Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra, has been chosen as the winner of the 2016 FISITA medal of honour.

The FISITA Medal is awarded in recognition of ‘particularly distinguished achievement and leadership in the global automotive industry’. Dr Pawan Goenka is the first Indian to receive this prestigious recognition. He is also the only person to be voted 'Man of the Year' twice (2006, 2011) by Autocar Professional.

The FISITA medal, which will be presented to Dr Goenka at the FISITA World Automotive Congress, to be held in Busan, South Korea this September, is a prestigious recognition conferred by Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Ingénieurs des Techniques de l'Automobile, a federation of associations of automotive engineering societies from across the globe.

FISITA is the umbrella organisation for the national automotive societies around the world. Its network of member societies represents over 200,000 automotive engineers. FISITA’s goal is to provide a forum for dialogue amongst these engineers, as well as industry, government, academia, environmental and standards organisations. It is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation controlled by the engineering profession and supported by the global automotive industry.

According to FISITA, the recognition to Dr Goenka comes as a result of “his lifetime of renowned service to the industry throughout his extensive career and, in particular, recognition of his leadership in transforming Mahindra & Mahindra’s engineering and R&D capability and the subsequent growth of its automotive business and global footprint.”

“The FISITA committee is also keen to recognise his support for young people and their careers within the automotive sector, which is commendable and worthy of recognition.”

Medals are awarded to individuals for distinguished achievements in automobile engineering.  Some examples of the categories into which such achievements can be placed are a long and successful career in the automobile industry; a specialist contribution to a particular sector in the automobile field; the leadership/direction of a defined project; an innovative/creative design concept; and a high technology manufacturing system.

A true-blue engineer
Dr Goenka, who is considered as the father of the Mahindra Scorpio, has successfully led Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive and farm equipment businesses before taking on a larger role in the company as its executive director. He is also known as the 'prime architect' of SAE India – the national body of automotive engineers.

Previous FISITA medal winners include Giovanni Agnelli, Carlos Ghosn, Hans List, Francois Michelin and Shoichiro Toyoda.

On March 18, Dr Pawan Goenka was felicitated for winning the FISITA medla of honour at the SAE India's 20th anniversary celebrations in Chennai.