Ion Exchange (India) Limited has announced a board-level transition that tightens governance while preserving continuity. Rajesh Sharma will move from Executive Chairman to Non-Executive Non-Independent Chairman, effective January 1, 2027. The change, approved by the Board on November 3, 2026, comes as part of a planned leadership evolution that the company says reflects Sharma’s willingness to transition to a non-executive role while continuing to guide the organization’s strategic priorities at the board level.
Sharma’s tenure at Ion Exchange spans five decades, beginning in January 1974 as a Service Engineer. He steered the company from a regional player to a global force in total water and environmental management, serving as Managing Director from 2000 to 2024 and later as Executive Chairman. Under his leadership, Ion Exchange expanded its footprint across South-East Asia, Africa, Japan, Europe, the USA and the Middle East, while investing in R&D—including India’s first Centre of Membrane Excellence in Goa and an R&D Centre at Patancheru, Telangana—and establishing the Ion Foundation in 2010 to advance CSR efforts. The board highlighted his enduring commitment to innovation, growth and sustainable development as central to the company’s enduring identity.
The company also noted that Sharma is the brother of Dinesh Sharma, a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director of Ion Exchange, and reaffirmed that Sharma is not debarred from directorship by SEBI or other authorities. While shareholders will be asked to ratify the designation change via postal ballot in due course, the leadership transition signals a maturation of Ion Exchange’s governance structure as it continues to push for transformative growth in the water-treatment and environmental-management space.