January 6, 2014: Commander (Retd) S Gopakumar has been elevated as general manager at Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) on January 1, 2015. He has taken charge as general manager of the naval systems – sonars & communication systems strategic business unit at BEL’s Bengaluru office.
Cdr S Gopakumar joined the National Defence Academy, Pune, and did his degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), after which he completed B Tech from JNU at INS Shivaji. He did weapon & electrical specialisation from INS Valsura and M Tech in Computer Science from IIT, Mumbai. He has also got a Diploma in Management from IGNOU.
He was commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1980 and served in various ships and establishments for 22 years. He joined BEL on July 2, 2001, where he worked in Naval Systems Strategic Business Unit of Bengaluru Unit for 11 years. He was Additional General Manager (Product Support – Navy) in the Corporate Office for two years before his elevation as General Manager.
He has many awards to his credit including Kerala Govt Trophy for standing first for entry to the 55th Course of the National Defence Academy; Admiral Tandon Medal for standing first in merit and best all rounder in 45th engineering course at INS Shivaji; Admiral Ramnath Trophy for standing first in merit and best all rounder for weapon & electrical specialisation course at INS Valsura; CNS Commendation in 1995 for devotion to duty; BEL R&D Award in 2011; and Raksha Mantri’s R&D Award for design effort in 2013.
