With over 35 years of experience in
the maritime industry, Dr Karunesan has held senior managerial positions in
various port organisations. Beginning his career as Assistant Docks Manager at
Mumbai Port Authority in 1989, Dr Karunesan went on to head Westports Malaysia
from 1996 to 2004. He later served as Director and CEO of Chennai Container
Terminal, part of Dubai Ports World, until 2014. Subsequently, he became CEO of
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Mundra, and Tuna Ports until 2019.
Since 2020, Dr Karunesan served as
Senior Advisor to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, Mumbai, and Chief Advisor to
other Indian ports. In 2022, he was appointed First Regional Director for India
by the International Association of Ports and Harbours, headquartered in Tokyo.
He also works as a Senior Maritime Advisor at the World Bank Group for India
and South East Asia.
Dr Karunesan's PhD research focused
on container terminal efficiency, technology adoption, and marketability of
Indian container terminals. Over six years of rigorous research by
travelling to the top 10 global container ports. The thesis will be
a foundation for many academic studies for students focusing on container
trade. His contributions to the maritime industry have been widely recognized,
including efficiently managing Mumbai Ports' container terminal & freight
stations and instrumental role in setting up Westports, Malaysia, which
currently handles 12 million TEUs.
Under his leadership, Chennai
Container Terminal achieved 1.2 million TEUs in 2008, achieving four times
volume growth within four years. As the first integrated CEO of Mundra and Tuna
Ports, he transformed both ports by automation, and global safety
standards, establishing three container terminals. His global experience has
greatly benefited Indian container trade, including planning 25
million TEU capacity at Vadhavan Port and Nicobar Island Container
Terminal.
A versatile mechanical engineer with
an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, he has been
speaking at national and international maritime conferences for about three
decades. An accomplished endurance cyclist ridden 30,000 km exploring heritage
sites of India and neighbouring countries. Dr. Karunesan has received over 35 awards for
his service to Indian and global ports, remarkably the Government of Tamil
Nadu's "Kappalotiya Tamizhan award."