With over 35 years of experience in the maritime industry, Dr Karunesan has held senior managerial positions in various port organisations. Beginning his career as Assistant Docks Manager at Mumbai Port Authority in 1989, Dr Karunesan went on to head Westports Malaysia from 1996 to 2004. He later served as Director and CEO of Chennai Container Terminal, part of Dubai Ports World, until 2014. Subsequently, he became CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Mundra, and Tuna Ports until 2019.
Since 2020, Dr Karunesan served as Senior Advisor to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, Mumbai, and Chief Advisor to other Indian ports. In 2022, he was appointed First Regional Director for India by the International Association of Ports and Harbours, headquartered in Tokyo. He also works as a Senior Maritime Advisor at the World Bank Group for India and South East Asia.
Dr Karunesan’s PhD research focused on container terminal efficiency, technology adoption, and marketability of Indian container terminals. Over six years of rigorous research by travelling to the top 10 global container ports. The thesis will be a foundation for many academic studies for students focusing on container trade. His contributions to the maritime industry have been widely recognized, including efficiently managing Mumbai Ports’ container terminal & freight stations and instrumental role in setting up Westports, Malaysia, which currently handles 12 million TEUs.
Under his leadership, Chennai Container Terminal achieved 1.2 million TEUs in 2008, achieving four times volume growth within four years. As the first CEO of Mundra and Tuna Ports, he transformed both ports by automation, and global safety standards, establishing three container terminals. His global experience has greatly benefited Indian container trade, including planning 25 million TEU capacity at Vadhavan Port and Nicobar Island Container Terminal.
A versatile mechanical engineer with an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, he has been speaking at national and international maritime conferences for about three decades. An accomplished endurance cyclist ridden 30,000 km exploring heritage sites of India and neighbouring countries. Dr. Karunesan has received over 35 awards for his service to Indian and global ports, remarkably the Government of Tamil Nadu’s “Kappalotiya Tamizhan award.”