India’s leading container glass manufacturer Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Limited (HNGIL) has brought on Bharathi Mangaiahgari as its Chief Human Resources Officer.
Bharathi, who has spent close to three decades in HR roles, will be working alongside the leadership team on the company’s people strategy and workforce planning. The appointment comes at a point where HNGIL is pushing hard on transformation and operational priorities following a change in ownership last year.
Bharathi’s background cuts across a wide spread of industries. She has done stints in tech, manufacturing, renewables, infrastructure, biotech, pharma, and EPC. She has also worked outside India, in the US, the UK, Israel, and Malaysia. Much of her career has revolved around tying together HR operations across borders, rolling out digital systems, and getting leadership pipelines in order.
She was most recently at Mahathi Infra Services as VP of Human Resources. Before that, she held the CHRO role at Patil Rail Infrastructure, a company with over 8,000 employees and several manufacturing sites. That job had her handling everything from compliance and governance to digitising HR processes from the ground up.
Kumar Krishnan, MD, HNGIL, commenting on the move, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Bharathi to HNGIL at a pivotal time in our journey. Her deep expertise in building high-performance organizations and leading HR transformation across diverse industries will be instrumental as we strengthen our people strategy and accelerate our next phase of growth.”
Bharthi’s hiring is one among a string of marquee appointments since HNGIL’s acquisition by Independent Sugar Corporation Ltd (INSCO), part of the Uganda-based Madhvani–Turner Group. The deal went through the IBC process and closed in September 2025. Kamlesh Madhvani and Shrai Madhvani led the acquisition, backed by funding from Cerberus Capital Management and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Under the new owners, HNGIL is seeing a ground-up overhaul. The Madhvani Group has put money into modernising plants, tightening operations, and building out sustainability initiatives. There is also a clear push to grow volumes — both within India and in export markets. Six plants are currently up and running: Rishra, Bahadurgarh, Rishikesh, Neemrana, Naidupeta, and Puducherry.
Founded in 1946, HNGIL was behind India’s first fully automated glass manufacturing plant. Today it has a presence across seven locations in India and serves customers in more than 23 countries.
