Harsha V. Agadi is the president and chief executive officer of Crawford & Company. He is chairman of GHS Holdings, LLC with investments in restaurants, hospitality and other related industries. Agadi has nearly 30 years’ experience in various senior leadership positions for several food service and franchise companies as well as Fortune 500® companies.
Additionally, Agadi serves on the Boards of Belmond Ltd., Crawford & Company, and Diversified Foodservice Supply, Inc. He currently extends his work with these Boards via his presence on the Audit, Investment, and Compensation Committees and taking on the role of Compensation Committee Chair for Belmond Ltd. A member of the Crawford Board since 2010, Agadi is very familiar with its management, operations and strategic planning process. Until very recently he also chaired the compensation committee prior to becoming the interim chief executive officer in August 2015. This is his fifth time holding the CEO title.
Aside from Agadi’s corporate endeavors, he also actively participates on several charitable boards in the United States and abroad. He is on the Board of Eaglebrook School in Massachusetts and Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, Agadi’s alma mater. In India, Agadi serves as chairman of the Board of SKSVMA College of Engineering & Technology, a top-ten institution in Karnataka, India.
Due to his passion for philanthropy, Agadi is an active donor via GHS Charitable Foundation at Duke University where he has established an endowment at the Fuqua School of Business. The Harshavardhan V. Agadi Scholarship is awarded each year to a promising female student from India.
Between his several private equity partnerships, his management experience of several companies, and his fundraising capacity in equity and debt in conjunction with his exceptionally strong management skills, Agadi has consistently produced stellar results. He, however, wants to be judged by what he gives rather than what he receives. This trait he considers the true net worth of an individual.
Agadi is married to Geetha and they have one son, Samir. In his spare time, he enjoys movies, travel and stamp collecting.