Sivathanu Pillai better known as the "Father of BrahMos Aerospace" holds the rank of "Distinguished Scientist" at the Defence Research and Development Organisation at the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of India. He also holds the position of the Chief executive officer. He was due to retire on August 2007such is his expertise and his dedication to his work that he had been warded a further tenured service extension by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Early Life of Sivathanu Pillai
Born on the dawn of the oncoming Indian Independence15 July 1947; Sivathanu Pillai as if brought with him the dawn of progress, hope and enlightenment for the Indian mortal millions. Dr.A. Sivathanu Pillai pursued his Electrical Engineering from Madras University completed his Management Programme at Harvard Business School, PhD from Pune University and D.Sc from Tumkur University. He is Distinguished Scientist and Chief Controller (Research & Development) of DRDO and also Chief Executive and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace a unique. As the brainchild of the BrahMos-Supersonic Cruise Missile project, Dr. Pillai has conceived and provided outstanding leadership its design, development, production and marketing. Having worked alongside some of India`s greatest visionaries including Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Prof. Satish Dhawan and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on a slew of projects ranging from Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) to Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), Dr. Pillai has been at the core of missile research since 1969.

Contribution of Sivathanu Pillai
When the run of the mill commonplace mass were deep delved in average thought that military prowess was directly proportional to manpower and all about it, a few men dared to envision the D day when science and technology would drastically enhance the developing nation`s combating abilities and existential crisis as posed by the global super powers.

Sivathanu Pillai is regarded as the Father of BRAHMOS, the joint venture between India and Russia to design, develop, produce and market the supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS. His dazzling leadership qualities made India proud to possess the fastest, highly precise and the most potent missile BRAHMOS which is now inducted in the Indian Armed Forces. BRAHMOS is a world leader in the family of Cruise Missiles surpassing those in the developed countries. Well known as a defence technologist in the world, Dr. Pillai has been recognised by many prestigious engineering and management institutions with Fellowships.

Dr. Pillai`s four decades of experience in ISRO and DRDO under the great visionary leaders Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Prof. Satish Dhawan has earned him his skilful proficiency and scientific vicinity. As Programme Director of IGMDP, Dr. Pillai played a key role and introduced innovative management systems and made considerable contribution for the progress of Agni, Prithvi, Nag and Akash missiles. He also led to the development of many societal products as spin offs from missile technologies, especially the cost effective light weight callipers for 30,000 polio affected children. In recognition of his outstanding work, Dr. Pillai has been honoured with several awards, including the Padma Shri and the Vikram Sarabhai Research Award among others.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam made him a Technology Leader in the field of launch vehicles and guided missiles. His contributions to the successful development of SLV 3 as a core team member and evolution of PSLV configuration for ISRO have been remarkable. His skills in networking multiple institutions for the development of critical missile technologies overcoming denial regimes enabled realization of Agni, Prithvi, Nag and Akash missiles under the IGMDP as Programme Director.

Sivathanu Pillai is regarded as the Father of BRAHMOS, the joint venture between India and Russia to design, develop, produce and market the supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS. His outstanding leadership qualities made India proud to possess the fastest, highly precise and the most potent missile BRAHMOS which is now inducted in the Indian Armed Forces. BRAHMOS is a world leader in the family of Cruise Missiles surpassing those in the developed countries. Well known as a defence technologist in the world, Dr. Pillai has been recognised by many prestigious engineering and management institutions with Fellowships. He is a certified Level `A` Project Director of IPMA. Dr. Pillai has written many books including Revolution in Leadership Nano Science and Nano Technology for Engineering He is the co author with Dr. Kalam for the books Envisioning an Empowered Nation and the recently published Thoughts for Change Dr.Pillai is a recipient of various prestigious awards including Padma Shri (2002) & Padma Bhushan(2013)for his contribution to Aerospace and Missile Technologies.

Sivathanu Pillai has received many Honorary Doctorates from reputed Universities of India and Russia. The Moscow University of "Security, Defence and Law Enforcement" honoured Dr. Pillai with the Order of the Peter the Great and the Academician of the University. Dr. Pillai has published many papers in the international and national journals and conferences.