Ajit Chandra Chatterjee was born in 1923 in Lahore of undivided India.
After a successful career in the Indian Railways (where he was a Divisional Superintendent in the Bhusawal and Bombay divisions of the Central Railway), he joined the public sector. He served with distinction as the Chairman & Managing Director of Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation (MAMC) in Durgapur, WB during 1970-77. He took over the company when it was slated to be shut down and lead its recovery to a profit making public enterprise. For his efforts in this revival, he was conferred the Padma Shri award by the government of India.Padma Shri Awards (1970-1979)
He then served as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Heavy Engineering Corporation in Ranchi, Bihar from 1977-80. He also served as a member of the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) and as a director in several other companies.
After his retirement from government service, he served as a director in the Peerless General Finance and Investments Ltd (PGFI) in the 1990s as well as in its subsidiary, Peerless Hotels Ltd.