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Shashank Bhagat
Shashank Bhagat is a business leader and advisor to the hospitality, real estate and luxury lifestyle sectors.
As Chairman of the New Delhi-based BI Group, he oversees a diversified portfolio of businesses spanning the hospitality, real estate, luxury and media sectors. He also serves on the Hotel Association of India’s Executive Committee and the Governing Council of the National Skill Development Corporation. As Co-Chair of the PHD Tourism and Hospitality Committee, he is an active advocate for the tourism and hospitality industries in India. In the UK, he serves on the International Board of Governors of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Shashank also served as Consul General of El Salvador to India from 2006-11, where he strengthened bilateral relations and promoted trade between the two countries. During his tenure, he facilitated a number of high-level diplomatic and ministerial visits. In recognition of his service, he was awarded The National Order ‘José Matías Delgado’, one of El Salvador’s highest civilian honours.
His leadership of the BI Group has seen it grow to span multiple sectors, most recently entering the global luxury arena with the acquisition of the 200-year-old British heritage brand Thomas Goode. Recognising the cultural significance of the house, he is spearheading its international revival, including the re-establishment of its presence in Mayfair and the development of a hotel and branded residences as the fullest expression of the brand’s new vision. The group has also successfully revived a historic English country house hotel and is soon to launch the first branded residences in New Delhi, in partnership with The Oberoi Group.
As Managing Director of the BI Group’s distillery business from 2001, Shashank played a pivotal role in establishing joint ventures with IDV (Diageo) and implementing India’s first internationally compliant effluent treatment plant, significantly reducing industrial discharge levels. Prior to the sale of the distillery business in 2007, he was also instrumental in advancing India’s ethanol-for-fuel programme, helping reduce the country’s dependence on crude oil imports.