Ravi Pandit, KPIT co-founder who helped shape India’s auto software push, dies at 72

Ravi Pandit, Chairman and co-founder of the K&P Group, died on Friday morning, the company said. He was 72.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our Founder and Chairman of the Board, Ravi Pandit, on the morning of May 8, 2026,” KPIT said in a statement, without disclosing the cause of death.

Pandit was among the early architects of India’s automotive software and mobility technology ecosystem. Over more than three decades, he helped transform Pune-headquartered KPIT from a domestic IT services company into a global automotive software and mobility engineering firm serving automakers across the US, Europe and Asia.

Under his leadership, KPIT sharpened its focus on software-defined mobility, electrification, autonomous driving and clean energy technologies, emerging as a key technology partner to global automakers worldwide. The company operates across 15 countries.

Apart from KPIT, Pandit also chaired Kirtane & Pandit Chartered Accountants (KPCA), the professional services firm he helped expand internationally. KPCA grew into one of the largest Indian-origin professional services firms, employing more than 1,200 experts across 15 countries.

His influence extended well beyond the corporate sector into public policy, sustainability and institution-building.

Pandit co-founded civic and policy platforms including Pune International Centre and Janwani, while also supporting academic research through the Centre for Sustainable Development at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.

He served on the boards of several organisations, including Thermax Ltd, World Resources Institute India and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India. He also served as President of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) and contributed to multiple Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) committees.

Pandit was also the only private-sector representative on India’s Empowered Group for the National Green Hydrogen Mission. More recently, he had championed the “HRIDAY” initiative focused on hydrogen-led rural and agricultural development.

A gold-medallist chartered accountant, Pandit was an alumnus of the MIT Sloan School of Management and a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. He was also awarded honorary doctorates by institutions including Coventry University and Amity University.

He also co-authored the award-winning book Leapfrogging to Pole-Vaulting

, which explored innovation-led growth and sustainable development.

Pandit was widely regarded as a prominent voice on sustainable transformation, clean mobility and technology-led development in India.