chennai pawan goenka executive director and president automotive farm equipment sectors mahindra mahindra ltd has been appointed chairman of the board of governors of indian institute of technology madras president pranab mukherjee made the appointment in his capacity as visitor of the institute goenka who took charge on monday is the 12th chairman of the board of governors of the institute he will hold the post for three years he takes over from m m sharma who brought a sharp focus on research at iitm during his tenure said a statement from the institute as the chairman of the board of governors goenka will preside over all board meetings and help promote the policy advocacy priorities of iitm in this capacity goenka will also advise the board of governors and senior iitm management on a wide range of issues iitm director bhaskar ramamurthi said we are delighted to announce the appointment of dr pawan goenka as the chairman of the board an alumnus of iitkanpur dr goenka is an internationally acknowledged scientist manager with several citations to his credit a stalwart of the automobile industry he has spearheaded various prestigious industry bodies and i am certain he will add tremendous value to this role as well goenka said it is an honour and i am humbled to have been appointed chairman of the board of governors of iit madras i am looking forward to working with the director of the institute prof ramamurthi and the board to contribute towards the institutes goals of building scientific and engineering excellence incubating innovation and encouraging entrepreneurship going forward i am banking on the support from the board and active participation from the student and alumni fraternity for adding sheen to an institute with an already outstanding pedigree and reputation