Biography

Colonel Sanjay K. Rai (Retd.) brings more than three decades of distinguished service in the Indian Army and the corporate sector to his role as Director of the Jindal Institute of Leadership Development & Executive Education (JILDEE) at O.P. Jindal Global University. His career has been defined by leadership, institution-building, and a deep commitment to developing people and organisations through structured learning.

At JILDEE, he has been instrumental in positioning the institute as a trusted partner in executive education for governments, public sector undertakings, and defence organisations. He has delivered a wide range of programmes in leadership, law, finance, human resources, behavioural skills, technology, and governance, engaging senior officials from state governments, central ministries, and institutions such as the Comptroller & Auditor General of India, BSF, DGQA, DoPT,

BPCL, Power Grid, CSC, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. His initiatives have strengthened JILDEE’s outreach through innovative on-campus, on-site, online, and blended learning formats.

Before joining JILDEE, Col. Rai served in several leadership roles in the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence. As Director (Technical Support Group) in the Directorate of Standardisation, he oversaw training institutes and standardisation cells across India and played a key role in organising DEFEXPO 2020 and Aero India 2021, including the Defence Ministers’ Conclave attended by representatives of 27 nations.

Earlier, he commanded an Air Defence Regiment of over 800 personnel and was responsible for the professional training of more than 3,000 officers. He also represented India at a United Nations programme on disaster management in Kuala Lumpur.

Col. Rai is a graduate of Allahabad University and holds a PGDM in Supply Chain Management from VIT, Pune. He is certified in Global Supply Chain Management from IIFT, New Delhi, and is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt from KPMG. His professional and academic background, combined with his extensive leadership experience, enables him to advance JILDEE’s mission of preparing transformational leaders who can navigate complexity and drive change across government, defence, and industry.