KBC First Winner: When Harshvardhan Navathe won ₹1 crore in the first season of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC) in the year 2000, he became famous all over India. More than two decades later, Navathe has built an illustrious leadership career in the corporate and social development sector. Let us know how Amitabh Bachchan’s show changed his life and what he is doing now.
From KBC fame to corporate leadership
Navathe is working with JSW. In December 2025, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JSW Foundation, the social responsibility arm of the JSW Group. As CEO, he oversees the Foundation’s strategic direction and social impact work across India. Before assuming the role of CEO, he was serving as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) since May 2023 and helping lead its development and sustainability programs.
His LinkedIn profile reads, “An experienced social sector and development professional with strong entrepreneurial skills; I have held key management positions and played a key role in designing and managing large projects in the corporate, social business and not-for-profit sectors.” Before joining JSW Foundation, Navathe worked with NatWest Group as Director and Head of Sustainable Banking Performance, Frameworks, Giving and Governance. He was also previously associated with Welspun Group, where he served as Vice President Group CSR and COO of Welspun Foundation
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How KBC changed his life
In 2024, Navathe returned to KBC for a special episode and revealed how the famous quiz show changed his life. Earlier in 2021, she talked about her journey after KBC in an interview with Hindustan Times and said, after the show, I got recognition and financial security. Obviously, popularity changes the way people look at you. It’s been great to meet people and be recognized on different platforms.” He further said, “To be successful in life, it is important to be clear in which direction you want to move forward. For the first few months, I lived like a rock star. People used to wait for autographs in my building complex. Couldn’t move anywhere easily and needed some security. Therefore, I got police protection for a long time.
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