Puneet Chhatwal
Managing Director & CEO
IHCL
IHCL
Puneet Chhatwal joined The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) as the Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer in November 2017. During his tenure, IHCL has undergone a remarkable
transformation, achieving responsible and profitable growth. The company’s turnaround ‘Leading
Transformation at IHCL’ is now a case study at Harvard Business School. IHCL has also been recognized
as the Turnaround Star at Forbes India Leadership Awards (FILA) 2025.
Puneet serves as the leading voice of the industry in India in his capacity as the Chairman of the National
Committee of Tourism and Hospitality, CII, and Chairman of Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism
& Hospitality (FAITH).
Prior to this, Puneet was the Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Executive Board of Steigenberger Hotels AG – Deutsche Hospitality based out of Frankfurt, Germany. He was also the Chief Development Officer of The Rezidor Hotel Group – Carlson Hotels Worldwide based out of Brussels, Belgium. He is a graduate of both, Delhi University and Institute of Hotel Management, Delhi. He has completed an MBA in Hospitality from ESSEC, Paris and an Advanced Management Program from INSEAD.
Throughout his international career, Puneet has received several acclaimed awards and is the First Alumnus included in the ESSEC-IMHI Hall of Honour 2014. He has been honoured with induction into the prestigious Global Travel Hall of Fame by Travel Weekly UK, Hall of Fame Award at the 39th IATO Annual Convention and Rotary Club of Bombay’s Ramkrishna Bajaj Award for good governance.
Prior to this, Puneet was the Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Executive Board of Steigenberger Hotels AG – Deutsche Hospitality based out of Frankfurt, Germany. He was also the Chief Development Officer of The Rezidor Hotel Group – Carlson Hotels Worldwide based out of Brussels, Belgium. He is a graduate of both, Delhi University and Institute of Hotel Management, Delhi. He has completed an MBA in Hospitality from ESSEC, Paris and an Advanced Management Program from INSEAD.
Throughout his international career, Puneet has received several acclaimed awards and is the First Alumnus included in the ESSEC-IMHI Hall of Honour 2014. He has been honoured with induction into the prestigious Global Travel Hall of Fame by Travel Weekly UK, Hall of Fame Award at the 39th IATO Annual Convention and Rotary Club of Bombay’s Ramkrishna Bajaj Award for good governance.