Lakshmi Venkatesh is Vice President and General Manager of Kent Engineering in India. The office provides engineering and project services for the energy industry across the world and has more than 1200 employees in Mumbai and Vadodara.

Lakshmi is a chemical engineering graduate from ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology) Mumbai. She has been bestowed the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Institute in the Professional category for the year 2025. In the four decades of her career, she has grown from a graduate engineer to heading multinational companies in the oil and gas sector. She has worked in companies like Larsen & Toubro, Aker Solutions and Petrofac International prior to Kent.

Lakshmi was awarded the "Woman Executive of the Year" In 2019 by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industries (FIPI). Her technical capabilities have been recognized by MEPEC (Middle East Process Engineering Conference) vide Leadership Excellence for Women Awards in 2013.