Patanjali Keswani

Chairman and Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd

A first generation entrepreneur, Patu Keswani graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi in 1981, and subsequently received his Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from IIM Calcutta in 1983.
He joined the Tata Administrative Service (TAS) in 1983 and worked with the Tata Group for 17 years. His last assignment was as Senior Vice President of the Taj Group of Hotels. He subsequently worked with management consulting firm, A T Kearney Inc as an Associate Consultant and Director in their New Delhi office. Anticipating the enormous yet latent demand for mid-market and economy hotels in India, Patu promoted Lemon Tree Hotels in late 2002.
He is currently the Chairman and Managing Director of Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd, which owns and operates 95 hotels in 60 destinations.
Focused on offering opportunities to Indians with disability and people from the economically/ socially weak segment, currently, 16% of Lemon Tree employees are from this disadvantaged segment of the population. Lemon Tree Hotels has been presented the National Award by the President of India for ‘Best Employer of Persons with Disabilities’ in 2016 and 2011 and a third National Award in 2012 for being a ‘Role Model in providing a Barrier Free Environment to Persons with Disabilities’.
Patu is a member of the Sector Skills Council for Hospitality, Travel and Tourism (NSDC), and until recently, he was also the Chairman of the Skills Council for Persons with Disability (SCPwD), as well as a member of the University Grants Commission and a member of the Board of Governors of IIT Delhi.

Success Mantras:
“The one mantra or philosophy that I truly believe in is that there are many ways to skin a cat. No matter what the problem, a solution always exists, so one should never give up and always continue working towards finding the right solution.”