Jay Mehta: His Business Career, KKR Role and Family Story

Introduction

Jay Mehta is an Indian businessman and industrialist linked with the Mehta Group, Saurashtra Cement, ADF Foods and the Knight Riders cricket business. He is married to actress Juhi Chawla. As of September 2026, he serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Saurashtra Cement.

That is the short answer.

His public profile goes much deeper. He has spent decades in business, studied at Columbia and IMD, helped rebuild family cement companies, and became part of one of the IPL’s best-known ownership groups.

Quick Facts

Detail	Verified information
Full name	Jay Mahendra Mehta
Date of birth	18 January 1961
Age	65 years, as of September 2026
Profession	Businessman and industrialist
Main business connection	Mehta Group
Current Saurashtra Cement role	Chairman, Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director
ADF Foods role	Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director
Education	Industrial Engineering, Columbia University; MBA, IMD Lausanne
Spouse	Juhi Chawla
Children	Jahnavi Mehta and Arjun Mehta
Cricket connection	Knight Riders Group and Kolkata Knight Riders

ADF Foods records his date of birth as 18 January 1961 and his Director Identification Number as 00152072.

Who Is Jay Mehta?

Jay Mehta is a senior Indian business figure from the Mehta family business group, with long-running roles in cement, food, investment and cricket.

Columbia Engineering currently identifies him as Group Director of the Mehta Group’s Indian operations.

The group has interests across sectors such as cement, building materials, packaging, sugar, engineering, horticulture, electrical cables, consultancy, trade and financial services.

IMD described him as Chairman of Mehta Group in a 2023 leadership interview.

So the safest current description is simple.

He is a senior Mehta Group business leader with major board and ownership interests.

Jay Mehta’s Age and Date of Birth

Jay Mehta was born on 18 January 1961. He is 65 years old as of September 2026.

The birth date comes from ADF Foods shareholder records.

This is useful because many celebrity-style profile sites copy personal details without giving a strong source.

Corporate records are much better here.

Family Business Background

Jay comes from the family behind the Mehta Group, founded by his grandfather Nanji Kalidas Mehta.

His father was Mahendra N. Mehta, another senior figure in the family business.

Jay has spoken publicly about inheriting responsibility for family companies set up by his grandfather.

That responsibility became serious in the early 1990s.

The cement businesses were struggling.

He had to rebuild them.

Education

Jay studied Industrial Engineering at Columbia University and later completed an MBA at IMD in Lausanne.

He earned his BS in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University in 1983.

He later completed his MBA at IMD in 1991.

His Columbia connection remains active.

The university currently lists him on its Board of Visitors.

That gives him a long link with the institution, not just a degree.

How Did Jay Mehta Start His Career?

His formal connection with Saurashtra Cement started in December 1987, when he joined the company’s board.

The bigger challenge came after 1991.

He returned to India after finishing his MBA at IMD.

In his own account, the two cement companies under his responsibility were in severe financial trouble.

So he started fixing the business.

He focused on management teams.

He worked on company culture.

He backed restructuring.

He also pushed investment into newer technology.

The recovery took years.

Cement Business Turnaround

Jay said the family cement businesses became debt-free in 2015 after years of repair and restructuring.

This is one of the strongest career facts tied directly to his own public comments.

He did not describe the turnaround as fast.

It was long.

It was difficult.

And it became a major part of his business record.

Saurashtra Cement Career

As of September 2026, Jay Mehta is Chairman of Saurashtra Cement in a Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director role.

He spent many years as Executive Vice Chairman.

Then came another change.

In August 2024, he became Executive Chairman.

That title did not last permanently.

On 26 September 2025, his designation changed from Executive Chairman to Chairman, Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director.

So articles still calling him Executive Chairman are outdated.

He remains Chairman.

But the role is now non-executive.

What Happened to Gujarat Sidhee Cement?

Gujarat Sidhee Cement merged into Saurashtra Cement, with the merger becoming effective on 30 March 2023.

This matters because older profiles often list both companies as separate current roles for Jay.

That is no longer accurate.

Gujarat Sidhee Cement should now be treated as part of the Saurashtra Cement business history.

ADF Foods Role

Jay Mehta is also a Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director of ADF Foods Limited.

ADF Foods’ FY2025-26 records show him serving on its:

• Nomination and Remuneration Committee
• Corporate Social Responsibility Committee

The company also reported that he held 375,000 equity shares as of 31 March 2026.

That is a documented shareholding.

It should not be turned into an estimated personal fortune.

Kolkata Knight Riders Connection

Jay Mehta is part of the ownership group behind Kolkata Knight Riders through the Knight Riders business.

The official Knight Riders website identifies:

• Shah Rukh Khan
• Juhi Chawla
• Jay Mehta

as the names behind Knight Riders Group ownership.

KKR joined the Indian Premier League in 2008.

By 2026, the team had won the IPL three times.

That gave the Knight Riders business a much bigger public profile.

Is Jay Mehta Really a KKR Owner?

Yes. His KKR connection is a business ownership role, not simply a link through Juhi Chawla.

Knight Riders Sports Private Limited appears in his current corporate directorship records.

Recent business reporting has described the ownership structure as:

• Red Chillies Entertainment — 55%
• Mehta Group — 45%

The official Knight Riders site confirms the main ownership names, though it does not publish those percentages on the same page.

What Did Jay Mehta Say About Cricket?

Jay has described his cricket investment as probably the best investment he made.

He told IMD that people around him had doubts about the idea.

Some thought it was crazy.

He studied the business model.

Then he went ahead.

That decision became one of the most visible parts of his business life.

Marriage to Juhi Chawla

Jay Mehta married actress Juhi Chawla in 1995.

The wedding was kept quiet at the time.

Juhi later explained that she feared public knowledge of her marriage might affect her film career.

That concern made sense in the film industry of that period, where marriage could change how leading actresses were viewed.

She has also shared details about how the wedding became much smaller than first planned.

A large guest list was cut down sharply.

The final event was far more private.

How Did Jay Mehta and Juhi Chawla Meet?

Juhi Chawla has said their relationship grew after they met again at a dinner.

They had known each other before.

Then they reconnected.

Jay started sending flowers and notes.

One story became especially well known.

Juhi recalled receiving a truckload of red roses from him on her birthday.

Later, he proposed.

Their relationship eventually led to marriage in 1995.

Jay Mehta’s Children

Jay Mehta and Juhi Chawla have two children: Jahnavi Mehta and Arjun Mehta.

Their daughter Jahnavi Mehta was born in 2001.

Their son Arjun Mehta was born in 2003.

Both later studied at Columbia University.

Jahnavi graduated from Columbia in 2023.

Arjun graduated in 2026.

So the Columbia connection now runs across two generations of the family.

Jay Mehta’s First Marriage

Before marrying Juhi Chawla, Jay was married to Sujata Birla.

Sujata was the sister of industrialist Yash Birla.

She died in the Indian Airlines Flight 605 crash in 1990.

This part of his earlier personal life is documented in mainstream reporting.

There is no need to add rumours or emotional claims beyond that.

Jay Mehta’s Current Business Positions

As of September 2026, his strongest verified business positions include Saurashtra Cement, ADF Foods and the wider Mehta Group.

His current public roles include:

• Chairman, Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director at Saurashtra Cement
• Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director at ADF Foods
• Group Director of Mehta Group’s Indian operations, according to Columbia Engineering
• Director of Knight Riders Sports Private Limited
• Board member across several private companies

His current profile is still business-heavy.

Cricket simply made it more visible.

Other Directorships

Recent ADF Foods disclosures list Jay in several company roles.

These include:

• Saurashtra Cement Limited
• Knight Riders Sports Private Limited
• Indian Automotive Racing Club Limited
• Metro Pizza Private Limited
• Indianapolis Hospitality Private Limited
• Galaxy Technologies Private Limited
• Arclightz and Films Private Limited
• Mehta Private Limited
• Omna Exports Private Limited
• Agrima Consultants International Limited
• Goodkarma Hospitality Private Limited
• ADF Foods UK Limited

These should be treated as current disclosed directorships based on company reporting.

Jay Mehta Net Worth

There is no strong public source that gives a fully verified personal net-worth figure for Jay Mehta.

This is where many weak profiles go wrong.

Some websites quote huge numbers.

Others mix the value of Mehta Group businesses with Jay’s own personal wealth.

Those are different things.

No audited personal wealth statement or equally strong source was found that proves a single exact net-worth number.

So an exact figure should not be published as fact.

Verified Financial Facts

Some financial details are public through company records, but they should not be used to guess his total wealth.

Saurashtra Cement’s FY2024-25 accounts disclosed about ₹8.69 crore in short-term employee benefits paid or payable to Jay during the year when he still held an executive role.

That should not be called his current salary.

His role changed in September 2025.

The company filing stated that he wished to continue as Non-Executive Chairman without fixed salary.

ADF Foods also reported:

• 375,000 equity shares held as of 31 March 2026
• ₹5.70 lakh in sitting fees during FY2025-26

These are proper corporate figures.

They are safer than copied wealth estimates.

KKR Stake Sale Talks in 2026

As of September 2026, reports about a Mehta Group stake sale in KKR remain discussions, not a confirmed completed deal.

Moneycontrol reported in August 2026 that Ares Management was in talks over a possible minority investment.

The report said the Mehta Group was considering the sale of roughly 20%.

It also reported that discussions involved a possible valuation above $1.8 billion.

No final transaction had been announced at that point.

So this should not be written as a completed sale.

Public Presence

Jay keeps a much lower media profile than Juhi Chawla or Shah Rukh Khan.

Most strong information about him comes from:

• company filings
• Columbia Engineering
• IMD
• official Knight Riders material
• shareholder records
• mainstream business reporting

That is actually useful.

It makes it easier to separate documented facts from copied entertainment claims.

Knight Riders FEMA Matter

A 2017 FEMA case involved Knight Riders Sports and several named individuals, but Jay Mehta was not listed as an individual recipient in the cited Enforcement Directorate report.

The Enforcement Directorate issued a show-cause notice connected with Knight Riders share transactions.

The report named:

• Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd
• Gauri Khan
• Shah Rukh Khan
• Juhi Chawla

Jay was not named there as an individual recipient.

So it would be wrong to write that he personally was charged in that notice.

A Bombay High Court ruling in November 2025 dealt with procedural appeals in the same wider matter.

The court allowed the underlying adjudication process to continue.

It did not rule that the allegations had been proven.

That difference matters.

Career Timeline

1961 — Born on 18 January.

1983 — Completed Industrial Engineering studies at Columbia University.

1987 — Joined the board of Saurashtra Cement.

1991 — Completed his MBA at IMD and returned to India.

1990s onward — Worked on rebuilding struggling family cement businesses.

2008 — Became part of the ownership business behind Kolkata Knight Riders.

2015 — Said the cement businesses had become debt-free.

2023 — Gujarat Sidhee Cement’s merger with Saurashtra Cement became effective.

2024 — Became Executive Chairman of Saurashtra Cement.

2025 — Changed to Non-Executive Chairman on 26 September.

2026 — Remains active across Saurashtra Cement, ADF Foods, Mehta Group and Knight Riders-linked business interests.

Verified Interesting Facts

• He joined Saurashtra Cement’s board in 1987.
• He studied engineering before business management.
• He graduated from Columbia in 1983.
• He completed his IMD MBA in 1991.
• He said the cement businesses became debt-free in 2015.
• He has called cricket one of his best investments.
• He remains connected with Columbia through its Board of Visitors.
• His two children also studied at Columbia.
• His KKR connection is a direct business ownership link.
• His Saurashtra Cement role became non-executive in September 2025.
• Gujarat Sidhee Cement is no longer a separate current company position.

Final Thought

Jay Mehta is often introduced through Juhi Chawla or KKR.

That is only part of the story.

His own career stretches across decades of cement, company boards, family business work and investment.

The strongest facts point to a businessman with long roots in the Mehta Group, formal training from Columbia and IMD, years spent fixing difficult companies, and a major ownership connection to Kolkata Knight Riders.

His celebrity connection made the name famous.

His business record came first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Jay Mehta?

Jay Mehta is an Indian businessman linked with the Mehta Group, Saurashtra Cement, ADF Foods and Knight Riders Group.

How old is Jay Mehta?

He was born on 18 January 1961, so he is 65 years old as of September 2026.

What does Jay Mehta do?

He is a businessman and company director. He currently serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Saurashtra Cement and as a Non-Executive Director of ADF Foods.

Is Jay Mehta the owner of KKR?

Yes. He is part of the ownership group behind Kolkata Knight Riders through the Knight Riders business.

Who is Jay Mehta’s wife?

His wife is Indian actress Juhi Chawla. They married in 1995.

Does Jay Mehta have children?

Yes. He and Juhi Chawla have two children, Jahnavi Mehta and Arjun Mehta.

Where did Jay Mehta study?

He studied Industrial Engineering at Columbia University and later completed an MBA at IMD in Lausanne.

Is Jay Mehta still Executive Chairman of Saurashtra Cement?

No. Since 26 September 2025, he has served as Non-Executive Chairman.

What happened to Gujarat Sidhee Cement?

Gujarat Sidhee Cement merged into Saurashtra Cement in 2023.

What is Jay Mehta’s net worth?

There is no strong public source that proves one exact personal net-worth figure. Exact figures from generic wealth websites should be treated with caution.

Was Jay Mehta personally charged in the KKR FEMA notice?

The cited 2017 Enforcement Directorate report named Knight Riders Sports, Gauri Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. It did not list Jay Mehta as an individual notice recipient.

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