Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. had appointed Ravi Kota as its new Chairman for a three-year term, succeeding D K Sunil, effective May 1, 2026. Kota had assumed charges at the helm of India's biggest defense aerospace company on May 1, 2026, till the date of his superannuation, June 30, 2029, or until further orders from the Ministry of Defence. Earlier, he was serving as Director of Operations at HAL.

Shri Kota Ravi brought over 30 years of experience across various sectors, including Aerospace and Defense, manufacturing, and electronics. He had held key leadership roles, including Executive Director and General Manager of the LCA Tejas Division, as well as Executive Director of Corporate Planning. During his earlier positions at HAL, he concluded various big-ticket contracts for HAL, such as a contract to supply 180 LCA Tejas to the Indian Air Force, 156 LCH Prachand to the Indian Army, and the Indian Air Force, and was credited with the operationalization of the LCA Tejas fleet in the Indian Air Force.

He boosted fleet serviceability through various customer-centric initiatives, established seamless data communication with Indian Air Force bases, and created a Single Point of Contact for timely customer support. HAL stated that Kota had been a driving force in strengthening indigenous capabilities within the LCA Tejas program by increasing local content and expanding production capacity in Nasik. He also played a pivotal role in developing a robust manufacturing ecosystem by outsourcing major fuselage assemblies to private sector partners, a strategy that was delivering tangible results through ongoing deliveries.

Ravi Kota was a Mechanical Engineering graduate from Malnad College of Engineering, Karnataka. He was also an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad.