Harshavardhan Neotia hails from a distinguished family that migrated from Rajasthan to Kolkata more than 100 years ago. He is an Entrepreneur, and presently Chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group.

The Group operates across four business verticals: Real Estate – covering the entire gamut of housing, retail and commercial spaces, Hospitality – including hotels, resorts, clubs and restaurants, Healthcare with multispecialty hospitals, and Education. Headquartered in Kolkata, the group’s projects are mostly located in Eastern India.

Harsh did his schooling from La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata. He graduated with a B. Com (Hons.) degree from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, and went on to complete the Owner President Management Programme (OPM) from Harvard Business School, USA.

His work in social housing earned Harsh Neotia the honour of being conferred with Padma Shri from the hon’ble President of India in 1999. He is also a recipient of the YPO Legacy of Honour Award. He was recently conferred the D.Litt. (Honoris Causa) by the Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, and ‘Honorary Life Fellowship’ by AIMA (All India Management Association).

He is an active Member and Past President of FICCI and also Past President of AIMA. He is presently member of the National Culture Fund, India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) Trust, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), and Chairman of National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training & Research (NITTTR).

He has also formerly been on the board of IIM Kolkata, IIT Kharagpur, and a member of The Court of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

He heads Jnana Pravaha, a Centre for Cultural Studies and Research in Varanasi, as its chairman and is one of the trustees of Shree Somnath Trust that manages and maintains the Somnath Temple in Gujarat.

He also serves as the Honorary Consul of Israel in West Bengal.