As Managing Director of Clariant (India) Ltd, the country's leading manufacturer of leather dyes and textile chemicals, P R Rastogi has definitely added an extraordinary hue of success to the company's fortunes. For more than 30 years now, Rastogi has been witness to many a progressive paths that Clariant (India) Ltd has treaded. A postgraduate (M.Sc. - Tech) from the Department of Chemical Technology, University of Mumbai, Rastogi went on to complete his Advanced Management Programme from the School of Business Administration, University of Michigan, USA.

In 1973, he joined the erstwhile Sandoz (India) Ltd and has been part of the various changes the company has experienced in past several decades. A significant supplier of specialty dyes and chemicals to polyester, wool, silk, leather and paper industries, Clariant (India) Ltd was originally incorporated as a company in January 1947 under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 in the name of Sandoz Productose Ltd in Maharashtra.

The name was later changed to Sandoz (India) Ltd. Subsequently, in accordance with the order of Mumbai High Court, pursuant to scheme of de-merger of Pharma and Agro business in 1995, the name of the company was changed to the present Clariant (India) Ltd since March 1996. P R Rastogi has served the company in various capacities and areas of corporate planning, sales and marketing management.

Gradually, in 1986 he went on to head the marketing division of Clariant (India) Ltd. Prior to being appointed the Managing Director of the company in 1996, Rastogi was Vice President and head of the company's chemicals division. He is also a member of the Colour Chem Limited. Rastogi is credited to being a leading light in making Clariant (India) Ltd one of the global sourcing hubs for its parent Clariant, which is based in Muttenz near Basel in Switzerland. And Rastogi's vision for CIL could easily see the company leapfrog into the global race for being a supreme supplier of dyestuffs for different industrial needs.