R. Seshasayee is a senior corporate leader with over four decades of experience spanning business leadership, corporate governance and institution building. He served as Executive Vice Chairman of Ashok Leyland and later as its Non-Executive Vice Chairman until 2016. He has also served as Chairman of Infosys and on the Boards of Asian Paints, ICICI Ltd/ICICI Bank and NIT, Tiruchirappalli. He is currently a member of the Board of Asian Paints Ltd.
A Chartered Accountant, Seshasayee began his career with Hindustan Lever Ltd. He has held several prominent leadership positions in industry, including President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) during 2006–07 and President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) from 2001–03.
He has represented the Government of India at the WTO Ministerial Rounds in Doha and Hong Kong and served as Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum – Middle East in 2007. He has also contributed to institution building and the arts, including as Chairman of the Executive Council of the Cancer Institute, Chennai, and Vice President of the Music Academy, Chennai.
Seshasayee has received several honours for his contributions to industry and public life, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.