Mr. Sanjay D. Ghodawat
Chairman
Sanjay D. Ghodawat is an industrialist and an educational entrepreneur by profession. He is a Mechanical Engineer and also a qualified trained Pilot for Helicopter, Fixed Wing Airplane and Power Glider. He is also recognized as a Philanthropist and a TEDx Speaker. He heads the Sanjay Ghodawat Group as the Chairman and as the President of Sanjay Ghodawat University. His business ventures span across Aviation, Consumer Products, Education, Energy, Realty, Retail & Textile. SG Group helps the nation by producing Green Energy through the means of Wind Turbines & Solar Energy with a capacity of 150 megawatts. The Group has also entered the Retail market with its Star Local Mart. Currently the Sanjay Ghodawat Group has more than 16,000 employees under its aegis. Sanjay Ghodawat has also served as the Chairman of the Jain International Trade Organization Engineering and Management Program. He is the Director of the JITO Administrative Training Foundation (JATF).
In 2009, with the attitude of giving back to society, he ventured into the Education field with the commencement of the Sanjay Ghodawat Educational Campus offering Engineering, Management, Polytechnic, International School at Atigre, Belagavi and Mulshi (Pune), Junior College, Olympiad School, IIT & Medical Academy with 15 branches. The Sanjay Ghodawat Group of Institutions offering Engineering & Management was recognized as Asia’s fastest emerging private educational institute as surveyed by WCRC and KPMG, India. The institute was accredited with the NAAC ‘A’ grade and its various programs have received accreditation through NBA. The natural evolution was the formation of a Private University and from 2017-18 the institute evolved as Sanjay Ghodawat University offering Undergraduate, Post Graduate and Doctoral programs. It is the first University in the country to earn ISO 9001: 2015 and ISO 21001: 2018 certifications. The Times of India Ranking 2020 has ranked the School of Technology as 4th for Top Emerging Engineering Institutes of the Nation and the School of Commerce & Management as the Top Emerging B School. Currently the Educational Campus is catering to 21000 students under its aegis.
He is the recipient of many awards like:
- Maharashtra State Vanashree Puraskar, 2011.
- 50 Outstanding Educational Entrepreneurs of India through WEC, 2013.
- Jain Ratna Award through Gujarati Screen Awards, Mumbai, 2018.
- Samaj Bhushan Gaurav Award through Jain Minority Federation of India for his philanthropic services to society and notable work in Education & Business sectors, 2018.
- Game Changers of India Award by Economic Times, UK, 2018.
- Navbharat Business Excellence Award by hands Hon. Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis, Dec., 2018.
- Friend of the Blind Award through National Association for the Blind Society, Sangli, Jan., 2019.
- Business Philanthropist of the Year award 2021 by Maha Sanskriti for notable social work during the Pandemic Covid 19.
- Times Most Powerful Leader for 2022 by Times of India.
- Inclusion among Masters of Wisdom for contribution to education field 2022 by Femina, India.
- Recipient of Maharashtra Leadership Award 2022 for excellence in the field of Education and Industry through the hands of Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyariji.
- Recipient of The Mahatma Award 2022 through Aditya Birla Group for notable social contribution during the Pandemic.
- Recipient of Ahimsa International Award, 2022 for his impactful contribution in Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Social Impact. By the hands of Hon’ble Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra.
- Lifetime Achievement Award Feb 2023 by Rotary International District for his contribution to Corporate, Education and Social fields.
- ‘Most Prominent Indian Business Conglomerate award March 2023 by Pravasi Sandesh for SG Group for having a legacy of 30 years of excellence in the business field.
- Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Achievement Award for major contribution in Education sector May 2023.
- Life Time Achievement Award through HDFC Bank for his contribution to Industries, society & Education by the hands of Hon’ble Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, August 2023.
- Singhania Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 by the hands of Hon’ble School Education Minister and Minister of Marathi Language, Deepak Kesarkar
- Navbharat Times Scroll of Honour Award 2023 by the hands of Hon’ble Deputy CM Devendra Fadanvis for contributing in making Maharashtra’s Economy number one in the country
- Lokmat Marudhar Sanman Award 2024 at Lokmat Global Convention, Singapore for outstanding work in Education field.
- Recipient of Education Icon of the Year 2024 by Education Today
- Honoured with Femina Achievers of Maharashtra Award, 2024 for contribution to Business sector. Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award through MIMAMSA, Pune 2025 for his exemplary vision and contribution to the Education sector
- Recipient of Darshan Sagar Award, 2025 for contribution to Business, Education and Social Sector.
- Recipient of the Jewels of India Award 2026 in recognition of his social work, conferred by the Cabinet Minister for Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
As a true son of the soil, he has always held an attitude of giving. Through CSR and ISR activities, he extended his helping hand in times of need. He has donated to the families of soldier martyrs from time to time, he has helped many drought-affected farmers of the Kolhapur-Sangli region through his generous contribution, extended aid in times of calamities like earthquakes, floods, running a school for the blind to aid ‘The National Association for Blind Society’. He runs the charitable trust under his Mother’s name, ‘Sou Sushila Danchand Ghodawat Charitable Trust’. He has started a blood bank ‘Shree Acharya Tulsi Blood Bank’ under this Trust. He also funds ‘Mauli Care Centre’ an orphanage for the old & manages it through Sanjay Ghodawat Foundation. Through Neeta Ghodawat Foundation, he also funds the Antiretroviral Therapy (ART Center) of Lotus Medical Foundation for treating AIDS Patients. He has wholeheartedly supported budding International level sports persons of our nation & contributed to NGOs like Olympic Gold Quest, which is into grooming sports personnel for the Olympics. During the COVID 19 crisis, he has helped by donating food grains for migrants, sanitization of villages, converting hostel buildings into COVID Care centres where more than 35000 patients got treatment, converting his helicopter into an air ambulance, distributing food to stranded people, animal care and feeding etc. He is married to Neeta Ghodawat who is the Vice Chairman of the Trust. His elder son, Shrenik looks after the Consumer Products Division and Star Aviation and is the Managing Director of the Group. His daughter, Shreya has completed her Master’s in Sustainable Tourism from Switzerland & Business Sustainability Management from Cambridge University. She also runs her YouTube Channel ‘Sustainable Tea with Shreya.’ The Chairman is an automobile and bike enthusiast, driving them is one of his favorite hobbies. He devotes his spare time to fitness and loves swimming, playing badminton, tennis & cricket. He has always been at the forefront of donating his blood and to date has done 87 times so far.