Gaurav Agarwal

Gaurav is currently working as CEO – MADA Airports responsible for developing, expanding and management of airports business. MADA Airports comes under MADA International Holding, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Al Rajhi Group of Saudi Arabia. Gaurav is based out of Riyadh, KSA.

Gaurav is an Aviation professional specializing in Airports, and having a strong multi- cultural work experience of USA, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia.

In his professional journey of 25 years, he has worked across several diversified industries including infrastructure, insurance, telecom, investment banking, real estate and information technology.
Gaurav has a deep understanding of the global markets. He is a keen strategist and innovator, with experience in execution of large complex projects encompassing infrastructure lifecycle, M&A, strategic financing, global expansion, strategic partnerships, public advocacy, strategic roadmaps, go-to-market strategies, new business models across the value chain and stakeholder integration. In his previous fifteen years work tenure at GMR Group, majority he has worked with Group Chairman as his advisor. He has been a critical support to the Chairman for rapid expansion of the Airports portfolio of the Group from two Indian airports to eight airports globally, a meteoric rise of creating the world’s second largest private airport company. By virtue of his role with the Chairman, Gaurav has worked very closely with the top management and board members of the Group, participated extensively in board
meetings, and has rich experience of attending global platforms like World Economic Forum, GAD world, Aviation Forums etc.

Gaurav has proven skills in leading and managing cross-functional teams to work in synchronization with the corporate set parameters & motivating them for achieving business and individual goals. Gaurav was also instrumental in conceptualizing and developing ‘Aerotropolis’ concept, creating Airports commercial land monetization strategy and its execution. He has rich experience in complex stakeholder management cutting across government functionaries and public advocacy. On the academic front, Gaurav has done his MBA in Finance and International Business from State University of New York, USA and Bachelors of Engineering from Karnataka University, India. On the personal front, Gaurav has great entrepreneurial spirit, positive attitude, strong value system, high integrity and philanthropic nature. He possess high spiritual quotient (SQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) to successfully lead in today’s volatile and unpredictable environment. Gaurav is also associated with various non-profit social organizations and passionate towards developing greenfield airports projects.