CEO of the Year, FORE School, 2019
- Daikin Distinguished Service Award, 2018
- Daikin CEO Award, 2017
- Distinguished Service Award for Nation Building, New Delhi Institute of Management, 2018
- CEO of the Year Award, FORE School of Management, 2018.
- India Green Building Council Senior Fellowship Award, 2017
- Carrier APO President Award – Best General Manager, 1992