Skyroot CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana named to TIME100 Next 2026
Pawan Kumar Chandana, the co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace, just made it to the TIME100 Next 2026 list. He's being recognized for shaking up India's private space scene and helping put the country on the global space map.
Before launching Skyroot in Hyderabad back in 2018, Chandana spent nearly six years at ISRO working on some of India's biggest rocket projects.
Pawan Kumar Chandana cofounded Skyroot
Chandana graduated from IIT Kharagpur and joined ISRO in 2012, where he worked on missions like GSLV Mk-III and SSLV.
Teaming up with Naga Bharath Daka, he started Skyroot with a big dream: building rockets in India for clients around the world.
Thanks to his leadership (and a dedicated team), Skyroot pulled off milestones like launching its Vikram-1 rocket and placing two satellites into orbit.
Chandana credits his team for their success, saying it's all about the people who make it happen.