Vishnu Venugopalan, MD & CEO of Guidance Tamil Nadu and a key bureaucrat instrumental in attracting major investments, including Cisco, Jabil, and Ford Motor’s re-entry into the state, has exited the agency, multiple sources told FE.
The development comes at a time when another senior official of the state’s investment promotion agency was poached by Andhra Pradesh. Recently, Andhra Pradesh poached Sarin Paraparakath, a key member of the TN Guidance team, as vice president of the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB).
The southern states are competing fiercely with one another to attract foreign investors at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
“Vishnu has left Guidance Tamil Nadu, and the agency has been functioning without a full-time head for the past few weeks. The government is trying hard to find a replacement and is likely to fill the vacancy by February,” a source aware of the development said.
However, the official website of Guidance Tamil Nadu still lists Vishnu as MD & CEO, as the matter has not been made public.
The bureaucrat was credited with the success of the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024, which secured a record ₹6.64 lakh crore in investment proposals, including commitments from major firms like VinFast Auto, Tata Electronics, and JSW Group. His team’s persistent efforts, including frequent visits to the US, convinced Ford Motor’s global leadership to restart operations at its Chennai plant, three years after exiting India.
Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state’s nodal agency for investment promotion, is known for its professional approach to facilitating industries with ease of doing business, including speedy approvals, sector-specific policy formulation, and investor outreach. Since 2015, the agency has facilitated over 1,100 investments worth ₹12.84 lakh crore, according to its website, with notable investors, including Foxconn, Ola Electric, Hyundai, and Renault Nissan.
Guidance Tamil Nadu has served as a model agency for states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which created APEDB and Invest Karnataka Forum, respectively, with professional leadership structures in place. Vishnu is likely to pursue opportunities abroad, a source told FE. He could not be reached for comment.