India's largest shipbuilder by value, Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company, is set to name private equity veteran Rajiv Shukla as its CEO, filling in the top post that has been lying vacant for nearly two years, a Times of India report said. The appointment of Shukla, a partner with Citigroup's private equity arm, is expected to be ratified by Pipavav board soon, said a person familiar with the matter.

Pipavav is the flagship company of entrepreneur Nikhil Gandhi, who has built an infrastructure-to-education enterprise from scratch. The company, with an enterprise value of $1.5 billion, has been without a CEO ever since M Jitendra moved on to a different role within the group. Post the shuffle, Pipavav's operations were being overseen by Gandhi's brother, Bhavesh, who is also the vice-chairman of the company.

Read the full report here