Anand Mahindra the billionaire Chairman of the Mahindra Group has showered praises on In-Space chairman and Padma Shri awardee Pawan Goenka for his contributions to the Mahindra & Mahindra company especially the automakers R&D division where he is credited with leading the development of the wildly popular Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Sharing a video of Pawan and his wife Mamta Goenka purchasing one of Mahindras first electric origin SUVs Anand Mahindra lauded Goenkas work at his companys R&D department which helped the carmaker reach towering heights. When Pawan Goenka decided to return to India in the early ‘90s leaving behind a job at General Motors I managed to convince him to join Mahindra at Nashik as Deputy Head of R&D He often relates how when he first went to Nashik and saw the &D ‘shed’ and its rudimentary state he began questioning his decision to come back. However he stayed on and as the Head of R&D he led the development of the Scorpio the Mahindra Group chairman wrote. This is not just another video for me… When Pawan Goenka decided to return to India in the early ‘90s leaving behind a job at General Motors I managed to convince him to join @Mahindra_Auto at Nashik as Deputy Head of R&D He often relates how when he first went to Nashik and… pic.twitter.com/auggd8gEQ9 — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 27 2025 Who is Pawan Goenka? Born in Harpalpur Madhya Pradesh Pawan Goenka completed his early education at the Shri Jain Vidyalaya in Kolkata and after finishing his schooling earned a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious IIT Kanpur. After his graduation Pawan Goenka travelled to the United States where a completed his PhD in in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Pawan Goenka began his career working at the Research and Development Center of General Motors in Detroit Michigan. During his 14-year stint at the US car making giants R&D division Goenka did extensive research to advance automobiles and developed FLARE a software which is still used today to analyze engine friction and lubrication. The brain behind Mahindra Scorpio After nearly 15 years (1979-1993) at General Motors Pawan Goenka returned to India in 1993 and joined Anand Mahindra-led Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) as a General Manager. During his stint at Mahindra Goenka developed the Mahindra Scorpio the legendary SUV which revolutionized the SUV segment in India and established M&M as a prominent carmaker in the country as well as globally. Goenkas brilliance took Mahindra & Mahindra to new heights and he quickly rose through the ranks to become the COO of the groups Automotive Sector in 2003 President in 2005 and President of Automotive and Farm Equipment Sector in 2010. In 2013 Pawan Goenka was appointed as Executive Director and ultimately became the Managing Director and CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra in 2016. During his tenure at Mahindra Pawan Goenka took several major decisions which change the companys course for the better. Under his leadership Mahindra & Mahindra ventured into the electric vehicle (EV) space and launched some of its first EVs such as Mahindra e2o and e-Verito. Additionally Mahindra also made major leaps in the agricultural equipment tractor and automobile sectors and today Mahindra tractors are among the worlds best-selling tractor brands. Goenkas work post Mahindra retirement Pawan Goenka retired from Mahindra in 2021 and was appointed as the Chairman of In-Space (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) by the Central government. At In-Space Goenka continues to employ his innovative brilliance and is working towards increasing the participation of private companies in Indias space sector. In 2025 Pawan Goenka was honored with the Padma Shri Indias fourth highest civilian award for his contributions.