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equalresearch · 2 years
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Sensex Rises Over 300 Points Amid Positive Global Cues, Nifty Trades Above 16,200
Indian equity benchmarks traded higher on opening trades on Friday, taking a cue from global markets.
Indian equity benchmarks traded higher on opening trades on Friday, taking a cue from global markets. Asian stocks followed Wall Street gains overnight as fears of an economic slowdown eased. Additionally, the pound began to recover from recent losses after Boris Johnson stepped down as British Prime Minister.
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Trends in Nifty Futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) have indicated a cautious start for national indices.
The 30-stock BSE Sensex Index jumped 316 points or 0.58% to 54,495 at the start of the session, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 104 points or 0.64% to 16,236.
Small and mid cap stocks were trading on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 was up 0.32% and small caps were up 0.59%.
13 of the 15 sector indicators - compiled by the National Stock Exchange - were traded in green. The Nifty Bank and Nifty Auto sub-indices outperformed the NSE platform up 0.67% and 0.77% respectively.
On the specific stock front, M&M was Nifty's best gain as the stock climbed 2.80% to ₹ 1,165.05. Winners also include L&T, Coal India, Axis Bank and NTPC.
The overall market size was positive as 1,715 stocks were advancing while 622 were down on BSE.
In the BSE 30-share index, L&T, M&M, NTPC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, UltraTech Cement, PowerGrid, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma and Wipro were among the best gainers.
Additionally, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's largest insurer and largest national financial investor, were up 1.17% to ₹ 706.30.
Conversely, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, TCS, Bajaj Finance, Dr Reddy's, and Maruti all traded in the red.
Sensex was up 427 points or 0.80% to close at 54,178 on Thursday, while Nifty was up 143 points or 0.89% to settle at 16,133.
 For more information, visit: https://theequaleresearch.com/
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zerobrokerage65 · 2 years
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Top 10 Stock Brokers In India
Top 10 Stock Brokers In India
Are you new to trading and the stock broking market? Don’t know which platform will be good to be started? Well, here is Top 10 Stock Brokers In India that you must know before you start your trading journey. All these have different plans, features and brokerage fees.
Let's have a look at the products, services, and features of these stock broking platforms in a detailed manner-
Upstox: With this, you can get various services such as commodities, currency, equities, futures, and many more. They’re known for providing better trading services at highly affordable costs. By using the Upstox trading platform, you will be provided with different trading features of analysis and charting. New traders can get started with Upstox for its qualitative trading services and products.
Zerodha: Zerodha provides numerous technological add-ons, products, and services to the investors that are good for them for their stock and securities trading. It is featured simplified modern-day trading for the new age and beginner traders. Also, Zerodha has numerous total active client base which makes it the largest stock broker in India.
ICICI Direct: With this stock trading platform, traders get a 3-in-1 account for ICICI bank Account, ICICI Trading Account, and ICICI Demat Account. It also offers a platform for both online trading and investment services.  With over 50 lakh customers, it has become of the best stock brokers in India.
Angel Broking: Angel Broking is a full-service broking platform that is dedicated to retail stock trading and it offers expert advisory services. Currently, this stock broker offers a flat rate brokerage plan as ‘Angel iTrade PRIME’. Some of its main offerings are Equity Trading, Investment Advisory, Life Insurance, etc.
Sharekhan: In the Stock broking industry, Sharekhan is India’s third-largest stock broking service provider. This platform introduced the online trading concept in India and it also provides brokerage services through the online trading website. Its investment activities are both in both BSE and NSE.
Wisdom Capital: Wisdom Capital has three softwares that ensure hassle-free trading for investors. Also, there is a facility for semi and fully automated Algo trading. With Wisdom Capital platform, website, mobile app and installable trading terminals are all free for the traders.
5paisa: It is one of the top 10 stock brokers in India that offers discount brokerage services to retail investors. This is a Mumbai based stock broking company that is known for offering offers the lowest brokerage in India. Currently, they are having more than 1.2 million customers. This platform charges only Rs 20 brokerage irrespective of the size of the trade, or exchange.
HDFC Securities: Is is one of the platforms through which traders can get both online and offline trading listings. They also offer 3 in 1 account that includes your HDFC Securities trading account, existing HDFC bank savings account, and existing Demat account. Some of the options of these platforms are Future trading, day trading, options trading, long term investment, and IPO investment.
Motilal Oswal: This stock broker has a wide range of investment choices for the traders that include mutual funds, insurance, derivatives, equity, IPO, and fixed deposit. Motilal Oswal has also been awarded the “Best Performing Equity Broker” by CNBC TV18.
IIFL or India Infoline: India Infoline is one of the fastest growing financial brokerage firms in India that has acquired a wide customer base in the trading industry. It provides different investment and trading products and services at reasonable brokerage charges. You’ll get different options of trade in all types of investment with just one single trading platform.
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equalresearch · 2 years
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SIP accounts reach an all-time high of 5.55 crores, investment of 12,276 crores
Despite the continued sale of foreign investors from Indian stock markets, the decline in global markets, the weakness of the rupee, the rise in inflation, retail investors have confidence in mutual funds. Last June, the number of SIP accounts hit an all-time high of 5.55 crore. Not only this, the investment from SIP also reached an all-time high of Rs 12,276 crore.
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The mutual fund portfolio grew 31% year-on-year
According to data from Amfi, an association of mutual fund companies, equity funds recorded net investments for the 16th consecutive month in June. The asset under management in the sector reached an all-time high of Rs 35.64 lakh crore. The number of mutual fund portfolios grew 31% year-on-year. These increased to 13.46 crore from 10.25 crore in June 2021.
The number of SIP accounts hit an all-time high of 5.55 crore. The net AUM of the retail schemes (Equity + Hybrid + Solution Oriented) grew 16% yoy to Rs 17.91 lakh crore. Retail schemes saw positive net flow of Rs 13,338 crore in June for the 16th consecutive month after March 2021.
All retail equity schemes recorded positive inflows in June
says NS Venkatesh, CEO of Amfi, the trend of small investors to save through SIPs. The mega trend of financialization of savings also continues in the country. All retail equity schemes, indices, ETFs and FoFs showed positive investments in June. This reflects the confidence of retail mutual fund investors towards long-term growth amidst the ups and downs of the stock market.
For more information, visit: https://theequaleresearch.com/
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charliebilello · 7 years
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Do Hedge Funds Really Deliver Alpha?
"No matter how you "slice-and-dice the data,” hedge funds are struggling to meet their promise to clients to consistently produce high returns with low correlation to markets. It’s kind of: ‘I promise you a Rolls Royce and I give you a Honda.'" - Matt Granade, Chief Market Intelligence Officer, Point72 Asset Management
There are more Hedge Funds in the world than Dunkin' Donuts.
What does that statement have to do with negative alpha? Everything.
Too many funds + similar strategies + limited opportunity set + high fees = underwhelming returns.
Simply put: there’s not enough alpha to go around.
Back in the day, long/short equity funds (the largest hedge fund strategy by assets) actually used to hedge. They used to take risk. They used to look quite different than the overall stock market. And they used to deliver alpha.
How do they look today?
In aggregate, like a lower beta version of an index fund. With a correlation of 0.87 to the S&P 500 over the past few years, they pretty much move in lockstep with the market.
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Note: the HFRI Equity Hedge Index is comprised of investment managers who maintain positions, both long and short, in primarily equity and equity derivative securities.
With such a high correlation, those using long/short funds to "protect" against the next bear market are likely to be highly disappointed when it comes.
How do we know this? We have a number of data points in recent years.
In 2008, when the S&P 500 lost 37%, long/short funds were down 26.7%. In 2011, when the S&P 500 dropped 16.3% from May through September (monthly closing basis), long/short equity funds lost 13.2%.
Since March 2009, the S&P 500 has had 29 down months with an average return during those months of -2.9%. Long/Short funds were down in 28 out of 29 of those months with an average return of -1.8%.
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As long as their net exposure to the broad market remains high (not a lot of hedging), investors should expect the next downturn in equities to lead to a similar result.
This might be acceptable if long/short funds were "delivering alpha" as promised, but as you can see in the chart below, the only alpha delivered in recent years has been negative.
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Investors who merely wanted a lower correlation equity option would have been better served with a simple combination of 50% Utilities/50% Consumer Staples (the 2 lowest beta sectors) than an exposure to long/short funds.
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The returns since 2003 are not even close, and such a combination (Utilities/Staples) even outperformed in 2008. Beyond performance, there is no comparison in terms of increased transparency/liquidity and lower fees from Utilities/Staples ETFs versus a hedge fund.
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Note: Many Hedge Fund Investors believe that the HFRI Equity Hedge Index overstates returns due to survivorship bias. As such, I have also included the investable HFRX Equity Hedge for comparison purposes. Actual performance is likely somewhere in between the two.
That’s not to say there aren’t unique long/short hedge funds out there that actually do something different and add value to a diversified portfolio over time. There certainly are, but not nearly as many as people believe and picking them before they exhibit strong performance is not nearly as easy as advertised.
Overall, long/short equity as an asset class has not been additive to portfolios in years. What could change that? Less funds chasing the same opportunities, with more alpha to go around.
On that front, the market finally seems to be moving in the right direction, on pace for a 3rd straight year of net hedge fund closures:
“Thus far this year (through the second quarter, the most recent date for which HFR has data available), 481 hedge funds have shut down, compared with the 369 that have been launched. 2017 is on track to be the third straight year that the number of liquidations have outpaced the number of funds coming to market.” – Source: HFR, MarketWatch
Is that enough for these funds to start delivering alpha again? Only time will tell, but as long as there's more hedge funds than Dunkin' Donuts, count me a skeptic.
***
Related Posts:
The Hedge Fund Myth
The Market Neutral Fantasy
To sign up for our free newsletter, click here.
This writing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation regarding any securities transaction, or as an offer to provide advisory or other services by Pension Partners, LLC in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The information contained in this writing should not be construed as financial or investment advice on any subject matter. Pension Partners, LLC expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken based on any or all of the information on this writing.
CHARLIE BILELLO, CMT
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Charlie Bilello is the Director of Research at Pension Partners, LLC, an investment advisor that manages mutual funds and separate accounts. He is the co-author of four award-winning research papers on market anomalies and investing. Mr. Bilello is responsible for strategy development, investment research and communicating the firm’s investment themes and portfolio positioning to clients. Prior to joining Pension Partners, he was the Managing Member of Momentum Global Advisors and previously held positions as a Credit, Equity and Hedge Fund Analyst at billion dollar alternative investment firms.
Mr. Bilello holds a J.D. and M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Fordham University and a B.A. in Economics from Binghamton University. Charlie holds a J.D. and M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Fordham University and a B.A. in Economics from Binghamton University. He is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and also holds the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate.
In 2017, Charlie was named the StockTwits Person of the Year. He is a frequent contributor to Yahoo Finance and has been interviewed on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business.
You can follow Charlie on twitter here.
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brigittetwiss · 7 years
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Ed Butowsky
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Ed Butowsky, managing partner of Chapwood Investments, LLC has the unique ability to recognize how current events affect investment portfolios.
An internationally recognized expert in the investment wealth management and personal finance industry, he was featured in “Broke,” the critically acclaimed ESPN “30 for 30” documentary that chronicles professional athletes and their financial experiences, and in the most popular Sports Illustrated article ever: “How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke.”
Celebrities and athletes count on Ed Butowsky to provide advice on everything from contract negotiations and agent disputes to family finances and how people with money can take steps to keep it.
Ed is a mentor to up-and-coming athletes and their parents, but it isn’t only public figures who seek his advice. Private individuals come to him in search of new strategies for their financial concerns. Ed Butowsky is best known for his straight talk and his willingness to roll up his sleeves and find solutions to issues that others want no part of. His more than 25 years in the financial services industry began at Morgan Stanley, where he was a senior vice president in private wealth management. In his 18 years there, he was the firm’s top producer nationally as well as the first adviser to surpass $1 billion in assets under management. Ed Butowsky was recognized as a member of both the Chairman’s Club and the Equity Club, distinctions reserved for only the top advisers at Morgan Stanley.
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Ed’s unique talent for taking a news story, explaining if and how it affects people’s finances and offering suggestions for action has made him a sought-after commentator, and he has appeared hundreds of times on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNBC, Fox Business News, FOX News Channel, Bloomberg TV and China TV. Ed Butowsky is often seen on “Varney and Co,” “Closing Bell,” “Street Signs,” “Your World with Cavuto,” “America Live with Megyn Kelly,” “Willis Report,” “America’s News HQ,” “Taking Stock with Pimm Fox” and “Wilkow! with Andrew Wilkow.” Ed Butowsky has appeared on TheBlaze TV and is a Blaze Branded Contributor for The Blaze online. Additionally, he is an op-ed contributor who has written articles relating to financial topics for National Center for Policy Analysis, FoxBusiness.com, FoxNews.com, Breitbart.com and others. He was a keynote speaker at the American Bar Association Bankruptcy Division and was featured in the PBS Frontline interview “To Catch a Trader.” Ed Butowsky serves as a Board Member for Reclaim New York, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank dedicated to advancing a grassroots conversation about the future of New York, it’s economy and it’s people.
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Ed regularly talks about wealth management and other timely subjects related to finance and investment on radio shows around the country, including “Mad Dog Radio” and “Bloomberg Radio.” Ed Butowsky was featured as one of seven financial coaches/experts in the first-of-its-kind online reality series, “The Invested Life,” a nine-month series that featured real people facing common investment concerns and their journey to take control of their finances. Ed Butowsky has lectured at Yale University, NYU Stern School of Business and SMU Cox School of Business, and he speaks to financial advisers throughout the U.S. on how to manage portfolios properly. He is the originator of the CHIP score, the first metric designed to evaluate and score a portfolio’s strength based on all elements that attribute to performance: rate of return, risk, inflation, taxes, management fees and investment fees. He is also the creator of the Chapwood Index, a real cost of living index that shows, on a quarterly basis, a more accurate figure than the Consumer Price Index for cost of living increases in the nation’s top 50 major metropolitan areas. In 2005, Ed Butowsky launched Chapwood Investments, LLC, a private wealth management advisory firm that focuses on providing comprehensive financial counseling and investment advice to wealthy families and individuals. Under the management of Ed Butowsky and his partner, Kim Sams, Chapwood Investments was awarded the 2015 Alternative Investment Award for Excellence in Investment Wealth Management – USA. A respected member of the Greater Dallas community, Ed lives with his wife and 2 children in Plano, Texas. He is an avid tennis and golf player. Ed Butowskyis an accomplished speaker on a variety of investment topics. via Blogger http://brigittetwisss.blogspot.com/2017/11/ed-butowsky.html
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Wealth|Stack: How to Build Your Business
Digital Elixir Wealth|Stack: How to Build Your Business
  I really love the concept we created for this event: INVESTING + TECH = THE FUTURE OF ADVICE.
There is a month to go until the Wealth|Stack conference, and we are all super stoked about this. We partnered with the folks at Inside ETFs to coproduce an event that is truly outstanding. Its near Camelback Mountain at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Arizona, Sunday, September 8th through Tuesday, September 10th. About three quarters the attendees are from the RIA / Independent adviser community, and rest from the world of FinTech (Software, custodians, apps, private equity, etc).
But what I really wanted to highlight are a few speakers — people who can teach you about how to build, grow and manage an advisory firm:
Shirl Penney is the founder of Dynasty Financial Partners, and serves as president and CEO. Dynasty is a leading integrated platform services company for independent wealth management advisory firms. It has garnered too many industry awards to mention. Shirl was named to Investment News’ 2015 list of 40 most influential people in wealth management under the age of 40. He was also named to the 2016 inaugural list of Icons and Innovators in wealth management by Investment News. Launched in 2010, the firm now manages over $35 billion dollars.
Joe Duran is CEO and founding partner of United Capital, the nation’s first and largest financial life management company. Joe previously built Centurion Capital (sold to GE Financial in 2001). Duran was a recipient of the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2015 and the Schwab Pacesetter Impact award. United Capital currently manages more than $16 billion in client assets and advises on $7 billion in plan assets. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs purchased United for $750 million in cash.
Peter Mallouk is president of Creative Planning. The firm has consistently been ranked as one of the best wealth management shops in the country by Barrons, CNBC, Forbes, Financial Times and others. Peter acquired the firm in 2004,m and has since turned it into a powerhouse. Creative Planning manages over $40 billion for clients. (I’ll be recording a live Masters in Business with Peter at the event)
If you want to improve your business or learn how some of the smartest most successful people in the industry built powerhouse ethical fiduciary firms, there are none better. Shirl, Joe and Peter each built the most successful advisers of this era. If you are managing a book of business, or running an advisory firm or RIA, and want to learn how to do so better, these are who you want to learn from. (And that’s just three of the speakers from a full line up of superstars).
This event will sell out. These are the last of the tickets available at any sort of a discount — once this run is gone, everything goes back to full price:
Sign up here Wealth/Stack 2019 registration.
We built this event to help RIAs improve how they manage their businesses and to better serve their clients. It is for advisors by advisers. Don’t miss it. 
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Wealth|Stack: How to Build Your Business
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ebenpink · 5 years
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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 26, 2019 http://bit.ly/2IYAk50
British intelligence agency GCHQ has repeatedly said Huawei needs to be closely monitored but has not called for a ban. Photo: Reuters
SCMP: Five Eyes spies play down split as ‘Huawei leak’ roils UK government * UK PM urged to investigate who leaked decision about Huawei’s role in Britain’s 5G network from confidential meeting of her National Security Council * Britain appears set to allow Huawei a restricted role in building parts of the network, as Chinese tech giant ‘welcomes report’ Five Eyes cybersecurity chiefs have played down suggestions of a split in the alliance following a politically explosive leak that the UK government will ignore US pressure and give Chinese technology giant Huawei a role in building its 5G networks. According to an article in The Daily Telegraph, the contents of which were not denied, the 10-member National Security Council (NSC) chaired by the embattled Prime Minister Theresa May agreed on Tuesday to allow Huawei access to noncore parts of the 5G system, but block it from all core parts where data is exchanged. Read more ....
Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 26, 2019
Here’s which leading countries have barred, and welcomed, Huawei’s 5G technology -- CNBC Huawei ban: Australia becomes increasingly isolated among Five Eyes partners if UK includes Chinese firm in 5G network -- SCMP Britain’s Huawei call ‘risks Five Eyes alliance’ -- The Australian Five Eyes Must Lead on 5G -- Rep. Mike Gallagher and Tom Tugendhat, MP, War On The Rocks Look, up in the sky! A Russian 'spy' plane will fly above the Omaha area on Friday -- Omaha World-Herald Navy to christen guided missile destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson on Saturday -- UPI Bound for the brig? New detention facility fashion revealed! -- Navy times Aging Sealift Fleet Is Achilles Heel Of Pentagon War Plans -- Loren Thompson, Forbes A new sniper MOS? Marines are testing a ‘proof of concept’ for scout snipers -- Marine Times Lockheed awarded $723.6M for Hellfire II missiles for Army, allies -- UPI GAO Hits F-35 Readiness, Blames Parts Pipeline -- Air Force Magazine Government watchdog finds more problems with F-35’s spare parts pipeline -- Defense News Trump leaves Pentagon power vacuum -- Politico China, Russia… ‘we all have to get rid’ of nukes, Trump says amid reports he eyes arms control deal -- RT Not dead yet: Nuclear weapons agency moves to save Jason advisory group -- Defense News Air Force secretary raised ethical concerns about Shanahan -- Defense News Defense Department to take over background investigations for federal government -- The Hill Pentagon Ends 59-Year Contract With Top-Secret Group of Advisors - Report -- Sputnik Is Cyber Command really being more ‘aggressive’ in cyberspace? -- Mark Pomerleau, Fifth Domain N. Korean criticism raises concerns that scaled-back military drills have reaped little payoff -- Stars and Stripes How the US military's opium war in Afghanistan was lost -- Justin Rowlatt, BBC Russian Navy Ever Less Capable of Supporting Putin’s War Plans -- RCD Russia to Display Its Surface-to-Air Missile Systems in Istanbul -- Sputnik China wants to turn its training aircraft carrier into a combat ship — here's how it stacks up against US carriers -- Business Insider China begins joint naval drills with six Southeast Asian nations -- SCMP ‘A Very Big Gap’: China’s PLARF Outclasses US Missiles, Puts Carriers At Risk -- Sputnik Japan is expanding the hunt for its F-35 that disappeared over the Pacific -- Business Insider/Reuters ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is heading back to theaters for the 75th anniversary of D-Day -- Military Times Ben Affleck is making a movie about the secret Army unit that tricked the Nazis with a 'ghost army' -- Business Insider from War News Updates http://bit.ly/2GIQSw8 via IFTTT
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simplemlmsponsoring · 6 years
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New Post has been published on http://simplemlmsponsoring.com/attraction-marketing-formula/copywriting/50-content-marketing-influencers-you-need-to-follow/
50 Content Marketing Influencers You Need To Follow
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Have you ever had someone try to sell you something? Considering how ad-heavy our world is today, it is likely that you have. It is also very likely that an ad alone is not going to engage you enough to purchase the item or service.
You do not feel any connection with a mere ask, but you probably feel differently when the ask includes a story that adds value or makes the company relatable to you. This is where content marketing comes into play.
Content Marketing allows brands to speak to you while coming across as authentic, empathetic, and dedicated to connecting with you. It is a blog post that informs you of industry changes or a video on social media that reveals a customer reviewing the brand. For the foreseeable future, content will remain as king.
According to Content Marketing Institute, content marketing receives 3 times the leads per dollar spent when compared to paid search. It also brings in conversion rates 6 times higher than other channels. 
The power to influence and engage an audience is what makes content marketing influential. In turn, those who understand content marketing, are successful with it, and sharing their insights about it are highly sought after and increasingly quoted.
The individuals below have established themselves as content marketing influencers as they truly get the nuances of content marketing and the impact it has on consumers all over the world.
If you are looking for some expert takeaways on content marketing, take a look at our list of influential content marketers you should be following.
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Content Marketing Influencers: Who Are They?
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Jeff Bullas – Influencer, Author, and Blogger
Over the past decade, Jeff Bullas has been at the forefront of offering actionable advice to content marketers and Chief Marketing Officers. Through jeffbullas.com, he has shared his insights into using content to increase conversions and widen audiences. He has been called a “Top Influencer for Chief Marketing Officers,” by Forbes, and has been listed as one of the “50 Marketing Influencers to Watch,” by Entrepreneur.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Joe Pulizzi – Founder of Content Marketing Institute
Author, public speaker, and philanthropist, Joe Pulizzi is the mastermind behind the Content Marketing Institute, the leading educational institute for content marketing. His efforts at promoting best practices for content marketing were recognized in 2014 when he was awarded the John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award by the Content Council. Currently, among other initiatives, Pulizzi fundraises for the Orange Effect Foundation.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Neil Patel – Co-Founder of Neil Patel Digital
Called “Top Influencer on the Web” by The Wall Street Journal, and known as a “Top 10 Marketer,” by the New York Times, Neil Patel has become a leading voice for those in the digital and content marketing sphere. He has created his own successful digital agency that focuses on providing honest feedback to clients while helping them enhance their own ROI. He has been recognized as a “Top 100 Entrepreneur Under 30,” by former President Barack Obama, and his company was featured on the list of “100 Brilliant Companies.”
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Ann Handley – Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs
When it comes to content marketing, Ann Handley has done a bit of it everything. She is a speaker, author, and current member of the LinkedIn Influencer program. Currently, she works as the Chief Content Officer for MarketingProfs. She has been cited by Forbes as “The Most Influential Woman on Social Media,” and recognized by ForbesWoman as one of “The Top 20 Women Bloggers.”
Find her on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Michael Brenner – Speaker, Author, and CEO of Marketing Insider Group
Michael Brenner has brought a customer-centric and creative approach to his insights on content and digital marketing. Over the past two decades, Brenner honed his approach while working with Nielsen, FullTilt, ICR, SAP, and NewsCred.
Today, he is a globally recognized speaker, bestselling author, and CEO of the Marketing Insider Group, a marketing firm that has helped numerous companies cultivate successful approaches to marketing.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn.  
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Mark Schaefer – Speaker, Business Consultant, Author
Mark Schaefer has over 30 years of experience working in global sales, PR, and marketing. He is a faculty member of the graduate studies program at Rutgers University, and has taken what he has learned through his decades of experience and poured it into his blog, keynote speaking opportunities, and numerous writings.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Steve Cartwright – UI/UX Design Director & Web Designer of website-designs.com
While much of content marketing include conversations about verbiage, SEO, and overall content strategy, the user experience is a crucial piece that can often be left by the wayside. Steve Cartwright has bridged this gap and made website design and UX a necessary topic in regards to content marketing. He is currently a UI/UX Director for Nimble Collective Inc. and a Design Leadership Forum Member for Invision.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Jay Baer – Founder of Convince & Convert
Jay Baer is the founder of Convince & Convert, an analysis and advisory firm that creates digital marketing strategies for organizations looking to increase their marketing reach. Baer has 25 years of experience in the marketing industry and is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 6 books, He has worked with the likes of Hilton, Grand Ole Opry, Cisco, and Arizona State University.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Marcus Miller – Internet Marketing and SEO Consultant for Bowler Hat
Marcus Miller has over 18 years of experience as a consultant focusing on SEO, PPC and Digital Marketing. His marketing firm, Bowler Hat, works with small and mid-sized businesses across the world to help them develop effective digital marketing strategies. He has been a Developer for Mobile Fun and Opera Telecom, as well as a graduate from Birmingham City University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Lilach Bullock – Online Business Expert, Speaker, and Coach for LilachBullock.com
Listed as one of Forbes “Top 20 Women Social Media Influencers,” and named as “The Top Digital Marketing Influencer,” by Career Experts, Lilach Bullock has made a noticeable splash in the world of digital marketing. She has had years of success as an entrepreneur, and international digital agency owner. Since 2009, she has given one-on-one actionable marketing advice to clients to help them build their businesses online. Bullock has been featured in Forbes, The Telegraph, Wired, The Sunday Times, and The Guardian.
Find her on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Lee Odden – CEO and Co-Founder of TopRank Marketing
Lee Odden is an avid blogger, talented speaker, and author. He is the CEO and co-founder of TopRank Marketing, a digital marketing agency that has served the likes of McKesson, Dell, and LinkedIn.
Odden has gone across the globe to share his insights regarding data-informed and customer-centric marketing. He has provided consulting for numerous Fortune 500 companies and has created over 3,300 blog posts related to his marketing advice.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Neal Schaffer – Speaker and CEO at Maximize Your Social
Named as one of marketing’s “Ten Biggest Thought Leaders,” by CMO.com, and recognized by Forbes as a “Top Five Social Sales Influencer,” Neal Schaffer is a prominent voice in the world of business oriented social media. He is a creator of the social media for business blog, Maximize Your Social, a faculty member of Rutgers University Mini-Social Media MBA Program, and an author responsible for one of the most significant books on social media creation “Maximize Your Social: A One-Stop Guide to Building a Social Media Strategy for Marketing and Business Success.”
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Larry Kim – CEO at MobileMonkey
Larry Kim is a one-stop-shop guru on the utilization of Facebook Ads and messaging for marketing optimization. Kim is the CEO of MobileMonkey, a platform that helps companies engage with customers using Facebook Messenger. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, Kim is a contributor to CNBC and Inc. Magazine. He has been ranked as the eighth most popular author on Medium and has been recognized by PPC Hero, Search Engine Land, and the US Search Awards.
Find him on Twitter & LinkedIn. 
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Pam Moore – CEO and Co-founder of Marketing Nutz
With over 15 years of experience in corporate marketing and product management, Pam Moore has honed her craft regarding brand management and digital marketing optimization. She is a bestselling author, highly sought-after speaker, and has been ranked by Forbes as a “Top 10 Social Media Power Influencer.” In 2012, she launched Marketing Nutz, which has worked with clients such as HP, Sony Playstation Group, IBM, & more. In addition to managing Marketing Nutz, she hosts the popular Social Zoom Factor podcast.
Find her on Twitter & LinkedIn.
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Robert Rose – Founder of The Content Advisory
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31 Topmost M&A Lawyers in India
This article is written by Pranay Bhattacharya, student at MNLU Aurangabad.
  India is one of the growing markets for M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). This article is a modest effort to mention some of the most sought-after lawyers in the field of M&A.
The list here is an alphabetical list and we don’t suggest that any of them is better or superior to the other.
AJAY BHAL: He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AZB & Partners (merged with Chambers of Zia and Bahram in 2004, and formed AZB & Partners), and he heads the Delhi team of the firm. He has over 30 years of M&A experience and is associated with big Indian business houses, multinational corporations and international organizations. He practices in M&A including tax, Private Equity Investments, Foreign Exchange related advisory work, Securities Regulations, and Taxation including Tax Litigation regulatory issues for corporate acquisitions etc. He also has expertise in litigation and tax accountancy matters, structuring, restructuring and transfer pricing-related issues. He has presented himself as an independent expert on behalf of Government of India on tax and accounting matters before the International Court of Justice, The Hague. He has also represented as counsel and co-counsel in various arbitral positions between large US companies. He also advised the government of India in matters related to M&A on various occasions.
Education:
Chartered Accountant (1979)
B.A. from University of Delhi (1985)
Memberships and Affiliations:
Member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) economic growth and investments council.
Board of governors of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
Bar Association of India.
International Bar Association.
Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce of Indian (FICCI).
Indian Management Association.
Served as a member of the committee constituted by the Ministry of Finance in India, formed to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act.
Member of the Appellate Panel, formed by the Institute of Insolvency Professionals.
Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
Member of the Committee to review the offences under the Companies Act, 2013 constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India in July 2018.
Accomplishments
Named as a leading attorney in the field of M&A by Asia Pacific Legal500.
Listed as “world’s leading tax advisors” by Tax Directors Handbook.
Named as Star Individual for M&A by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific.
Named as Leading Lawyer for M&A in 2013 and 2014 by International Who’s Who Legal.
Asia’s leading business lawyers in the field of M&A and Project Finance by Asialaw 2004.
Leading Lawyer in the field of General Corporate Practice by 2006 Asia Law & Practice.
Named a leading tax attorney by IFLR1000.
  AKHIL HIRANI: He is one of India’s leading corporate lawyers having more than 25 years of experience. Currently, he is the Head of the Transactions Practice and Managing Partner at Majmudar & Partners, a leading Indian law firm. He has exceptional Indian law insight with an international skill. He has work experience in California and London. His practice areas are Banking and Finance, Corporate/M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Projects and Energy, Tax, Technology, Media and Telecommunications.
He regularly speaks on M&A, capital raising, issues affecting hedge funds and FIIs, India investment strategies, and related subjects at many international forums, including at seminars held by Terrapin in India and Hong Kong, PLI and ATLAS Legal in the US, and the IBA. He is regularly featured in shows on CNBC TV18, Bloomberg UTV and ET Now. He has won several distinguished awards.
He offers clients over 25 years of experience advising financial institutions on structured investments, joint ventures and regulatory matters.
He has authored several articles and publications on topics, including structuring investments into India, outsourcing to India, joint ventures in India and on tax issues.
Education:
B.A, Psychology from St. Xavier’s College (1989)
L.L.B (specialized in Private International Law) from Government Law College, Mumbai (1992)
Membership and Affiliations:
Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa
Bombay Incorporated Law Society
State Bar of California
International Bar Association
American Bar Association
Law Society for England and Wales
Accomplishments:
Ranked as one of the most in-demand lawyers by Chambers Asia Pacific, Chambers Global, Asia Pacific Legal 500, IFLR1000, India Business Law Journal, and Asialaw Leading Lawyers.
Top 100 Legal Luminaries of India published by Lexis Nexis and Practical Law Company.
A-list of India’s top 100 lawyers by India Business Law Journal.
  ANAND DESAI: He is working as the Managing Partner at DSK Legal since it was founded in April, 2001. He is a leading practitioner in India and has over 30 years of extensive domestic and international experience. He is also a trusted counsel to several large multinational and Indian corporates.
He is a perceptive litigator and negotiator and has innovative and strategic inputs to optimize his clients’ strategy. He has dealt in many high profile cases in criminal and civil litigation including intellectual property, commercial disputes, anti-trust, real estate and information technology.
Education:
B.Com from Bombay University
L.L.B from Bombay University
L.L.M from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Membership and Affiliations:
Served as the National President of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
Chairman of a Committee to recommend amendments to the Specific Relief Act, 1963 by the Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice.
President of TiE Mumbai (from April 2016).
Director of Paani Foundation.
Trustee of L&T Employees Welfare Foundation.
Advisory board member of Swades Foundation and Yuva Parivartan.
Chairman of the Tribal Mensa Nurturing Program.
Managing Council member of Vision Foundation of India.
Accomplishments
Featured in the book titled “100 Legal Luminaries of India” by Lexis Nexis.
Featured in Top 100 A-List published by India Law Journal in 2016.
Listed as one of the leading lawyers in India in Who’s Who Legal, Chambers Global, IFLR, Asia-Pacific Legal 500 and Asialaw Profiles.
   ANAND PATHAK: He is currently employed at P&A Law Offices in the position of Managing Partner, and was employed at Jones Day. He has practised law for more than 25 years. Prior to joining P&A Law Offices, he was a lawyer in Brussels, Cleveland and Palo Alto. He is admitted to practise law in India and the states of Ohio and California in the United States.
His practises areas are US, European and Indian M&A and joint ventures, and technology licensing, distribution and agency arrangements. He attended all of the European Council negotiation meetings leading to the adoption of the EU Merger Control Regulation and assisted in the drafting of the implementing regulations and guidelines issued by the European Commission. He has represented several clients in proceedings before the Indian Competition Commission, the Competition Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India, including Apple Inc, MCX-SX, Financial Technologies (India) Limited, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, General Motors, Bull Machines, Ericsson, Amazon, Super Cassettes and DLF Limited.
He is a highly regarded expert in EU and Indian competition law and is well known for his vast experience handling related investigations.
Education:
B.A Hons. (Economics) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
L.L.B from the University of Cambridge, England.
L.L.M and M.A in International and Development Economics from Yale University.
Membership and Affiliations:
Has worked at the European Court of Justice, Luxembourg, and in the Competition Division of the Legal Service in the European Commission, Brussels.
Member of a committee constituted by the Indian government for reviewing Indian competition laws.
He is currently vice chair of the IPBA on Indian Competition Law.
Represents several companies before the Competition Commission of India, the National Company Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India in matters relating to mergers, cartels and abuse of dominance. 
Accomplishments:
Presented with the National Law Day Award 2005 by the Prime Minister of India for his unique contribution in the field of corporate law.
Best M&A Lawyer in India in 2008.
India M&A Legal Counsel of the Year in 2009.
India M&A Lawyer of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
Competition Lawyer of the Year in 2011.
India Competition Lawyer of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
  APARAJIT BHATTACHARYA: He started his career in 2001 as an articled clerk at Crawford Bayley and had joined HAS (Hemant Sahai Associates) way back in 2004 from Trilegal, and now is a senior partner in the HSA Advocates New Delhi office. He has been practicing for more than a decade now. He has been particularly active in the energy and private equity space. His areas of practice are Corporate Commercial, M&A and Private Equity. He has led diverse assignments and transactions in corporate commercial and has advised clients on many cross-border transactions that relate to foreign investment in India, their entry strategies, M&A, equity investments, joint ventures, management buyouts and corporate restructuring. He has worked across varied sectors of commerce and industry in services, trading and manufacturing sectors. He is a pioneer in the area of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and has counseled one of the first CDM projects in India. He has been a trusted advisor to many of his clients and sits on the board and advisory committees of several companies.
Education:
B.S.L, Symbiosis Law School
L.L.B, Symbiosis Law School
Memberships and Affiliations:
Childreach International
SightLife
Member Bar Council of India
Member Delhi High Court Bar Association
Member Inter – Pacific Bar Association (IBPA)
He is also member of the Infrastructure team with a specific focus on environmental matters.
Accomplishments
Leading Indian M&A corporate lawyer by Chambers Asia 2010, Chambers Asia 2011 and by Chambers Global.
Leading lawyer by Asia Law Profiles.
Leading Lawyer by The Intercontinental Finance Magazine (UK).
Leading lawyer by ACQ Law Awards (UK).
Leading lawyer by Global Business Magazine (UK).
Global Law Experts for Climate Change Legal Advisory Services.
Leading Lawyer in Corporate Commercial/M&A by Legal 500 (Asia Pacific) in 2016. 
APURVA DIWANJI: He has been working in Desai & Diwanji for the past 21 years and is currently employed in the position of Partner.He is praised for his knowledge and experience in the corporate and M&A space. His additional areas of strength include commercial litigation international capital markets, co-investments, PE, and joint ventures. He has advised on a variety of transnational and cross border transactions, sale/acquisition of existing Indian companies, GDR/FCCB and QIB issues.
He has advised M&A transactions, including mergers and amalgamations, asset and business purchases and sales, tender offers, securities sales and purchases, buy-outs, joint ventures and strategic buyouts. He advises on the full spectrum of such matters including corporate governance issues, transaction structuring, anti-trust and competition laws, FDI and FEMA issues, SEBI and DIP guidelines, and has advised on transactions across various industry sectors.
Education:
B.A (Economics), University of Mumbai (1987).
M.A (Law), Downing College, University of Cambridge, 1993.
Membership and Affiliations
Non-Executive and Independent Director of Cadila Healthcare Ltd (Pharmaceuticals).
Director of Go Airlines (India) Ltd.
Partner of Desai & Diwanji.
Director of Shapoorji Pallonji Forbes Shipping Limited.
Director Eureka Forbes Ltd.
  BOMI DARUWALA: He has been practicing since last 30 years in the area of domestic and international tax and heads the Mumbai office of Vaish Associates. He has been associated with the Firm since 1988. Primarily a transactional lawyer, he has been involved in numerous complex tax litigations and argued several tax cases relating to domestic and cross-border taxation issues of foreign companies, multinationals and large Indian corporate houses before various High Courts, Authority for Advance Rulings, Tax Tribunals and other appellate authorities. He has wide expertise in transfer pricing related issues.
He specializes in restructuring of business, M&A, asset & share purchase deals, securities offerings, structuring of complex debt and equity investments and general corporate and tax advisory. He also has expertise in sectors like private equity, cross-border business transactions, joint ventures, angel and venture capital round financings, strategic alliances and business divorces.
He is a notable speaker of several national and international conferences and seminars organized by leading professional bodies and chambers on subjects like M&A, Takeover Code, Foreign Direct Investment and structuring of Joint Ventures and other topical issues. He has also authored various articles and publications including the Handbook of Direct Taxes of which 25 editions have been published by Bharat House.
Education:
B.Com from Sri Ram College of Commerce
L.L.B
Chartered Accountant
Cost Accountant
Membership and Affiliations
Insolvency professional with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
Fellow Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (FCA).
Associate Member of Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India(AICWA).
Independent Non-Executive Director at Mather & Platt Fire Systems Ltd.
Partner at Vaish Associates Advocates.
Accomplishments
Independently endorsed as a Leading Lawyer in Corporate/ M&A by Asia law Leading Lawyers 2018.
Leading practitioner in the Corporate/ M&A practice areas by Chambers and Partners (2018).
Leading practitioner in the Corporate/ M&A practice areas Asia Pacific Guide and Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2018).
  CHITTRANJAN R. DUA: He is the founding partner of Dua Associates and has been a practicing advocate for over 30 years of rich and varied experience in the Legal field. Dua Associates is one of the largest and prominent national law firms with full-fledged offices across eight metropolitan cities in India. He has successfully established and developed Dua Associates into a practice with over 150 professionals including 42 partners and senior principals. He has vast experience in corporate law, M&A, privatization, project finance, public issues, entry strategies, foreign investment, corporate structuring/ restructuring, infrastructure projects, international trade and taxation aspects of doing business in India. He serves on the boards of many major multinational corporations in India primarily representing the interests of the foreign collaborators and investors. The firm has the aforementioned practice areas and a strong litigation and arbitration practice.
Education:
B.A from University of Delhi (1971)
Master’s Degree Delhi School of Economics (1973)
Honors Degree from St. Stephens College.
LLB from University of Delhi (1976)
Membership and Affiliations
Independent Non-Executive Director of TVS Motor Company Limited, Gillette India Limited, Pearl Global Industries Ltd.
Director of WIMCO Ltd., Tractors & Farm Equipment Ltd., Cabot India Ltd., Becton Dickinson India Pvt Ltd., McCann Erickson India Pvt Ltd., Sella Synergy India Pvt Ltd., Linde Engineering India Pvt Ltd., Lexsphere Pvt Ltd., Result Services Pvt Ltd., Associated Corporate Consultants India Pvt Ltd., Amit Investments Pvt Ltd., Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions Pvt Ltd., Fila Sport India Pvt Ltd., Inapex Pvt Ltd, Norling Pvt Ltd., PBE India Pvt Ltd., UL India Pvt Ltd., Timex watches Ltd. and many more.
Non-Executive Director of Vodafone India Ltd.
Founding Member of American Chamber of Commerce in India.
Senior Vice President of Society of Indian Law Firms.
  CYRIL SHROFF: He is managing partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (since May 2015) and was previously managing partner of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co (since 1995). He is a Solicitor, High Court of Bombay, since 1983. With over 36 years of experience in a range of areas, including corporate law, securities markets, banking, infrastructure, trust and estate laws, amongst many others.
He is regarded and has been consistently rated as India’s top corporate and finance lawyer by several international surveys. He is the head of the Private Client team. He has deep and unparalleled experience in advising family businesses, both in India and abroad, on a range of family business, governance, succession and wealth management issues. He specializes in advising family businesses on corporate governance and succession issues.
He has worked on a number of Family Constitutions and Family Arrangements with some of India’s most prominent business families, and continues to act as their trusted advisor in multiple capacities. He is actively involved in advising a number of clients on domestic and cross-border estate and succession planning issues.
He ranks among India’s top finance practitioners and enjoys a great reputation for his expertise in Indian banking law, financial regulation and M&A matters.
Education:
B.A., L.L.B degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai
Membership and Affiliations:
Was a member of the SEBI constituted by Uday Kotak committee on corporate governance, the SEBI committee on insider trading and recently the SEBI committee for direct listing of foreign securities.
Member of the first Apex advisory committee of the IMC International ADR Centre and an advisory member of the Financial Planning Standards Board of India and Macquarie.
He is a member of the advisory board of the Mumbai Court of International Arbitration (MCIA) and was recently appointed as a task force member of Society of Insolvency Practitioners of India.
He is a member of the advisory board of the Center for Study of the Legal Profession established by the Harvard Law School, a member of the advisory board of the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) and on the board of IIM Trichy and the governing board of Krea University.
Director of Grasim Industries Ltd.
Independent Director, Chairman of Stakeholders Relationship Committee.
Member of ESOS Compensation Committee and Member of Nomination & Remuneration Committee, Grasim Industries Ltd.
Director, IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd.
Director, Apar Industries Ltd.
He is a member of the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) International Advisory Board and also part of various committees of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Accomplishments:
Ranked as “star practitioner” in India by Chambers Global.
Regarded as the “M&A King of India”.
Featured in issues of Asian Legal Business (ALB) – Dealmakers of the Year 2016, as the only individual from India.
Awarded with “Emerging Markets Firm Leader of the Year – Independent” at the Asian Lawyer Emerging Markets Awards 2016 organized by American Legal Media.
He has been recognized as a “legendary figure in the Indian legal community”.
Chambers Asia Pacific, 2017 has ranked him in Band 1.
Recognized by IFLR1000, 2016 as ‘Leading Lawyer’ in various practices.
Mentioned in the A list (which identifies India’s top 100 lawyers) by India Business Law Journal.
Asian Legal Business has featured him in its December 2016 issue as a ‘Dealmaker of the Year 2016’.
  DILJEET TITUS: He is the founding partner of Titus & Co.’s and has been practicing over 28 years, having worked with Singhania from 1990-1997. His practice areas include project finance and development for power, industrial and telecommunications projects, corporate investment structuring and restructuring, M&A, capital markets, commercial transactions, insurance, life sciences and biotechnology, venture capital finance, IT and ADR.
He has written several articles for law and business journals, magazines and newspapers and contributes a legal column, Going by the Book to Business Today, India’s leading business magazine. He maintains an active client practice which includes involvement in transactions, dispute resolutions, intellectual property and tax matters. He represents major US, Japanese and European clients in various capacities in ongoing projects in various phases of development including both greenfield and rehabilitation projects, where he advises in all aspects of investment structuring and restructuring for efficient tax minimisation, statutory and regulatory approvals, drafting and review of project documentation including financing documentations, exchange control issues governing return on equity, tax treatment of operation and management fees, etc
Education:
B.A. from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi (1986)
L.L.B from University of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (1989)
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi High Court Bar Association.
Supreme Court Bar Association.
Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
International Bar Association; Indian Council of Arbitration.
Society of Indian Law Firms.
Confederation of Indian Industry and the ICC India (International Chamber of Commerce).
Represents the Indian bar on the Indo American Chamber of Commerce committee on the impact of the WTO on the export of services, as well as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s expert group on legal and accounting services.
He is a member of a number of other committees including the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s international affairs committee for Asia Pacific; the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India’s USA expert committee and the Confederation of Indian Industry’s infrastructure subcommittee.
Associate Vice President of the Society of Indian Firms and General Secretary of the Policy and Planning Group.
Represented the Indian Bar on the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce committee on “Impact of WTO on Export of Services.”
Accomplishments:
His biography is included in Who’s Who in the World, 2002.
The firm was described as a leading private equity practice by Global Counsel 3000 in 2002.
Commendatore dell’ Ordine della Stella della Solidarieta Italiana (Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity) by a Decree of the President of Italy H. E. Mr. Giorgio Napolitano on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Franco Frattini. H. E. the Ambassador of Italy to India, Mr. Roberto Toscano presented the award to Mr. Titus.
The National Law Day Award 2007 “For Unique Achievements and Leadership in the Practice of Corporate and Commercial Laws” by the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.
Was awarded Star Export House Status by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India.
Ranked by Chambers & Partners, UK among the leading lawyers of the world 2000 through 2016 in the specialist area of projects work.
Ranked as a “Leading Lawyer” in Project Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions by Asialaw Leading Lawyer Survey for the years 2000 through 2016.
Ranked as a “Recommended Individual” in Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions and Project Finance by Which Lawyer?
Ranked as a “Leading Individual” for sixteen consecutive years by Asia Pacific Legal 500 in infrastructure and Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions as well as in Project Finance.
Global Counsel 3000 Recommended Lawyer-Diljeet Titus, Titus & Co. for Mergers and Acquisitions Consulting Editor The Contemporary Who’s Who, 2016.
  GUNJAN SHAH: She is a partner at Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. Her area of practices are M&A, private equity investment, corporate restructuring, securities and takeover regulations, debt restructuring and debt capital markets and has led several complex and ground-breaking transactions that were first of their kind and are commonly used as precedents. She has specializations in financial services and pharma and life sciences.
Global PE heavyweights routinely turn to her while making investments in India.
Education:
B.A., LL.B. (Hons) National Law School of India University, Bangalore (1993-98)
B.C.L., University of Oxford (2000-2001).
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi Bar Association
Accomplishments:
Featured in the list of India’s Hottest Young Executives – 2015 in Business Today’s best and brightest corporate performers under 40
Recognised as India’s top 40 business leaders under the age of 40 by Economic Times – Spencer-Stuart Survey, 2014
Recognised by AsiaOne among 50 most influential Indians under 50 in 2016-17
   HAIGREVE KHAITAN: He is a Senior Partner at Khaitan & Co and heads Khaitan & Co.’s Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) practice and serves as its Head of Mumbai Office. He joined the firm in 1988. He focus areas are Mergers & Acquisitions (Domestic and Cross-border), Private Equity (including in listed companies) & Venture Capital, Domestic and Cross-border Joint Ventures, Collaborations & Franchising, Project Finance Transactions, Banking & Finance Transactions, Takeovers, Strategic Alliances, Foreign Investment Law, Corporate & Commercial Law Advisory, Asset protection & Wealth Management, Business & Family Succession Planning etc.
 He advises a range of large Indian conglomerates and multinational clients in various business sectors including infrastructure, power, telecom, automobiles, steel, software and information technology, retail, etc. He has rich experience in all aspects of M&A- Due Diligence, Structuring, Documentation involving listed companies, cross border transactions and medium and small business, etc.
He spent considerable years of his initial practice in representing clients on litigation matters and thereafter he went on representing many clients on project finance and real estate transactions.
He has been highly recommended by world’s leading law chambers / legal accreditation bodies as one of the leading lawyers in India and as the leading lawyer for Project Finance in Asia. He has been involved in some of the high profile and complex transactions in India.
.He has rich experience in all aspects of Chemical plant operations. He has his expertise on various innovative Chemical technologies, his main research work focuses on time and cost reduction on technologies and evaluation process for improving techniques.
His research interest is Analytical Technique Bioanalytical Technique Liquid Chromatography Separation Technique.
Education:
L.L.B., South Kolkata Law College (1995)
Membership and Affiliations:
Non-Executive Independent Director of Harrisons Malayalam Limited, National Engineering Industries Ltd., CEAT Ltd., INOX Leisure Ltd., Ambuja Cements Ltd. , Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd.
Non-Executive Director of BTS Investment Advisors Ltd.
Independent Director of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Director of AVTEC Limited, Seclore Technology Private Ltd., JSW ISPAT Steel Ltd.
Member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (India), International Bar Association, Indian Council of Arbitration, Bar Council of West Bengal, All India Bar Association, Inc. Law Society of Calcutta, The Indian Law Institute, Bar Association of India.
Partner at Azalia Estate Realty Solutions LLP, Perito Tessili Designs LLP, Harulika Ventures LLP and Bhasa Agri LLP.
Accomplishments:
Leading lawyer in India for Corporate / M&A transactions and Banking by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, IFLR 1000.
He was listed in our “40 under 45” survey of India’s Leading Young Lawyers.
Band 1 lawyer for Corporate/M&A and Private Equity.
“A” list India’s top 100 lawyers 2016.
  HIMANSHU NARAYAN: He is working as a partner in Dua Associates and has significant experience in transactional work in the field of M&A, strategic and financial partnerships, private equity, corporate finance and provision of general corporate advice. His transactional experience has included work in sectors such as telecommunications (including telecommunications infrastructure companies), life insurance, general insurance, print media, media and entertainment, financial services, advertising, consumer goods, software, engineering, automobile and tyre industry, defence, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, petrochemicals, aviation, infrastructure companies in the securities market.
In general, he has been involved in transactions on behalf of buyers, sellers, investee companies and strategic and financial investors in respect of shares of unlisted companies and other securities. In connection with such transactions and arrangements, he has had opportunity to advise on issues pertaining to foreign direct investment, outbound investment, the exchange management regulations, securities laws, and various other Indian legislations and regulations.
His experience has derived from advising international companies, particularly, in the context of strategic alliances and arrangements (combined with licensing and franchising arrangements), in India, and, in relation to their investments and operations, in many international forums.
In addition, and over the years, he has also acted for various financial investors, international property developers, private equity investors, including for their investments into the real estate sector in India, foreign institutional investors, Indian branches of various international banks relative to corporate finance transactions, securitization and investments through various instruments.
In the recent few years, he has also advised on various aspects surrounding foreign involvement in the trading sector and has been involved in negotiating incremental commercial arrangements in the retail sector in India. He has also worked with stressed asset groups in devising and implementing alternative investment products and structures for the same. In addition, he has also had the opportunity to work on family restructuring and consolidation arrangements.
As a natural corollary to his transactional work, he has had extensive experience in formulating a strategy for and negotiating, various joint ventures, strategic alliances and other corporate arrangements.
Education:
B.A, L.L.B (Hons.) from NLSIU Bangalore
Accomplishments
Featured as leading lawyer in Corporate and M&A by Asialaw
Featured as leading lawyer in Private Equity by Asialaw
  KUNAL THAKORE: He is a partner at Partner at Talwar Thakore & Associates. He is widely recognised (including Chambers & Partners and Merger market) as a leading M&A lawyer having over 20 years’ experience as a Solicitor. His expertise includes joint ventures, M&A and disposals (both public and private), private equity investments, and more generally advice in relation to the regulatory landscape in India. He has advised domestic and international clients on some of the most significant deals in the market.
  MANSINGH LAXMIDAS BHAKTA: He is one of the senior managing partners with Kanga & Company, a firm of advocates and solicitors in Mumbai, and has been on the Reliance board since 1977. He has been practicing for over 45 year now. His areas of expertise are M&A, corporate and commercial law, Foreign Investment in India and Taxation.
He has been named as one of the leading lawyers in Asia for several years by Asialaw and Chambers and Partners. He has also contributed articles on diverse legal subjects and presented papers before various national and international forums.
Education:
Graduate from Government Law College, Mumbai
L.L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai
Memberships and Affiliations:
Served as the chairman of the Taxation Law Standing Committee of Asialaw.
Served as the chairman of Taxation Committee of Indian Merchant’s Chamber.
Member of the advisory committees of the Life Insurance Corporation of India and Deutsche Bank.
Committee member of the Bombay Incorporated Law Society and of the governing board of the India Council of Arbitration.
Committee member appointed by the Reserve Bank of India on legal aspects, relating to operations for banking and financial systems.
Director of JCB India.
Lead Independent Director Reliance Industries Ltd. (since 1997)
Independent Director of Abhijeet Power Ltd. (since 2010)
Independent Director Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd. (since 2012)
He is President Emeritus of with Association of Hospitals, Bombay.
Board Member of Nathdwara Temple Road, Rajasthan
Accomplishments:
Recipient of the Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence from Rotary International.
Leading Lawyers of Asia for six consecutive years, from 2011 by Asialaw Journal.
Award of ‘The Pillar of Hindustaanee Society’ for the year 2014-15 in the field of ‘Ethical Law Practice’ by Trans Asian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Named as one of the leading lawyers of Asia by Asialaw Journal.
One of India’s top 50 independent directors in a survey undertaken by the Capital Markets Magazine in 2003.
He is listed as one of the Leading Lawyers of Asia for 2006 and 2007 by Asialaw, Hongkong.
  MOHIT SARAF: He is currently working at Luthra & Luthra in the position of Partner. He heads the Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Infrastructure & Projects practices at the Firm. With over 25 years of experience across sectors & industries, he has advised major global and Indian companies.
He specializes in M&A and Private Equity representing some major clients such as Mylan, Baxter, Bayer and Carlyle.
He has over 50 publications in various national & international journals and magazines like Financial Worldwide, Finance Yearbook by PLC, Economic Times, Business Standard, Financial Express, Powerline, Tele.net, India Infrastructure, India Business Law Journal and SIAC Yearbook.
Education:
Delhi University 
Membership and Affiliations:
Bar Council of Delhi
International Bar Association 
Accomplishments:
Voted as ‘Leaders in their field’ by Chambers Global 2012 for Corporate/M&A and Projects, Infrastructure & Energy.
Voted as ‘Leading Lawyers’ by IFLR 1000- 2012.
‘Asialaw Leading Lawyers’ by for Banking & Finance and Capital Markets, General Corporate Practice and Project Finance.
Voted for his expertise in Project Finance, Mergers & Acquisition, Real Estate, Procurement, and Insurance & Reinsurance by International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers.
He has been recommended as one of Asia’s top 25 M&A lawyers.
Honored by ALB HOT 100 as one of the top performing lawyers.
He is a recipient of various national and international awards and is listed as a Band 1 M&A lawyer in Who’s Who Business Lawyers, Chambers Asia Leading Lawyers and Asia Pacific Legal 500. IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate also lists him as a Leading Lawyer.
He has been awarded the ‘Shaurya Chakra’ (a national peacetime gallantry award by the Indian President, Mr. R. Venkatraman).
  NAINA KRISHNA MURTHY: She is the founder and managing partner of Krishnamurthy & Co (K Law). She started her career with Arthur Anderson followed by a stint as the in-house counsel at Biocon. She founded K Law in 1999 in Bengaluru. She is based in the firm’s Mumbai office.
Under her leadership and guidance, K Law today is a full-service Indian law firm with 13 partners, four associate partners and about 85 lawyers in offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai.
 She specializes in corporate commercial law, specifically M&A, joint ventures, collaborations and PE/VC investments, and is a trusted adviser to some of the foremost companies, including Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries, Pipavav Defence and Caterpillar. She recently advised L&T General Insurance in its sale to HDFC Ergo valued at ₹5.5 billion.
Education:
B.A, L.L.B (Hons.) from National Law School of India University, Bangalore (1996)
Membership and Affiliations:
Director of Epicentre Research Technologies Bangalore Private Limited, National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd., Performance Direct Software Private Limited, Acciona Agua India Private Limited, MRops Progamming India Private Limited, Mobile Feed Back Services India Private Limited and Focus Suites Solutions & Services Private Limited.
Non Executive Independent Director of Aurangabad Electricals Ltd., IndoStar Capital Finance Ltd.
Accomplishments
She was recognised by India Business Law Journal as ‘A List’ of India’s top 100 lawyers in 2018, 2017 and 2016.
  NISHITH MADANLAL DESAI: He is the founder of Nishith Desai Associates. He is a Non-Resident Indian, specializing in the field of M&A, International Taxation, International Business Strategy, International Construction Law, Institutional Investment, International Finance, Structuring of Joint Ventures, Offshore Funds, and Infrastructure. He was admitted to the bar, Mumbai in 1973. He is currently practicing as an International Lawyer, Researcher and Lecturer and is on the Advisory Board, New York State Bar Association’s International Law Review. He has experience in the Fund sector, advising the largest number of offshore investment funds. He also played an important role in structuring several private equity funds in addition and structuring domestic venture capital funds. He has advised the SIDBI and the Department of Electronics, Government of India, on their domestic venture capital fund. He is also an international tax and corporate lawyer, researcher, author and lecturer.
Education:
L.L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai (1973)
L.L.M from University of Bombay, Department of Law
Membership and Affiliations:
Member of International Bar Association, International Tax Planning Association, Supreme Court Bar Association, American Bar Association and Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
Chairperson of Taxation Committee of LAWASIA.
Senior Country Correspondent for Tax Notes International, US. Lectures: Institutions such as Kellogg Business School (US), Fabrimetal (Belgium), ZFU (Switzerland), National University of Singapore, Basata (UK), Citibank, Coopers and Lybrand, various Chambers of Commerce.
Member of Advisory Board at Avendus Advisors Private Ltd.
Advisory Board of the New York State Bar Association’s International Law Review.
Senior country correspondent for “Tax Notes International”, USA.
Accomplishments:
License of State Bar California (to practice Indian law).
Ranked No. 28 in a global Top 50 “Gold List” by Tax Business, a UK-based international tax journal.
Recognized as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in India by the Indian Business Law Journal.
Honored as ‘Market Leading Professionals’ by Asialaw 2019.
Featured in the Lex Witness publication “Witness Hall of Fame: Top 50” (2010).
Honoured with the title of “ Yunus Social Business Pioneer of India” – 2010 by The Grameen Lab and the Wockhardt Foundation.
Managing Partner of the Year (2014) by IDEX Legal.
Voted “External Counsel of the Year 2009” by Asian Counsel.
Publications:
Non-resident: Investment incentives and tax-planning (published by Taxmann)
  NITIN POTDAR: He is working as a corporate lawyer partner at J. Sagar Associates. Prior to joining JSA, he was a partner with Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., and prior thereto he was with Crawford Bayley & Co.
 He specializes in Public and Private M&A including De-mergers, restructuring of the business, Asset & Share Purchase deals, Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances, Private Equity and general Corporate advisory.
He has vast experience with transactions related to Foreign Direct Investments & Exchange Controls Regulations. He has advised several multinational companies on financial & technical collaborations in India, and strategies/options for commencing operations & consolidations in India, in a cross-section of industries. His focus has been on foreign investments from the US, Germany and Japan.
He also has extensive experience in Private Equity & Strategic Investment transactions including leveraged buyout transactions & exits. He has provided business-oriented advice to a variety of companies receiving Private Equity / Strategic Investments
He is a keen observer of the evolution of the law regulating Takeovers in India and now the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. He has been part of several high profile corporate takeover battles including, defending hostile bids and restructuring.
A widely acclaimed foreign investment expert, he’s advised the best of Indian corporate houses and MNCs across verticals of entertainment, Pharma, IT, FMCG, Engineering, Automobiles and Cement.
A revered speaker at several thought leadership conferences and seminars organized by leading industry institutions and chambers, he is also a self-motivated social author-activist who regularly steers public attention to the larger cause of nation building across academic, social and cultural forums.
Education:
B.A from University of Bombay (1984)
L.L.B from University of Bombay (1988)
Solicitor, The Bombay Incorporated Law Society (1991)
Membership and Affiliations:
Chairman of Gandhi Films Foundation
Founder Trustee of Maxwell Foundation
Director of Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Motilal Oswal Trustee Co. Ltd., Keva Fragrances Pvt Ltd., Fori Automation India Pvt Ltd.
He was a member of International Bar Council’s “India Advisory Group’ as also the working Group on Indian Merger Control rules of the International Bar Association, and member of Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Chamber of Tax Consultants Corporate Committee.
Currently member of the CII Western Region Committee on Startups and Entrepreneurship.
Accomplishments:
He’s been recognized by the coveted Asia Pacific Legal 500 as a Private equity expert of international repute who is ‘highly recommended’ in the M&A practice
Has also been listed as a leading individual in the Investment Funds category.
He has won accolades from the Chambers & Partner, London for his pioneering consulting work in M&A, FDI, private equity and partnership contracts.
  RAJAT SETHI: He is a partner of S&R Associates in Mumbai and one of the highly experienced lawyers. Before joining S&K Associates, he was working with P&A Law Offices in New Delhi and Chambers of Mr. Arun Jaitley, Senior Advocate. He has wide experience of advising clients on a wide array of issues which includes M&A, Private Equity, Competition/Antitrust and general corporate advisory.
Till date, he has acted for different clients in matters linked to IPR, share holder disputes, contractual disputes, banking matters as well as recovery suits.
Education:
B.A (Hons.) in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi (1992)
L.L.B from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi (1995)
LLM from Tulane University Law School (1996)
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi Bar Association
Accomplishments:
Recognized as a “leading lawyer” by Chambers Global for Corporate/M&A; by Chambers Asia Pacific for Corporate/M&A, Private Equity, and Technology, Media, Telecoms; by IFLR1000 for M&A and by RSG India Report for Corporate M&A and Private Equity.
  RAJESH N. BEGUR: He is the founder and the managing partner of ARA Law. Earlier he was one of the senior associates in Amarchand Mangaldas. He has been practising for over 3 decades now and has been one of India’s leading corporate lawyers. He is one of the leading counsel for domestic and international clients in corporate areas especially focusing on M&A, Real Estate, Capital Markets, Private Equity, Infrastructure, Banking and Finance, Telecom Media etc.
He has great insight and determination to handle complex of the complex legal business transactions. He is one of the most recognized lawyers in the field of M&A and Private Equity as well as Mutual Fund Regulations. He has made a significant contribution in legal advice and documentation on first GDR offering by an Indian listed company and drafting of the Depositories Ordinance and its model bye-laws. He also contributes articles for Asia Law and premier legal websites.
Education:
B.Com from Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College of Commerce & Economics(1983)
L.L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai (1987)
Memberships and Affiliations:
Admitted on the rolls of Bar Council of India (1987)
Admitted as Solicitor on the rolls of the Bombay Incorporated Law Society (1992 )
Admitted on the rolls of Supreme Court of England and Wales 1994
Member of the Advisory Board of National Law University, Jodhpur
Accomplishments:
Top 10 lawyers in India in Banking and Finance by Legal 500.
He is the editor of ARA LAW’s newsletter “Legal Eye”.
  RAJIV K. LUTHRA: He started his career with taxation matters in 1978. He is the Founder & Managing Partner of Luthra & Luthra Law Offices – one of the largest law firms in India. He has over 25 years of experience in advising clients on a vast range of complex commercial transactions including infrastructure projects in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Nigeria. He has successfully handled various disinvestment, privatization and restructuring assignments and has worked on some of the largest mergers in Indian corporate history. He has been appointed by the Government of India on the drafting of several rules and regulations. He has also contributed various publications in national and international professional journals and magazines. He is also well experienced in the structuring of foreign investment into India.
Education:
Alumni of the Harvard Law School
Fellow of the British Commerce Society and the Royal Geographical Society
Membership and Affiliations
Member of International Bar Association, Inter-Pacific Bar Association, National Executive Committee at Confederation of Indian Industry, Union Internationale des Avocats, SWIICL at The Center for American & International Law, Securities & Exchange Board of India, Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, India Ministry of Human Resources Development, American Bar Association and Internal Quality Assurance Cell at NALSAR University of Law, National Executive Committee at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Competition Commission of India to the Competition Advocacy Steering Committee, National Committee on Energy & the Core Group on Infrastructure Development of the Confederation of Indian Industries.
The Ministry of Commerce has appointed him as a Convener of the Committee formed to advise the Government of India on liberalization of legal services under the GATT between India and the U. K.
Independent Non-Executive Director of DLF Ltd, Symphony International Holdings Ltd.
Independent Director of TV18 Broadcast Ltd, Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd.
Director of Mylan Laboratories Ltd., VLCC Health Care Ltd., Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Lodhi Property Co. Ltd., Delhi Golf Club Ltd., Mylan Laboratories India Pvt Ltd., Knowledge Cloud Pvt Ltd., Paani Foundation.
Accomplishments:
Ranked amongst the ‘Leading Individuals’ in Banking & Finance by The Asia Pacific Legal 500.
Recipient of the Asian Legal Business Award.
Honored as “Legend in Indian Corporate Law” and as an “Ace Legal Eagle for Indian corporate law, specializing in tax, regulatory and compliance laws” at the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) Excellence Awards held in Dubai in December 2013.
The Lawyer.com included him among its top 40 ‘to have been making the biggest waves outside the UK.’
He ranked amongst ALB’s Hot 100 in recognition for his contribution to the Capital Markets’ sector.
Recipient of the ‘International Jurists Awards 2013’, 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Attorney-General of the United States of America for “his accomplishments and achievements in the International M&A sector” at the 4th Annual International M&A Advisor Awards 2012 in New York, and the “2008 National Law Day Award” by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and the (then) Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, for “…his singular contribution to the practice of corporate and commercial law in India and for being one of the country’s earliest pioneers in international transaction lawyering”.
Featured in the ‘Leaders Profiles – India – Project Finance’ of the Chambers Global.
  RAVI SINGHANIA: He is the managing partner of Singhania & Partners LLP (established 1999) headquartered in Delhi with branch offices in Hyderabad and Bangalore and associate offices in prominent cities across India.
He has been bequeathed with innumerable legal accolades and has been consistently rated as India’s top corporate-M&A, dispute resolution and project finance lawyer by several international surveys. Ravi has over two decades of experience in diverse practice areas such as employment, real estate, competition apart from M&A, and Project Finance with Clientele spread across the globe.
He has been advising World Bank since 2004 on FDI related matters and for their annual publication “Doing Business in India”. He also advises number of ministries, central and state governments as well for divestments and infrastructure related matters. Besides, there are large PSUs, Banks and MNCs who trust his legal acumen on Cross-border Transactions, compliances under SEBI Takeover Regulations, M&A, Investment Structuring, Corporatization, Debt & Equity offering, and Dispute Resolution. He provides both hands-on legal advice and overall strategic inputs while drafting and negotiating contracts for complex transactions.
He is admitted to practice law in India as an Advocate and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
He is also a renowned speaker who regularly speaks in various seminars. Further, he has to his credit, a number of publications in various national and international professional journals and magazines including American Bar Association and Euro Money.
Education:
B.com (Hons.), Commerce Economics from Sri Ram College of Commerce.
L.L.B from Campus Law Center, Delhi University.
Membership and Affiliations:
He is a board member in CRISIL Ltd. and Indian subsidiaries of numerous Fortune 500 companies such as McGraw-Hill, AOL, American Bureau of Shipping, National Instruments etc.
Serves on the Board of several multinational companies such as ABS Industrial Verification (India) Pvt. Ltd., ABS Quality Evaluations Pvt. Ltd., AOL Online India Pvt. Ltd., Assets Care Enterprise Ltd., BearinqPoint Business Consulting Pvt. Ltd., Capital IQ Information Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., India Autobahn Automobiles & Ancillaries Pvt. Ltd., Asset Care and Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd., ABS Professional Services (India) Private Ltd., McGraw Hill Educational Services India Private Ltd., Ml Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.Powerwave technologies Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd., Singhania and Partners Pvt. Ltd., Stahl CraneSystems (India) Pvt. Ltd., Survey Sampling International India Pvt. Ltd. and Liqhtbulb Technology Services Pvt. Ltd..
He is the former Governing Body Member of Indian Council of Arbitration and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific Committee of American Bar Association.
He is a Member of Law Society of England & Wales, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London as well as Supreme Court Bar Association.
He is the Country Representative for Sweet & Maxell’s ‘International Company & Commercial Law Review’
Accomplishments:
He is the youngest lawyer to be felicitated with the “National Law Day Award” for Corporate Laws (2006) by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Publications:
Authored India chapters in books titled ‘Product Liability in Asia Pacific’ and ‘Employment Laws in Asia’.
“Drafting of Contracts”- Templates with Drafting Notes published by Bloomsbury.
  ROHIT KOCHHAR: Widely acclaimed as a pre-eminent Indian lawyer and outstanding legal entrepreneur, he is the Chairman & Managing Partner at Kochhar & Co, one of India’s leading and premier corporate law firms and plays an active role in the management and operations of the firm at a global level. In addition to management functions, he is actively involved in private practice and advises numerous foreign clients on diverse matters relating to inbound investments.
His main areas of work include regulatory approvals, joint ventures, foreign collaborations, acquisitions, company law, labour and employment law, exchange control, general commercial transactions and corporate litigation. He enjoys special expertise in assisting foreign clients on their entry strategy and has been instrumental in advising numerous multinational corporations on setting up a business presence in India and providing continual legal support to various clients on Business Law issues.
He also enjoys expertise in matters pertaining to Reserve Bank of India approvals and Exchange Control Regulations.
He also heads the prevention of sexual harassment (POSH) and employee fraud practice desks of the Firm. He regularly advises numerous Fortune 500 Companies (including major US, European and Japanese corporations) on a host of Indian law issues and sits on the board of many Indian subsidiaries of such corporations.
He has been one of the pioneers of the Indian legal services sector with many firsts to his credit. Under his dynamic leadership, Kochhar & Co is the only full-service law firm with a true national presence that is spread across six prominent Indian states and four overseas offices, including Dubai, where it is the only firm from the sub-continent to have an independent license to practise local UAE and DIFC laws.
Mr. Kochhar is a frequent speaker at various international and domestic conferences. He also conducts workshops and training for clients in employee retrenchment, transfer of employees and the prevention of sexual harassment.
Education:
B.Com., (Hons.) from University of Delhi
L.L.B. from University of Mumbai
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi High Court Bar Association.
Supreme Court Bar Association.
International Bar Association (IBA).
Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA).
Honorary Secretary of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF)
Accomplishments:
Conferred the distinguished Rashtriya Gaurav Award (Pride of India) for his outstanding achievements in the legal field.
Awarded the International Council of Jurists Award by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh for his “distinctive accomplishment in the areas of corporate law and legal entrepreneurship”.
Conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Award for being the “Young Achiever & Entrepreneur” in 2000. He is the first and only practicing lawyer in India to have been conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Award since its inception.
Distinct recognition by Legal 500 and named him in the Elite “Leading Lawyers” for corporate and M&A in Asia-Pacific region.
Bestowed with the LegalEra Premier League Awards (2012-13) for Outstanding Achievements Firm.
Conferred the Award for one of the World’s Greatest Leaders in Asia & GCC 2015 by His Excellency Mr. T.P. Seetharaman, the Ambassador of India to the UAE on the occasion of the 44th UAE National Day.
Kochhar & Co. was conferred the ‘National Bar Award’ by the All India Bar Association for being “The Most Dynamic and Progressive Indian Law Firm” by the Chairman of the Law Commission of India.
Conferred with the National Citizens Award for his unique contribution in the field of “Youth Affairs”.
Presented the National Law Award for “Excellence in Corporate law” in 1999.
Publications
Co-authored a book titled “Doing Business in India” published by Business Laws, Inc.
Article on ‘Exit from a Joint Venture in India’ in IBL (Journal of the Japanese Institute of International Business Law).
  SANJAY ASHER: He started his advocacy since 1989 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1993. He is now the youngest senior partner at Crawford Bayley (India’s oldest law firm, established in 1830). He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of corporate law. His areas of specialization are: M&A joint ventures cross border M&A and capital markets.
He also serves as the independent director of various public and private companies in India as well as international firms and organisations.
He is a notable speaker in seminars and conferences organised by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India and International Financial Law Review etc. He has several publications in national and international levels and also published a book on Company Law Ready Reckoner, 2014 (Publisher: CCH – A Wolters Kluwer Business).
Education:
Bachelor’s Degree from Mumbai University
L.L.B from Mumbai University
Chartered Accountant.
Memberships and Affiliations:
Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Indo-US Financial Institutions Reforms and Expansion Projects – Capital Markets
Member of Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa
Chairman of Integra Engineering India Limited (2009-11)
Non-Executive Independent Director of Sudarshan Chemical Industries Limited (from 2009)
Non-Executive Independent Director of Finolex Industries Limited (from 2012)
Director of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited
Foundation:
Sanjay Asher Trustee, Partner, Crawford Bayley & Co.
  SHIVPRIYA NANDA: Currently she serves as the Joint Managing Partner of JSA and Co-Chairs its Corporate Practice.
She has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of Corporate Commercial practice including M&A, representing multinational corporations and enterprises in large scale cross-border transactions, advice related to the establishment of new business operation, Corporate structuring, Joint Venture agreements, Asset & Share acquisition, Divestment, Franchising, Real Estate, Employment and Commercial contract issues. She advises International majors on large Infrastructure projects in the Transport, Aviation and Mining sector.
She has inter alia advised the airport operator in the privatisation of the Delhi airport and has also advised one of the largest multinational cargo companies in setting up their operations in India. She has also been involved in assisting with the entry strategy structuring in the largest Foreign Direct Investment in the Mining sector. Having worked with one of the premier litigation firms of Delhi prior to her current practice, she has substantial experience in Litigation & Arbitration, including International Arbitration. She has represented clients such as Wal-Mart, Michelin, EMAAR, KFC and Pizza Hut, Fidelity, Frankfurt Airport, Posco, Pernod Ricard, Hindustan Times amongst others.
She has also advised several Fortune 500 companies in complicated strategic alliances, restructurings, shareholder issues, bribery and anti-corruption investigations, technology licensing and transfers, senior management engagement and exits.
Education:
Graduate from Lady Sri Ram College
L.L.B Campus Law Centre, Delhi
Membership and Affiliations:
Non-Executive & Independent Director of Jubilant Industries Limited.
Independent Director of EICL Limited.
Accomplishments:
Ranked as a top-tier lawyer in various publications.
Ranked as one of the leading individuals by Legal 500 consecutively for the past years.
Listed as one of the top leading lawyers in India by Who’s Who legal.
  SOM MANDAL: He is the Managing Partner of Fox Mandal, Delhi. He also steers the International practice of Fox Mandal. His focus is mainly in M&A, corporate law and project finance, etc. The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers has accredited him for the M&A sector in India. He actively takes part in various International Seminars.
He has authored the chapter on ‘FIDIC Applicability in India’ published by Kluwers Publications. He has proactively approached various Governmental bodies concerned, on the ongoing subject of “Liberalisation of the Indian Legal Sector” welcoming the entry of foreign law firms in India.
Education:
B.A. from St. Xavier’s College
L.L.B. from the University of Calcutta 
Membership and Affiliations:
Member with the Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, International Bar Association, American Bar Association (International Section) Union des Advocat, Inter Pacific Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association etc.
He is the one of the Indian representative at the Commission on Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, Vice-Chair of the Asia Pacific Forum and Council member of Section on Legal Practice of the International Bar Association and of Committee on Corporate Law & Legal Affairs-FICCI.
 Accomplishments:
Nominated by Asia Law & Practice, as a leading lawyer in Asia in the field of M&A.
He has also been nominated by Chambers Global, as a leading individual in Project Finance.
He has been awarded the ‘Best Corporate Lawyer’ in India on the occasion of Law Day Awards 2002.
Featured in Asian Legal Business Magazine’s Hot 100 Lawyers.
Featured amongst the 40 International Star Lawyer graded by The Lawyer magazine.
Legal 500 ranked him as a Leading Individual Lawyer for Corporate and M&A.
He has been nominated as the Asian Hot 100 lawyers by ALB and amongst the 40 International Worldshakers by The Lawyers UK.
  SRIDHAR GORTHI: He is a partner and non-executive director in Trilegal, and is part of the corporate practice group of the Mumbai firm. Prior to that, he also worked with Arthur Andersen and Lex Inde, Mumbai. His areas of expertise include M&A, Joint Ventures and Private Equity. He has been actively involved in several high profile cross-border transactions and advices various multinational and domestic corporations on restructuring, debt finance, joint ventures, acquisition/mergers and private equity transactions. His key clients include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lincoln Electric, Heineken, Thomson Reuters, Lockheed Martin, Tesco, eBay, the Godrej Group, L&T, Shriram Group and the Raheja Group.
Sridhar has represented international clients on inbound M&A in India as well as Indian companies on outbound M&A transactions in jurisdictions such as the UK, the USA, South Africa, Argentina, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The private equity funds that Sridhar regularly advises include CLSA and Morgan Stanley PE.
His research interest is Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Colorectal Cancer Research and Reports in Gastroenterology Oncology Translational Research and Pharmaceutical products.
 Education:
B.A, L.L.B (Hons.): National Law School of India University.
Membership and Affiliations
Member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.
Non-Executive Independent Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Chairman of Hathway and Non-Executive Independent Director of Cable & Datacom Ltd.
Director of Hathway Bhawani Cabletel and Datacom Ltd.
Accomplishments:
Leading lawyers in India for M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital in India by the Guide to Asia Pacific’s Leading Lawyers 2010, 2011 and 2012; and by IFLR 1000, 2011 and 2012.
  SURESH NARSAPPA TALWAR: He is a Partner at Talwar, Thakore & Associates. He is a Corporate Counsel of Talwar, Thakore & Associates and set up Talwar, Thakore & Associates in April 2007. He served as Senior Partner and Adviser of M/s. Crawford Bayley & Company until March 31, 2006. As a practicing lawyer with the Bombay High Court since 1966, he has over 43 years of experience in the legal profession, specializing in corporate law dealing specifically with M&A, corporate taxation, foreign exchange laws, international issues of Indian securities and real estate laws among others
 Education:
Undergraduate degree from the University of Mumbai.
L.L.B from Government Law College.
Membership and Affiliations:
Chairman of Merck Ltd, FCI OEN Connectors Ltd., Armstrong World Industries India Pvt Ltd, Romil Finance & Investments Pvt Ltd., Sidham Finance & Investments Pvt Ltd., 20th Century Fox Corp. (India) Pvt Ltd., PZ Cussons India Pvt Ltd.
Director of Solvay Pharma India Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd., Epitome Global Services Pvt Ltd., Indium III (Mauritius) Holdings Ltd., Indium IV (Mauritius) Holdings Ltd., Rediffusion Dentsu Young & Rubicam Pvt Ltd., Global Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd., Birla Sun Life Trustee Co. Pvt Ltd., Decagon Investments Pvt Ltd., Emerson Process Management (India) Pvt Ltd, Rakindo Developers Pvt Ltd., Snowcem Paints Pvt Ltd., Showdiff Worldwide Pvt Ltd., Wave Suspension Systems India Pvt Ltd., Warner Bros Pictures India Pvt Ltd., Swiss Re Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd., Swiss Re Shared Services India Pvt Ltd., Uhde India Ltd., Chowgule & Co. Pvt Ltd., Chowgule Ports & Infrastructures Pvt Ltd., John Fowler (India) Pvt Ltd., L&t Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd., Morgan Stanley India Capital Pvt Ltd., India Value Fund Trustee Co. Pvt Ltd., Phillip (India) Pvt Ltd. and many more.
Independent Non-Executive Director of Syngene International Ltd, Sonata Software Limited, Elantas Beck India Ltd, Samson Maritime Ltd., Shrenuj & Company Ltd.
  VISHWANG DESAI: He is the managing partner of Desai & Diwanji, one of the largest and oldest law firms in India. He focuses on corporate and finance law and specializes in M&A, private equity, buy-outs, spin-offs, de-mergers, divestitures, project and structured finance, cross-border transactions, FDI, corporate governance, competition and regulatory issues.
 He has been involved in complex restructurings and buy-outs of large public and private corporations. He has also represented governments and corporations, large public and private corporations, global private equity and hedge funds, lenders, multilateral agencies in large and complex transactions in a variety of sectors.
Education:
BSc (Chemistry) and L.L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai.
Membership and Affiliations:
Managing Partner of Desai & Diwanji
Co-chair, Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group
Co-chair, Infrastructure and Project Finance Practice Group
Accomplishments
Nominated as a leading lawyer by numerous global publications.
Awarded numerous awards including “Lawyer of the Year” awards by various organizations.
  VIVEK K. CHANDY: He is partner at J. Sagar Associates. Specializing in the areas of Private Equity, M&A and Corporate Commercial work. He has twenty-five years of experience, and a vast body of work in real estate and private equity transactions.
Worked extensively advising on a wide range of issues from acquisitions to structuring transactions in the IT/ ITES, e-Commerce, Healthcare, Real Estate space.
From 2005 after Foreign Direct Investment was permitted in the Real Estate sector, have facilitated huge investment into this sector and also closed over 40 transactions in this field alone over the last five years.
His recent high profile transactions include representing two sovereign wealth funds in their investments into the Healthcare and Real Estate sectors and a global leader in the e-commerce space, in their strategic investment in an Indian company which operates the fastest growing marketplace model website in India.
Education:
L.L.B from Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College of Law (1991)
  ZIA MODY: She is one of the founding partners of AZB & Partners and one of India’s foremost corporate attorneys. She started her litigation practice under the name Chambers of Zia Mody (CZM). Zia worked as a corporate associate at Baker & McKenzie, New York, for five years before moving to India to set up practice, establishing the Chambers of Zia Mody in 1984, which then became AZB & Partners in 2004. She is an indisputable leader in corporate law in India. Her firm AZB & Partners is rated first among the top law firms for M&A. She was enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa in 1978. She serves on various advisory committees of the Confederation of Indian Industry including its National Council and its committees on Corporate Governance, Financial Services, Capital Markets and Legal Services.
Education:
L.L.B from Selwyn College, University of Cambridge (1978)
Master’s Degree from Harvard Law School (1980)
Membership and Affiliations:
Independent Non-Executive Director of CLP Holdings Limited.
Independent Director of Ascendas India Trust, Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte Ltd.
Deputy Chairman of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.
Non Executive Trustee of Observer Research Foundation.
Member-Governing Board of International Council for Commercial Arbitration.
Director of London Court of International Arbitration India Pvt Ltd.
Trustee of J.B. Petit High School for Girls.
Non-Executive Director of Cambridge India Research Foundation.
Member of New York State Bar Association.
Deputy Chairman and a Non-Executive Director of the HSBC Asia Pacific Board.
She was nominated to be part of the “Committee on Rationalisation of Investment Routes and Monitoring of Foreign Portfolio Investments” formed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India under the chairmanship of Shri K.M. Chandrashekar.
She was appointed by the Reserve Bank of India in 2014 as a member of Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households which was chaired by Dr. Nachiket Mor.
Accomplishments
Awarded the “India Managing Partner of the Year – 2016” by Asian Legal Business (Thomson Reuters).
Features on Fortune India as The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in India, for 2016.
Listed by Forbes India (2013, 2014 & 2015) as one of ‘India’s 10 most Powerful women’, Forbes Asia as one of ‘Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen’ (2015).
Leading Individual for Banking, Finance, Corporate and M&A and Investment Funds in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2016.
Euromoney awarded her a Lifetime Achievement award – at Asia Women in Business Law Awards 2015.
“Outstanding Women Business Leader of the Year – 2013” award at India Business Leader Awards; also “Legal Icon of the Decade – 2013”.
Best M&A Lawyer of the Year – 2012” award at the Legal Era Awards and she has been voted as “Business Woman of the Year, 2010” by the Economic Times, for which she was felicitated by The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF).
She has also been voted by the Economic Times as one of the country’s most powerful CEOs (2004 to 2016).
She has been selected as one of the 25 most powerful women in business by Business Today in 2004-2014.
Asialaw Profile hailed her as one of ‘The Leading Lawyers – India’ in the fields of Mergers & Acquisitions, General Corporate Practice, Dispute Resolution, Corporate Governance and Capital Markets & Corporate Finance for 2013, while Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Chambers Global, have identified her as a leading individual in the Corporate Mergers & Acquisition, Private Funds, Private Equity, Litigation and Infrastructure Sectors.
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31 Topmost M&A Lawyers in India
This article is written by Pranay Bhattacharya, student at MNLU Aurangabad.
  India is one of the growing markets for M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). This article is a modest effort to mention some of the most sought-after lawyers in the field of M&A.
The list here is an alphabetical list and we don’t suggest that any of them is better or superior to the other.
AJAY BHAL: He is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AZB & Partners (merged with Chambers of Zia and Bahram in 2004, and formed AZB & Partners), and he heads the Delhi team of the firm. He has over 30 years of M&A experience and is associated with big Indian business houses, multinational corporations and international organizations. He practices in M&A including tax, Private Equity Investments, Foreign Exchange related advisory work, Securities Regulations, and Taxation including Tax Litigation regulatory issues for corporate acquisitions etc. He also has expertise in litigation and tax accountancy matters, structuring, restructuring and transfer pricing-related issues. He has presented himself as an independent expert on behalf of Government of India on tax and accounting matters before the International Court of Justice, The Hague. He has also represented as counsel and co-counsel in various arbitral positions between large US companies. He also advised the government of India in matters related to M&A on various occasions.
Education:
Chartered Accountant (1979)
B from University of Delhi (1985)
Memberships and Affiliations:
Member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) economic growth and investments council.
Board of governors of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
Bar Association of India.
International Bar Association.
Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce of Indian (FICCI).
Indian Management Association.
Served as a member of the committee constituted by the Ministry of Finance in India, formed to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act.
Member of the Appellate Panel, formed by the Institute of Insolvency Professionals.
Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).
Member of the Committee to review the offences under the Companies Act, 2013 constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India in July 2018.
Accomplishments
Named as a leading attorney in the field of M&A by Asia Pacific Legal500.
Listed as “world’s leading tax advisors” by Tax Directors Handbook.
Named as Star Individual for M&A by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific.
Named as Leading Lawyer for M&A in 2013 and 2014 by International Who’s Who Legal.
Asia’s leading business lawyers in the field of M&A and Project Finance by Asialaw 2004.
Leading Lawyer in the field of General Corporate Practice by 2006 Asia Law & Practice.
Named a leading tax attorney by IFLR1000.
  AKHIL HIRANI: He is one of India’s leading corporate lawyers having more than 25 years of experience. Currently, he is the Head of the Transactions Practice and Managing Partner at Majmudar & Partners, a leading Indian law firm. He has exceptional Indian law insight with an international skill. He has work experience in California and London. His practice areas are Banking and Finance, Corporate/M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Projects and Energy, Tax, Technology, Media and Telecommunications.
He regularly speaks on M&A, capital raising, issues affecting hedge funds and FIIs, India investment strategies, and related subjects at many international forums, including at seminars held by Terrapin in India and Hong Kong, PLI and ATLAS Legal in the US, and the IBA. He is regularly featured in shows on CNBC TV18, Bloomberg UTV and ET Now. He has won several distinguished awards.
He offers clients over 25 years of experience advising financial institutions on structured investments, joint ventures and regulatory matters.
He has authored several articles and publications on topics, including structuring investments into India, outsourcing to India, joint ventures in India and on tax issues.
Education:
A, Psychology from St. Xavier’s College (1989)
L.B (specialized in Private International Law) from Government Law College, Mumbai (1992)
Membership and Affiliations:
Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa
Bombay Incorporated Law Society
State Bar of California
International Bar Association
American Bar Association
Law Society for England and Wales
Accomplishments:
Ranked as one of the most in-demand lawyers by Chambers Asia Pacific, Chambers Global, Asia Pacific Legal 500, IFLR1000, India Business Law Journal, and Asialaw Leading Lawyers.
Top 100 Legal Luminaries of India published by Lexis Nexis and Practical Law Company.
A-list of India’s top 100 lawyers by India Business Law Journal.
  ANAND DESAI: He is working as the Managing Partner at DSK Legal since it was founded in April, 2001. He is a leading practitioner in India and has over 30 years of extensive domestic and international experience. He is also a trusted counsel to several large multinational and Indian corporates.
He is a perceptive litigator and negotiator and has innovative and strategic inputs to optimize his clients’ strategy. He has dealt in many high profile cases in criminal and civil litigation including intellectual property, commercial disputes, anti-trust, real estate and information technology.
Education:
Com from Bombay University
L.B from Bombay University
L.M from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Membership and Affiliations:
Served as the National President of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce.
Chairman of a Committee to recommend amendments to the Specific Relief Act, 1963 by the Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice.
President of TiE Mumbai (from April 2016).
Director of Paani Foundation.
Trustee of L&T Employees Welfare Foundation.
Advisory board member of Swades Foundation and Yuva Parivartan.
Chairman of the Tribal Mensa Nurturing Program.
Managing Council member of Vision Foundation of India.
Accomplishments
Featured in the book titled “100 Legal Luminaries of India” by Lexis Nexis.
Featured in Top 100 A-List published by India Law Journal in 2016.
Listed as one of the leading lawyers in India in Who’s Who Legal, Chambers Global, IFLR, Asia-Pacific Legal 500 and Asialaw Profiles.
   ANAND PATHAK: He is currently employed at P&A Law Offices in the position of Managing Partner, and was employed at Jones Day. He has practised law for more than 25 years. Prior to joining P&A Law Offices, he was a lawyer in Brussels, Cleveland and Palo Alto. He is admitted to practise law in India and the states of Ohio and California in the United States.
His practises areas are US, European and Indian M&A and joint ventures, and technology licensing, distribution and agency arrangements. He attended all of the European Council negotiation meetings leading to the adoption of the EU Merger Control Regulation and assisted in the drafting of the implementing regulations and guidelines issued by the European Commission. He has represented several clients in proceedings before the Indian Competition Commission, the Competition Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India, including Apple Inc, MCX-SX, Financial Technologies (India) Limited, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly, General Motors, Bull Machines, Ericsson, Amazon, Super Cassettes and DLF Limited.
He is a highly regarded expert in EU and Indian competition law and is well known for his vast experience handling related investigations.
Education:
A Hons. (Economics) from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
L.B from the University of Cambridge, England.
L.M and M.A in International and Development Economics from Yale University.
Membership and Affiliations:
Has worked at the European Court of Justice, Luxembourg, and in the Competition Division of the Legal Service in the European Commission, Brussels.
Member of a committee constituted by the Indian government for reviewing Indian competition laws.
He is currently vice chair of the IPBA on Indian Competition Law.
Represents several companies before the Competition Commission of India, the National Company Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India in matters relating to mergers, cartels and abuse of dominance. 
Accomplishments:
Presented with the National Law Day Award 2005 by the Prime Minister of India for his unique contribution in the field of corporate law.
Best M&A Lawyer in India in 2008.
India M&A Legal Counsel of the Year in 2009.
India M&A Lawyer of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
Competition Lawyer of the Year in 2011.
India Competition Lawyer of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
  APARAJIT BHATTACHARYA: He started his career in 2001 as an articled clerk at Crawford Bayley and had joined HAS (Hemant Sahai Associates) way back in 2004 from Trilegal, and now is a senior partner in the HSA Advocates New Delhi office. He has been practicing for more than a decade now. He has been particularly active in the energy and private equity space. His areas of practice are Corporate Commercial, M&A and Private Equity. He has led diverse assignments and transactions in corporate commercial and has advised clients on many cross-border transactions that relate to foreign investment in India, their entry strategies, M&A, equity investments, joint ventures, management buyouts and corporate restructuring. He has worked across varied sectors of commerce and industry in services, trading and manufacturing sectors. He is a pioneer in the area of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and has counseled one of the first CDM projects in India. He has been a trusted advisor to many of his clients and sits on the board and advisory committees of several companies.
Education:
S.L, Symbiosis Law School
L.B, Symbiosis Law School
Memberships and Affiliations:
Childreach International
SightLife
Member Bar Council of India
Member Delhi High Court Bar Association
Member Inter – Pacific Bar Association (IBPA)
He is also member of the Infrastructure team with a specific focus on environmental matters.
Accomplishments
Leading Indian M&A corporate lawyer by Chambers Asia 2010, Chambers Asia 2011 and by Chambers Global.
Leading lawyer by Asia Law Profiles.
Leading Lawyer by The Intercontinental Finance Magazine (UK).
Leading lawyer by ACQ Law Awards (UK).
Leading lawyer by Global Business Magazine (UK).
Global Law Experts for Climate Change Legal Advisory Services.
Leading Lawyer in Corporate Commercial/M&A by Legal 500 (Asia Pacific) in 2016. 
APURVA DIWANJI: He has been working in Desai & Diwanji for the past 21 years and is currently employed in the position of Partner.He is praised for his knowledge and experience in the corporate and M&A space. His additional areas of strength include commercial litigation international capital markets, co-investments, PE, and joint ventures. He has advised on a variety of transnational and cross border transactions, sale/acquisition of existing Indian companies, GDR/FCCB and QIB issues.
He has advised M&A transactions, including mergers and amalgamations, asset and business purchases and sales, tender offers, securities sales and purchases, buy-outs, joint ventures and strategic buyouts. He advises on the full spectrum of such matters including corporate governance issues, transaction structuring, anti-trust and competition laws, FDI and FEMA issues, SEBI and DIP guidelines, and has advised on transactions across various industry sectors.
Education:
A (Economics), University of Mumbai (1987).
A (Law), Downing College, University of Cambridge, 1993.
Membership and Affiliations
Non-Executive and Independent Director of Cadila Healthcare Ltd (Pharmaceuticals).
Director of Go Airlines (India) Ltd.
Partner of Desai & Diwanji.
Director of Shapoorji Pallonji Forbes Shipping Limited.
Director Eureka Forbes Ltd.
  BOMI DARUWALA: He has been practicing since last 30 years in the area of domestic and international tax and heads the Mumbai office of Vaish Associates. He has been associated with the Firm since 1988. Primarily a transactional lawyer, he has been involved in numerous complex tax litigations and argued several tax cases relating to domestic and cross-border taxation issues of foreign companies, multinationals and large Indian corporate houses before various High Courts, Authority for Advance Rulings, Tax Tribunals and other appellate authorities. He has wide expertise in transfer pricing related issues.
He specializes in restructuring of business, M&A, asset & share purchase deals, securities offerings, structuring of complex debt and equity investments and general corporate and tax advisory. He also has expertise in sectors like private equity, cross-border business transactions, joint ventures, angel and venture capital round financings, strategic alliances and business divorces.
He is a notable speaker of several national and international conferences and seminars organized by leading professional bodies and chambers on subjects like M&A, Takeover Code, Foreign Direct Investment and structuring of Joint Ventures and other topical issues. He has also authored various articles and publications including the Handbook of Direct Taxes of which 25 editions have been published by Bharat House.
Education:
Com from Sri Ram College of Commerce
L.B
Chartered Accountant
Cost Accountant
Membership and Affiliations
Insolvency professional with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
Fellow Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (FCA).
Associate Member of Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India(AICWA).
Independent Non-Executive Director at Mather & Platt Fire Systems Ltd.
Partner at Vaish Associates Advocates.
Accomplishments
Independently endorsed as a Leading Lawyer in Corporate/ M&A by Asia law Leading Lawyers 2018.
Leading practitioner in the Corporate/ M&A practice areas by Chambers and Partners (2018).
Leading practitioner in the Corporate/ M&A practice areas Asia Pacific Guide and Asia Pacific Legal 500 (2018).
  CHITTRANJAN R. DUA: He is the founding partner of Dua Associates and has been a practicing advocate for over 30 years of rich and varied experience in the Legal field. Dua Associates is one of the largest and prominent national law firms with full-fledged offices across eight metropolitan cities in India. He has successfully established and developed Dua Associates into a practice with over 150 professionals including 42 partners and senior principals. He has vast experience in corporate law, M&A, privatization, project finance, public issues, entry strategies, foreign investment, corporate structuring/ restructuring, infrastructure projects, international trade and taxation aspects of doing business in India. He serves on the boards of many major multinational corporations in India primarily representing the interests of the foreign collaborators and investors. The firm has the aforementioned practice areas and a strong litigation and arbitration practice.
Education:
A from University of Delhi (1971)
Master’s Degree Delhi School of Economics (1973)
Honors Degree from St. Stephens College.
LLB from University of Delhi (1976)
Membership and Affiliations
Independent Non-Executive Director of TVS Motor Company Limited, Gillette India Limited, Pearl Global Industries Ltd.
Director of WIMCO Ltd., Tractors & Farm Equipment Ltd., Cabot India Ltd., Becton Dickinson India Pvt Ltd., McCann Erickson India Pvt Ltd., Sella Synergy India Pvt Ltd., Linde Engineering India Pvt Ltd., Lexsphere Pvt Ltd., Result Services Pvt Ltd., Associated Corporate Consultants India Pvt Ltd., Amit Investments Pvt Ltd., Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions Pvt Ltd., Fila Sport India Pvt Ltd., Inapex Pvt Ltd, Norling Pvt Ltd., PBE India Pvt Ltd., UL India Pvt Ltd., Timex watches Ltd. and many more.
Non-Executive Director of Vodafone India Ltd.
Founding Member of American Chamber of Commerce in India.
Senior Vice President of Society of Indian Law Firms.
  CYRIL SHROFF: He is managing partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (since May 2015) and was previously managing partner of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co (since 1995). He is a Solicitor, High Court of Bombay, since 1983. With over 36 years of experience in a range of areas, including corporate law, securities markets, banking, infrastructure, trust and estate laws, amongst many others.
He is regarded and has been consistently rated as India’s top corporate and finance lawyer by several international surveys. He is the head of the Private Client team. He has deep and unparalleled experience in advising family businesses, both in India and abroad, on a range of family business, governance, succession and wealth management issues. He specializes in advising family businesses on corporate governance and succession issues.
He has worked on a number of Family Constitutions and Family Arrangements with some of India’s most prominent business families, and continues to act as their trusted advisor in multiple capacities. He is actively involved in advising a number of clients on domestic and cross-border estate and succession planning issues.
He ranks among India’s top finance practitioners and enjoys a great reputation for his expertise in Indian banking law, financial regulation and M&A matters.
Education:
A., L.L.B degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai
Membership and Affiliations:
Was a member of the SEBI constituted by Uday Kotak committee on corporate governance, the SEBI committee on insider trading and recently the SEBI committee for direct listing of foreign securities.
Member of the first Apex advisory committee of the IMC International ADR Centre and an advisory member of the Financial Planning Standards Board of India and Macquarie.
He is a member of the advisory board of the Mumbai Court of International Arbitration (MCIA) and was recently appointed as a task force member of Society of Insolvency Practitioners of India.
He is a member of the advisory board of the Center for Study of the Legal Profession established by the Harvard Law School, a member of the advisory board of the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) and on the board of IIM Trichy and the governing board of Krea University.
Director of Grasim Industries Ltd.
Independent Director, Chairman of Stakeholders Relationship Committee.
Member of ESOS Compensation Committee and Member of Nomination & Remuneration Committee, Grasim Industries Ltd.
Director, IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd.
Director, Apar Industries Ltd.
He is a member of the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) International Advisory Board and also part of various committees of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
Accomplishments:
Ranked as “star practitioner” in India by Chambers Global.
Regarded as the “M&A King of India”.
Featured in issues of Asian Legal Business (ALB) – Dealmakers of the Year 2016, as the only individual from India.
Awarded with “Emerging Markets Firm Leader of the Year – Independent” at the Asian Lawyer Emerging Markets Awards 2016 organized by American Legal Media.
He has been recognized as a “legendary figure in the Indian legal community”.
Chambers Asia Pacific, 2017 has ranked him in Band 1.
Recognized by IFLR1000, 2016 as ‘Leading Lawyer’ in various practices.
Mentioned in the A list (which identifies India’s top 100 lawyers) by India Business Law Journal.
Asian Legal Business has featured him in its December 2016 issue as a ‘Dealmaker of the Year 2016’.
  DILJEET TITUS: He is the founding partner of Titus & Co.’s and has been practicing over 28 years, having worked with Singhania from 1990-1997. His practice areas include project finance and development for power, industrial and telecommunications projects, corporate investment structuring and restructuring, M&A, capital markets, commercial transactions, insurance, life sciences and biotechnology, venture capital finance, IT and ADR.
He has written several articles for law and business journals, magazines and newspapers and contributes a legal column, Going by the Book to Business Today, India’s leading business magazine. He maintains an active client practice which includes involvement in transactions, dispute resolutions, intellectual property and tax matters. He represents major US, Japanese and European clients in various capacities in ongoing projects in various phases of development including both greenfield and rehabilitation projects, where he advises in all aspects of investment structuring and restructuring for efficient tax minimisation, statutory and regulatory approvals, drafting and review of project documentation including financing documentations, exchange control issues governing return on equity, tax treatment of operation and management fees, etc
Education:
A from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi (1986)
B from University of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (1989)
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi High Court Bar Association.
Supreme Court Bar Association.
Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
International Bar Association; Indian Council of Arbitration.
Society of Indian Law Firms.
Confederation of Indian Industry and the ICC India (International Chamber of Commerce).
Represents the Indian bar on the Indo American Chamber of Commerce committee on the impact of the WTO on the export of services, as well as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s expert group on legal and accounting services.
He is a member of a number of other committees including the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s international affairs committee for Asia Pacific; the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India’s USA expert committee and the Confederation of Indian Industry’s infrastructure subcommittee.
Associate Vice President of the Society of Indian Firms and General Secretary of the Policy and Planning Group.
Represented the Indian Bar on the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce committee on “Impact of WTO on Export of Services.”
Accomplishments:
His biography is included in Who’s Who in the World, 2002.
The firm was described as a leading private equity practice by Global Counsel 3000 in 2002.
Commendatore dell’ Ordine della Stella della Solidarieta Italiana (Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity) by a Decree of the President of Italy H. E. Mr. Giorgio Napolitano on the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Franco Frattini. H. E. the Ambassador of Italy to India, Mr. Roberto Toscano presented the award to Mr. Titus.
The National Law Day Award 2007 “For Unique Achievements and Leadership in the Practice of Corporate and Commercial Laws” by the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.
Was awarded Star Export House Status by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India.
Ranked by Chambers & Partners, UK among the leading lawyers of the world 2000 through 2016 in the specialist area of projects work.
Ranked as a “Leading Lawyer” in Project Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions by Asialaw Leading Lawyer Survey for the years 2000 through 2016.
Ranked as a “Recommended Individual” in Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions and Project Finance by Which Lawyer?
Ranked as a “Leading Individual” for sixteen consecutive years by Asia Pacific Legal 500 in infrastructure and Corporate/ Mergers and Acquisitions as well as in Project Finance.
Global Counsel 3000 Recommended Lawyer-Diljeet Titus, Titus & Co. for Mergers and Acquisitions Consulting Editor The Contemporary Who’s Who, 2016.
  GUNJAN SHAH: She is a partner at Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. Her area of practices are M&A, private equity investment, corporate restructuring, securities and takeover regulations, debt restructuring and debt capital markets and has led several complex and ground-breaking transactions that were first of their kind and are commonly used as precedents. She has specializations in financial services and pharma and life sciences.
Global PE heavyweights routinely turn to her while making investments in India.
Education:
A., LL.B. (Hons) National Law School of India University, Bangalore (1993-98)
C.L., University of Oxford (2000-2001).
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi Bar Association
Accomplishments:
Featured in the list of India’s Hottest Young Executives – 2015 in Business Today’s best and brightest corporate performers under 40
Recognised as India’s top 40 business leaders under the age of 40 by Economic Times – Spencer-Stuart Survey, 2014
Recognised by AsiaOne among 50 most influential Indians under 50 in 2016-17
   HAIGREVE KHAITAN: He is a Senior Partner at Khaitan & Co and heads Khaitan & Co.’s Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) practice and serves as its Head of Mumbai Office. He joined the firm in 1988. He focus areas are Mergers & Acquisitions (Domestic and Cross-border), Private Equity (including in listed companies) & Venture Capital, Domestic and Cross-border Joint Ventures, Collaborations & Franchising, Project Finance Transactions, Banking & Finance Transactions, Takeovers, Strategic Alliances, Foreign Investment Law, Corporate & Commercial Law Advisory, Asset protection & Wealth Management, Business & Family Succession Planning etc.
 He advises a range of large Indian conglomerates and multinational clients in various business sectors including infrastructure, power, telecom, automobiles, steel, software and information technology, retail, etc. He has rich experience in all aspects of M&A- Due Diligence, Structuring, Documentation involving listed companies, cross border transactions and medium and small business, etc.
He spent considerable years of his initial practice in representing clients on litigation matters and thereafter he went on representing many clients on project finance and real estate transactions.
He has been highly recommended by world’s leading law chambers / legal accreditation bodies as one of the leading lawyers in India and as the leading lawyer for Project Finance in Asia. He has been involved in some of the high profile and complex transactions in India.
.He has rich experience in all aspects of Chemical plant operations. He has his expertise on various innovative Chemical technologies, his main research work focuses on time and cost reduction on technologies and evaluation process for improving techniques.
His research interest is Analytical Technique Bioanalytical Technique Liquid Chromatography Separation Technique.
Education:
L.B., South Kolkata Law College (1995)
Membership and Affiliations:
Non-Executive Independent Director of Harrisons Malayalam Limited, National Engineering Industries Ltd., CEAT Ltd., INOX Leisure Ltd., Ambuja Cements Ltd. , Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd.
Non-Executive Director of BTS Investment Advisors Ltd.
Independent Director of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Director of AVTEC Limited, Seclore Technology Private Ltd., JSW ISPAT Steel Ltd.
Member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (India), International Bar Association, Indian Council of Arbitration, Bar Council of West Bengal, All India Bar Association, Inc. Law Society of Calcutta, The Indian Law Institute, Bar Association of India.
Partner at Azalia Estate Realty Solutions LLP, Perito Tessili Designs LLP, Harulika Ventures LLP and Bhasa Agri LLP.
Accomplishments:
Leading lawyer in India for Corporate / M&A transactions and Banking by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, IFLR 1000.
He was listed in our “40 under 45” survey of India’s Leading Young Lawyers.
Band 1 lawyer for Corporate/M&A and Private Equity.
“A” list India’s top 100 lawyers 2016.
  HIMANSHU NARAYAN: He is working as a partner in Dua Associates and has significant experience in transactional work in the field of M&A, strategic and financial partnerships, private equity, corporate finance and provision of general corporate advice. His transactional experience has included work in sectors such as telecommunications (including telecommunications infrastructure companies), life insurance, general insurance, print media, media and entertainment, financial services, advertising, consumer goods, software, engineering, automobile and tyre industry, defence, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, petrochemicals, aviation, infrastructure companies in the securities market.
In general, he has been involved in transactions on behalf of buyers, sellers, investee companies and strategic and financial investors in respect of shares of unlisted companies and other securities. In connection with such transactions and arrangements, he has had opportunity to advise on issues pertaining to foreign direct investment, outbound investment, the exchange management regulations, securities laws, and various other Indian legislations and regulations.
His experience has derived from advising international companies, particularly, in the context of strategic alliances and arrangements (combined with licensing and franchising arrangements), in India, and, in relation to their investments and operations, in many international forums.
In addition, and over the years, he has also acted for various financial investors, international property developers, private equity investors, including for their investments into the real estate sector in India, foreign institutional investors, Indian branches of various international banks relative to corporate finance transactions, securitization and investments through various instruments.
In the recent few years, he has also advised on various aspects surrounding foreign involvement in the trading sector and has been involved in negotiating incremental commercial arrangements in the retail sector in India. He has also worked with stressed asset groups in devising and implementing alternative investment products and structures for the same. In addition, he has also had the opportunity to work on family restructuring and consolidation arrangements.
As a natural corollary to his transactional work, he has had extensive experience in formulating a strategy for and negotiating, various joint ventures, strategic alliances and other corporate arrangements.
Education:
A, L.L.B (Hons.) from NLSIU Bangalore
Accomplishments
Featured as leading lawyer in Corporate and M&A by Asialaw
Featured as leading lawyer in Private Equity by Asialaw
  KUNAL THAKORE: He is a partner at Partner at Talwar Thakore & Associates. He is widely recognised (including Chambers & Partners and Merger market) as a leading M&A lawyer having over 20 years’ experience as a Solicitor. His expertise includes joint ventures, M&A and disposals (both public and private), private equity investments, and more generally advice in relation to the regulatory landscape in India. He has advised domestic and international clients on some of the most significant deals in the market.
  MANSINGH LAXMIDAS BHAKTA: He is one of the senior managing partners with Kanga & Company, a firm of advocates and solicitors in Mumbai, and has been on the Reliance board since 1977. He has been practicing for over 45 year now. His areas of expertise are M&A, corporate and commercial law, Foreign Investment in India and Taxation.
He has been named as one of the leading lawyers in Asia for several years by Asialaw and Chambers and Partners. He has also contributed articles on diverse legal subjects and presented papers before various national and international forums.
Education:
Graduate from Government Law College, Mumbai
L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai
Memberships and Affiliations:
Served as the chairman of the Taxation Law Standing Committee of Asialaw.
Served as the chairman of Taxation Committee of Indian Merchant’s Chamber.
Member of the advisory committees of the Life Insurance Corporation of India and Deutsche Bank.
Committee member of the Bombay Incorporated Law Society and of the governing board of the India Council of Arbitration.
Committee member appointed by the Reserve Bank of India on legal aspects, relating to operations for banking and financial systems.
Director of JCB India.
Lead Independent Director Reliance Industries Ltd. (since 1997)
Independent Director of Abhijeet Power Ltd. (since 2010)
Independent Director Jyoti CNC Automation Ltd. (since 2012)
He is President Emeritus of with Association of Hospitals, Bombay.
Board Member of Nathdwara Temple Road, Rajasthan
Accomplishments:
Recipient of the Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence from Rotary International.
Leading Lawyers of Asia for six consecutive years, from 2011 by Asialaw Journal.
Award of ‘The Pillar of Hindustaanee Society’ for the year 2014-15 in the field of ‘Ethical Law Practice’ by Trans Asian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Named as one of the leading lawyers of Asia by Asialaw Journal.
One of India’s top 50 independent directors in a survey undertaken by the Capital Markets Magazine in 2003.
He is listed as one of the Leading Lawyers of Asia for 2006 and 2007 by Asialaw, Hongkong.
  MOHIT SARAF: He is currently working at Luthra & Luthra in the position of Partner. He heads the Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Infrastructure & Projects practices at the Firm. With over 25 years of experience across sectors & industries, he has advised major global and Indian companies.
He specializes in M&A and Private Equity representing some major clients such as Mylan, Baxter, Bayer and Carlyle.
He has over 50 publications in various national & international journals and magazines like Financial Worldwide, Finance Yearbook by PLC, Economic Times, Business Standard, Financial Express, Powerline, Tele.net, India Infrastructure, India Business Law Journal and SIAC Yearbook.
Education:
Delhi University 
Membership and Affiliations:
Bar Council of Delhi
International Bar Association 
Accomplishments:
Voted as ‘Leaders in their field’ by Chambers Global 2012 for Corporate/M&A and Projects, Infrastructure & Energy.
Voted as ‘Leading Lawyers’ by IFLR 1000- 2012.
‘Asialaw Leading Lawyers’ by for Banking & Finance and Capital Markets, General Corporate Practice and Project Finance.
Voted for his expertise in Project Finance, Mergers & Acquisition, Real Estate, Procurement, and Insurance & Reinsurance by International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers.
He has been recommended as one of Asia’s top 25 M&A lawyers.
Honored by ALB HOT 100 as one of the top performing lawyers.
He is a recipient of various national and international awards and is listed as a Band 1 M&A lawyer in Who’s Who Business Lawyers, Chambers Asia Leading Lawyers and Asia Pacific Legal 500. IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate also lists him as a Leading Lawyer.
He has been awarded the ‘Shaurya Chakra’ (a national peacetime gallantry award by the Indian President, Mr. R. Venkatraman).
  NAINA KRISHNA MURTHY: She is the founder and managing partner of Krishnamurthy & Co (K Law). She started her career with Arthur Anderson followed by a stint as the in-house counsel at Biocon. She founded K Law in 1999 in Bengaluru. She is based in the firm’s Mumbai office.
Under her leadership and guidance, K Law today is a full-service Indian law firm with 13 partners, four associate partners and about 85 lawyers in offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai.
 She specializes in corporate commercial law, specifically M&A, joint ventures, collaborations and PE/VC investments, and is a trusted adviser to some of the foremost companies, including Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries, Pipavav Defence and Caterpillar. She recently advised L&T General Insurance in its sale to HDFC Ergo valued at ₹5.5 billion.
Education:
A, L.L.B (Hons.) from National Law School of India University, Bangalore (1996)
Membership and Affiliations:
Director of Epicentre Research Technologies Bangalore Private Limited, National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd., Performance Direct Software Private Limited, Acciona Agua India Private Limited, MRops Progamming India Private Limited, Mobile Feed Back Services India Private Limited and Focus Suites Solutions & Services Private Limited.
Non Executive Independent Director of Aurangabad Electricals Ltd., IndoStar Capital Finance Ltd.
Accomplishments
She was recognised by India Business Law Journal as ‘A List’ of India’s top 100 lawyers in 2018, 2017 and 2016.
  NISHITH MADANLAL DESAI: He is the founder of Nishith Desai Associates. He is a Non-Resident Indian, specializing in the field of M&A, International Taxation, International Business Strategy, International Construction Law, Institutional Investment, International Finance, Structuring of Joint Ventures, Offshore Funds, and Infrastructure. He was admitted to the bar, Mumbai in 1973. He is currently practicing as an International Lawyer, Researcher and Lecturer and is on the Advisory Board, New York State Bar Association’s International Law Review. He has experience in the Fund sector, advising the largest number of offshore investment funds. He also played an important role in structuring several private equity funds in addition and structuring domestic venture capital funds. He has advised the SIDBI and the Department of Electronics, Government of India, on their domestic venture capital fund. He is also an international tax and corporate lawyer, researcher, author and lecturer.
Education:
L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai (1973)
L.M from University of Bombay, Department of Law
Membership and Affiliations:
Member of International Bar Association, International Tax Planning Association, Supreme Court Bar Association, American Bar Association and Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
Chairperson of Taxation Committee of LAWASIA.
Senior Country Correspondent for Tax Notes International, US. Lectures: Institutions such as Kellogg Business School (US), Fabrimetal (Belgium), ZFU (Switzerland), National University of Singapore, Basata (UK), Citibank, Coopers and Lybrand, various Chambers of Commerce.
Member of Advisory Board at Avendus Advisors Private Ltd.
Advisory Board of the New York State Bar Association’s International Law Review.
Senior country correspondent for “Tax Notes International”, USA.
Accomplishments:
License of State Bar California (to practice Indian law).
Ranked No. 28 in a global Top 50 “Gold List” by Tax Business, a UK-based international tax journal.
Recognized as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in India by the Indian Business Law Journal.
Honored as ‘Market Leading Professionals’ by Asialaw 2019.
Featured in the Lex Witness publication “Witness Hall of Fame: Top 50” (2010).
Honoured with the title of “ Yunus Social Business Pioneer of India” – 2010 by The Grameen Lab and the Wockhardt Foundation.
Managing Partner of the Year (2014) by IDEX Legal.
Voted “External Counsel of the Year 2009” by Asian Counsel.
Publications:
Non-resident: Investment incentives and tax-planning (published by Taxmann)
  NITIN POTDAR: He is working as a corporate lawyer partner at J. Sagar Associates. Prior to joining JSA, he was a partner with Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., and prior thereto he was with Crawford Bayley & Co.
 He specializes in Public and Private M&A including De-mergers, restructuring of the business, Asset & Share Purchase deals, Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances, Private Equity and general Corporate advisory.
He has vast experience with transactions related to Foreign Direct Investments & Exchange Controls Regulations. He has advised several multinational companies on financial & technical collaborations in India, and strategies/options for commencing operations & consolidations in India, in a cross-section of industries. His focus has been on foreign investments from the US, Germany and Japan.
He also has extensive experience in Private Equity & Strategic Investment transactions including leveraged buyout transactions & exits. He has provided business-oriented advice to a variety of companies receiving Private Equity / Strategic Investments
He is a keen observer of the evolution of the law regulating Takeovers in India and now the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. He has been part of several high profile corporate takeover battles including, defending hostile bids and restructuring.
A widely acclaimed foreign investment expert, he’s advised the best of Indian corporate houses and MNCs across verticals of entertainment, Pharma, IT, FMCG, Engineering, Automobiles and Cement.
A revered speaker at several thought leadership conferences and seminars organized by leading industry institutions and chambers, he is also a self-motivated social author-activist who regularly steers public attention to the larger cause of nation building across academic, social and cultural forums.
Education:
A from University of Bombay (1984)
L.B from University of Bombay (1988)
Solicitor, The Bombay Incorporated Law Society (1991)
Membership and Affiliations:
Chairman of Gandhi Films Foundation
Founder Trustee of Maxwell Foundation
Director of Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Motilal Oswal Trustee Co. Ltd., Keva Fragrances Pvt Ltd., Fori Automation India Pvt Ltd.
He was a member of International Bar Council’s “India Advisory Group’ as also the working Group on Indian Merger Control rules of the International Bar Association, and member of Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce and Industry, The Chamber of Tax Consultants Corporate Committee.
Currently member of the CII Western Region Committee on Startups and Entrepreneurship.
Accomplishments:
He’s been recognized by the coveted Asia Pacific Legal 500 as a Private equity expert of international repute who is ‘highly recommended’ in the M&A practice
Has also been listed as a leading individual in the Investment Funds category.
He has won accolades from the Chambers & Partner, London for his pioneering consulting work in M&A, FDI, private equity and partnership contracts.
  RAJAT SETHI: He is a partner of S&R Associates in Mumbai and one of the highly experienced lawyers. Before joining S&K Associates, he was working with P&A Law Offices in New Delhi and Chambers of Mr. Arun Jaitley, Senior Advocate. He has wide experience of advising clients on a wide array of issues which includes M&A, Private Equity, Competition/Antitrust and general corporate advisory.
Till date, he has acted for different clients in matters linked to IPR, share holder disputes, contractual disputes, banking matters as well as recovery suits.
Education:
A. (Hons.) in Mathematics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi (1992)
L.B from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi (1995)
LLM from Tulane University Law School (1996)
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi Bar Association
Accomplishments:
Recognized as a “leading lawyer” by Chambers Global for Corporate/M&A; by Chambers Asia Pacific for Corporate/M&A, Private Equity, and Technology, Media, Telecoms; by IFLR1000 for M&A and by RSG India Report for Corporate M&A and Private Equity.
  RAJESH N. BEGUR: He is the founder and the managing partner of ARA Law. Earlier he was one of the senior associates in Amarchand Mangaldas. He has been practising for over 3 decades now and has been one of India’s leading corporate lawyers. He is one of the leading counsel for domestic and international clients in corporate areas especially focusing on M&A, Real Estate, Capital Markets, Private Equity, Infrastructure, Banking and Finance, Telecom Media etc.
He has great insight and determination to handle complex of the complex legal business transactions. He is one of the most recognized lawyers in the field of M&A and Private Equity as well as Mutual Fund Regulations. He has made a significant contribution in legal advice and documentation on first GDR offering by an Indian listed company and drafting of the Depositories Ordinance and its model bye-laws. He also contributes articles for Asia Law and premier legal websites.
Education:
Com from Mithibai Motiram Kundnani College of Commerce & Economics(1983)
L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai (1987)
Memberships and Affiliations:
Admitted on the rolls of Bar Council of India (1987)
Admitted as Solicitor on the rolls of the Bombay Incorporated Law Society (1992 )
Admitted on the rolls of Supreme Court of England and Wales 1994
Member of the Advisory Board of National Law University, Jodhpur
Accomplishments:
Top 10 lawyers in India in Banking and Finance by Legal 500.
He is the editor of ARA LAW’s newsletter “Legal Eye”.
  RAJIV K. LUTHRA: He started his career with taxation matters in 1978. He is the Founder & Managing Partner of Luthra & Luthra Law Offices – one of the largest law firms in India. He has over 25 years of experience in advising clients on a vast range of complex commercial transactions including infrastructure projects in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Nigeria. He has successfully handled various disinvestment, privatization and restructuring assignments and has worked on some of the largest mergers in Indian corporate history. He has been appointed by the Government of India on the drafting of several rules and regulations. He has also contributed various publications in national and international professional journals and magazines. He is also well experienced in the structuring of foreign investment into India.
Education:
Alumni of the Harvard Law School
Fellow of the British Commerce Society and the Royal Geographical Society
Membership and Affiliations
Member of International Bar Association, Inter-Pacific Bar Association, National Executive Committee at Confederation of Indian Industry, Union Internationale des Avocats, SWIICL at The Center for American & International Law, Securities & Exchange Board of India, Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, India Ministry of Human Resources Development, American Bar Association and Internal Quality Assurance Cell at NALSAR University of Law, National Executive Committee at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Competition Commission of India to the Competition Advocacy Steering Committee, National Committee on Energy & the Core Group on Infrastructure Development of the Confederation of Indian Industries.
The Ministry of Commerce has appointed him as a Convener of the Committee formed to advise the Government of India on liberalization of legal services under the GATT between India and the U. K.
Independent Non-Executive Director of DLF Ltd, Symphony International Holdings Ltd.
Independent Director of TV18 Broadcast Ltd, Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd.
Director of Mylan Laboratories Ltd., VLCC Health Care Ltd., Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Lodhi Property Co. Ltd., Delhi Golf Club Ltd., Mylan Laboratories India Pvt Ltd., Knowledge Cloud Pvt Ltd., Paani Foundation.
Accomplishments:
Ranked amongst the ‘Leading Individuals’ in Banking & Finance by The Asia Pacific Legal 500.
Recipient of the Asian Legal Business Award.
Honored as “Legend in Indian Corporate Law” and as an “Ace Legal Eagle for Indian corporate law, specializing in tax, regulatory and compliance laws” at the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) Excellence Awards held in Dubai in December 2013.
The Lawyer.com included him among its top 40 ‘to have been making the biggest waves outside the UK.’
He ranked amongst ALB’s Hot 100 in recognition for his contribution to the Capital Markets’ sector.
Recipient of the ‘International Jurists Awards 2013’, 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Attorney-General of the United States of America for “his accomplishments and achievements in the International M&A sector” at the 4th Annual International M&A Advisor Awards 2012 in New York, and the “2008 National Law Day Award” by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and the (then) Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, for “…his singular contribution to the practice of corporate and commercial law in India and for being one of the country’s earliest pioneers in international transaction lawyering”.
Featured in the ‘Leaders Profiles – India – Project Finance’ of the Chambers Global.
  RAVI SINGHANIA: He is the managing partner of Singhania & Partners LLP (established 1999) headquartered in Delhi with branch offices in Hyderabad and Bangalore and associate offices in prominent cities across India.
He has been bequeathed with innumerable legal accolades and has been consistently rated as India’s top corporate-M&A, dispute resolution and project finance lawyer by several international surveys. Ravi has over two decades of experience in diverse practice areas such as employment, real estate, competition apart from M&A, and Project Finance with Clientele spread across the globe.
He has been advising World Bank since 2004 on FDI related matters and for their annual publication “Doing Business in India”. He also advises number of ministries, central and state governments as well for divestments and infrastructure related matters. Besides, there are large PSUs, Banks and MNCs who trust his legal acumen on Cross-border Transactions, compliances under SEBI Takeover Regulations, M&A, Investment Structuring, Corporatization, Debt & Equity offering, and Dispute Resolution. He provides both hands-on legal advice and overall strategic inputs while drafting and negotiating contracts for complex transactions.
He is admitted to practice law in India as an Advocate and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.
He is also a renowned speaker who regularly speaks in various seminars. Further, he has to his credit, a number of publications in various national and international professional journals and magazines including American Bar Association and Euro Money.
Education:
com (Hons.), Commerce Economics from Sri Ram College of Commerce.
L.B from Campus Law Center, Delhi University.
Membership and Affiliations:
He is a board member in CRISIL Ltd. and Indian subsidiaries of numerous Fortune 500 companies such as McGraw-Hill, AOL, American Bureau of Shipping, National Instruments etc.
Serves on the Board of several multinational companies such as ABS Industrial Verification (India) Pvt. Ltd., ABS Quality Evaluations Pvt. Ltd., AOL Online India Pvt. Ltd., Assets Care Enterprise Ltd., BearinqPoint Business Consulting Pvt. Ltd., Capital IQ Information Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., India Autobahn Automobiles & Ancillaries Pvt. Ltd., Asset Care and Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd., ABS Professional Services (India) Private Ltd., McGraw Hill Educational Services India Private Ltd., Ml Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.Powerwave technologies Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd., Singhania and Partners Pvt. Ltd., Stahl CraneSystems (India) Pvt. Ltd., Survey Sampling International India Pvt. Ltd. and Liqhtbulb Technology Services Pvt. Ltd..
He is the former Governing Body Member of Indian Council of Arbitration and Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific Committee of American Bar Association.
He is a Member of Law Society of England & Wales, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London as well as Supreme Court Bar Association.
He is the Country Representative for Sweet & Maxell’s ‘International Company & Commercial Law Review’
Accomplishments:
He is the youngest lawyer to be felicitated with the “National Law Day Award” for Corporate Laws (2006) by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Publications:
Authored India chapters in books titled ‘Product Liability in Asia Pacific’ and ‘Employment Laws in Asia’.
“Drafting of Contracts”- Templates with Drafting Notes published by Bloomsbury.
  ROHIT KOCHHAR: Widely acclaimed as a pre-eminent Indian lawyer and outstanding legal entrepreneur, he is the Chairman & Managing Partner at Kochhar & Co, one of India’s leading and premier corporate law firms and plays an active role in the management and operations of the firm at a global level. In addition to management functions, he is actively involved in private practice and advises numerous foreign clients on diverse matters relating to inbound investments.
His main areas of work include regulatory approvals, joint ventures, foreign collaborations, acquisitions, company law, labour and employment law, exchange control, general commercial transactions and corporate litigation. He enjoys special expertise in assisting foreign clients on their entry strategy and has been instrumental in advising numerous multinational corporations on setting up a business presence in India and providing continual legal support to various clients on Business Law issues.
He also enjoys expertise in matters pertaining to Reserve Bank of India approvals and Exchange Control Regulations.
He also heads the prevention of sexual harassment (POSH) and employee fraud practice desks of the Firm. He regularly advises numerous Fortune 500 Companies (including major US, European and Japanese corporations) on a host of Indian law issues and sits on the board of many Indian subsidiaries of such corporations.
He has been one of the pioneers of the Indian legal services sector with many firsts to his credit. Under his dynamic leadership, Kochhar & Co is the only full-service law firm with a true national presence that is spread across six prominent Indian states and four overseas offices, including Dubai, where it is the only firm from the sub-continent to have an independent license to practise local UAE and DIFC laws.
Mr. Kochhar is a frequent speaker at various international and domestic conferences. He also conducts workshops and training for clients in employee retrenchment, transfer of employees and the prevention of sexual harassment.
Education:
Com., (Hons.) from University of Delhi
L.B. from University of Mumbai
Membership and Affiliations:
Delhi High Court Bar Association.
Supreme Court Bar Association.
International Bar Association (IBA).
Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA).
Honorary Secretary of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF)
Accomplishments:
Conferred the distinguished Rashtriya Gaurav Award (Pride of India) for his outstanding achievements in the legal field.
Awarded the International Council of Jurists Award by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh for his “distinctive accomplishment in the areas of corporate law and legal entrepreneurship”.
Conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Award for being the “Young Achiever & Entrepreneur” in 2000. He is the first and only practicing lawyer in India to have been conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Award since its inception.
Distinct recognition by Legal 500 and named him in the Elite “Leading Lawyers” for corporate and M&A in Asia-Pacific region.
Bestowed with the LegalEra Premier League Awards (2012-13) for Outstanding Achievements Firm.
Conferred the Award for one of the World’s Greatest Leaders in Asia & GCC 2015 by His Excellency Mr. T.P. Seetharaman, the Ambassador of India to the UAE on the occasion of the 44th UAE National Day.
Kochhar & Co. was conferred the ‘National Bar Award’ by the All India Bar Association for being “The Most Dynamic and Progressive Indian Law Firm” by the Chairman of the Law Commission of India.
Conferred with the National Citizens Award for his unique contribution in the field of “Youth Affairs”.
Presented the National Law Award for “Excellence in Corporate law” in 1999.
Publications
Co-authored a book titled “Doing Business in India” published by Business Laws, Inc.
Article on ‘Exit from a Joint Venture in India’ in IBL (Journal of the Japanese Institute of International Business Law).
  SANJAY ASHER: He started his advocacy since 1989 and was admitted as a solicitor in 1993. He is now the youngest senior partner at Crawford Bayley (India’s oldest law firm, established in 1830). He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of corporate law. His areas of specialization are: M&A joint ventures cross border M&A and capital markets.
He also serves as the independent director of various public and private companies in India as well as international firms and organisations.
He is a notable speaker in seminars and conferences organised by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India and International Financial Law Review etc. He has several publications in national and international levels and also published a book on Company Law Ready Reckoner, 2014 (Publisher: CCH – A Wolters Kluwer Business).
Education:
Bachelor’s Degree from Mumbai University
L.B from Mumbai University
Chartered Accountant.
Memberships and Affiliations:
Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Indo-US Financial Institutions Reforms and Expansion Projects – Capital Markets
Member of Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa
Chairman of Integra Engineering India Limited (2009-11)
Non-Executive Independent Director of Sudarshan Chemical Industries Limited (from 2009)
Non-Executive Independent Director of Finolex Industries Limited (from 2012)
Director of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited
Foundation:
Sanjay Asher Trustee, Partner, Crawford Bayley & Co.
  SHIVPRIYA NANDA: Currently she serves as the Joint Managing Partner of JSA and Co-Chairs its Corporate Practice.
She has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of Corporate Commercial practice including M&A, representing multinational corporations and enterprises in large scale cross-border transactions, advice related to the establishment of new business operation, Corporate structuring, Joint Venture agreements, Asset & Share acquisition, Divestment, Franchising, Real Estate, Employment and Commercial contract issues. She advises International majors on large Infrastructure projects in the Transport, Aviation and Mining sector.
She has inter alia advised the airport operator in the privatisation of the Delhi airport and has also advised one of the largest multinational cargo companies in setting up their operations in India. She has also been involved in assisting with the entry strategy structuring in the largest Foreign Direct Investment in the Mining sector. Having worked with one of the premier litigation firms of Delhi prior to her current practice, she has substantial experience in Litigation & Arbitration, including International Arbitration. She has represented clients such as Wal-Mart, Michelin, EMAAR, KFC and Pizza Hut, Fidelity, Frankfurt Airport, Posco, Pernod Ricard, Hindustan Times amongst others.
She has also advised several Fortune 500 companies in complicated strategic alliances, restructurings, shareholder issues, bribery and anti-corruption investigations, technology licensing and transfers, senior management engagement and exits.
Education:
Graduate from Lady Sri Ram College
L.B Campus Law Centre, Delhi
Membership and Affiliations:
Non-Executive & Independent Director of Jubilant Industries Limited.
Independent Director of EICL Limited.
Accomplishments:
Ranked as a top-tier lawyer in various publications.
Ranked as one of the leading individuals by Legal 500 consecutively for the past years.
Listed as one of the top leading lawyers in India by Who’s Who legal.
  SOM MANDAL: He is the Managing Partner of Fox Mandal, Delhi. He also steers the International practice of Fox Mandal. His focus is mainly in M&A, corporate law and project finance, etc. The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers has accredited him for the M&A sector in India. He actively takes part in various International Seminars.
He has authored the chapter on ‘FIDIC Applicability in India’ published by Kluwers Publications. He has proactively approached various Governmental bodies concerned, on the ongoing subject of “Liberalisation of the Indian Legal Sector” welcoming the entry of foreign law firms in India.
Education:
BA from St. Xavier’s College
L.B. from the University of Calcutta 
Membership and Affiliations:
Member with the Supreme Court Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, International Bar Association, American Bar Association (International Section) Union des Advocat, Inter Pacific Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association etc.
He is the one of the Indian representative at the Commission on Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, Vice-Chair of the Asia Pacific Forum and Council member of Section on Legal Practice of the International Bar Association and of Committee on Corporate Law & Legal Affairs-FICCI.
 Accomplishments:
Nominated by Asia Law & Practice, as a leading lawyer in Asia in the field of M&A.
He has also been nominated by Chambers Global, as a leading individual in Project Finance.
He has been awarded the ‘Best Corporate Lawyer’ in India on the occasion of Law Day Awards 2002.
Featured in Asian Legal Business Magazine’s Hot 100 Lawyers.
Featured amongst the 40 International Star Lawyer graded by The Lawyer magazine.
Legal 500 ranked him as a Leading Individual Lawyer for Corporate and M&A.
He has been nominated as the Asian Hot 100 lawyers by ALB and amongst the 40 International Worldshakers by The Lawyers UK.
  SRIDHAR GORTHI: He is a partner and non-executive director in Trilegal, and is part of the corporate practice group of the Mumbai firm. Prior to that, he also worked with Arthur Andersen and Lex Inde, Mumbai. His areas of expertise include M&A, Joint Ventures and Private Equity. He has been actively involved in several high profile cross-border transactions and advices various multinational and domestic corporations on restructuring, debt finance, joint ventures, acquisition/mergers and private equity transactions. His key clients include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lincoln Electric, Heineken, Thomson Reuters, Lockheed Martin, Tesco, eBay, the Godrej Group, L&T, Shriram Group and the Raheja Group.
Sridhar has represented international clients on inbound M&A in India as well as Indian companies on outbound M&A transactions in jurisdictions such as the UK, the USA, South Africa, Argentina, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The private equity funds that Sridhar regularly advises include CLSA and Morgan Stanley PE.
His research interest is Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Colorectal Cancer Research and Reports in Gastroenterology Oncology Translational Research and Pharmaceutical products.
 Education:
A, L.L.B (Hons.): National Law School of India University.
Membership and Affiliations
Member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.
Non-Executive Independent Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Chairman of Hathway and Non-Executive Independent Director of Cable & Datacom Ltd.
Director of Hathway Bhawani Cabletel and Datacom Ltd.
Accomplishments:
Leading lawyers in India for M&A, Private Equity and Venture Capital in India by the Guide to Asia Pacific’s Leading Lawyers 2010, 2011 and 2012; and by IFLR 1000, 2011 and 2012.
  SURESH NARSAPPA TALWAR: He is a Partner at Talwar, Thakore & Associates. He is a Corporate Counsel of Talwar, Thakore & Associates and set up Talwar, Thakore & Associates in April 2007. He served as Senior Partner and Adviser of M/s. Crawford Bayley & Company until March 31, 2006. As a practicing lawyer with the Bombay High Court since 1966, he has over 43 years of experience in the legal profession, specializing in corporate law dealing specifically with M&A, corporate taxation, foreign exchange laws, international issues of Indian securities and real estate laws among others
 Education:
Undergraduate degree from the University of Mumbai.
L.B from Government Law College.
Membership and Affiliations:
Chairman of Merck Ltd, FCI OEN Connectors Ltd., Armstrong World Industries India Pvt Ltd, Romil Finance & Investments Pvt Ltd., Sidham Finance & Investments Pvt Ltd., 20th Century Fox Corp. (India) Pvt Ltd., PZ Cussons India Pvt Ltd.
Director of Solvay Pharma India Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Pvt. Ltd., Epitome Global Services Pvt Ltd., Indium III (Mauritius) Holdings Ltd., Indium IV (Mauritius) Holdings Ltd., Rediffusion Dentsu Young & Rubicam Pvt Ltd., Global Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd., Birla Sun Life Trustee Co. Pvt Ltd., Decagon Investments Pvt Ltd., Emerson Process Management (India) Pvt Ltd, Rakindo Developers Pvt Ltd., Snowcem Paints Pvt Ltd., Showdiff Worldwide Pvt Ltd., Wave Suspension Systems India Pvt Ltd., Warner Bros Pictures India Pvt Ltd., Swiss Re Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd., Swiss Re Shared Services India Pvt Ltd., Uhde India Ltd., Chowgule & Co. Pvt Ltd., Chowgule Ports & Infrastructures Pvt Ltd., John Fowler (India) Pvt Ltd., L&t Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd., Morgan Stanley India Capital Pvt Ltd., India Value Fund Trustee Co. Pvt Ltd., Phillip (India) Pvt Ltd. and many more.
Independent Non-Executive Director of Syngene International Ltd, Sonata Software Limited, Elantas Beck India Ltd, Samson Maritime Ltd., Shrenuj & Company Ltd.
  VISHWANG DESAI: He is the managing partner of Desai & Diwanji, one of the largest and oldest law firms in India. He focuses on corporate and finance law and specializes in M&A, private equity, buy-outs, spin-offs, de-mergers, divestitures, project and structured finance, cross-border transactions, FDI, corporate governance, competition and regulatory issues.
 He has been involved in complex restructurings and buy-outs of large public and private corporations. He has also represented governments and corporations, large public and private corporations, global private equity and hedge funds, lenders, multilateral agencies in large and complex transactions in a variety of sectors.
Education:
Sc (Chemistry) and L.L.B from Government Law College, Mumbai.
Membership and Affiliations:
Managing Partner of Desai & Diwanji
Co-chair, Mergers and Acquisitions Practice Group
Co-chair, Infrastructure and Project Finance Practice Group
Accomplishments
Nominated as a leading lawyer by numerous global publications.
Awarded numerous awards including “Lawyer of the Year” awards by various organizations.
  VIVEK K. CHANDY: He is partner at J. Sagar Associates. Specializing in the areas of Private Equity, M&A and Corporate Commercial work. He has twenty-five years of experience, and a vast body of work in real estate and private equity transactions.
Worked extensively advising on a wide range of issues from acquisitions to structuring transactions in the IT/ ITES, e-Commerce, Healthcare, Real Estate space.
From 2005 after Foreign Direct Investment was permitted in the Real Estate sector, have facilitated huge investment into this sector and also closed over 40 transactions in this field alone over the last five years.
His recent high profile transactions include representing two sovereign wealth funds in their investments into the Healthcare and Real Estate sectors and a global leader in the e-commerce space, in their strategic investment in an Indian company which operates the fastest growing marketplace model website in India.
Education:
L.B from Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College of Law (1991)
  ZIA MODY: She is one of the founding partners of AZB & Partners and one of India’s foremost corporate attorneys. She started her litigation practice under the name Chambers of Zia Mody (CZM). Zia worked as a corporate associate at Baker & McKenzie, New York, for five years before moving to India to set up practice, establishing the Chambers of Zia Mody in 1984, which then became AZB & Partners in 2004. She is an indisputable leader in corporate law in India. Her firm AZB & Partners is rated first among the top law firms for M&A. She was enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa in 1978. She serves on various advisory committees of the Confederation of Indian Industry including its National Council and its committees on Corporate Governance, Financial Services, Capital Markets and Legal Services.
Education:
L.B from Selwyn College, University of Cambridge (1978)
Master’s Degree from Harvard Law School (1980)
Membership and Affiliations:
Independent Non-Executive Director of CLP Holdings Limited.
Independent Director of Ascendas India Trust, Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte Ltd.
Deputy Chairman of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.
Non Executive Trustee of Observer Research Foundation.
Member-Governing Board of International Council for Commercial Arbitration.
Director of London Court of International Arbitration India Pvt Ltd.
Trustee of J.B. Petit High School for Girls.
Non-Executive Director of Cambridge India Research Foundation.
Member of New York State Bar Association.
Deputy Chairman and a Non-Executive Director of the HSBC Asia Pacific Board.
She was nominated to be part of the “Committee on Rationalisation of Investment Routes and Monitoring of Foreign Portfolio Investments” formed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India under the chairmanship of Shri K.M. Chandrashekar.
She was appointed by the Reserve Bank of India in 2014 as a member of Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households which was chaired by Dr. Nachiket Mor.
Accomplishments
Awarded the “India Managing Partner of the Year – 2016” by Asian Legal Business (Thomson Reuters).
Features on Fortune India as The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in India, for 2016.
Listed by Forbes India (2013, 2014 & 2015) as one of ‘India’s 10 most Powerful women’, Forbes Asia as one of ‘Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen’ (2015).
Leading Individual for Banking, Finance, Corporate and M&A and Investment Funds in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2016.
Euromoney awarded her a Lifetime Achievement award – at Asia Women in Business Law Awards 2015.
“Outstanding Women Business Leader of the Year – 2013” award at India Business Leader Awards; also “Legal Icon of the Decade – 2013”.
Best M&A Lawyer of the Year – 2012” award at the Legal Era Awards and she has been voted as “Business Woman of the Year, 2010” by the Economic Times, for which she was felicitated by The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF).
She has also been voted by the Economic Times as one of the country’s most powerful CEOs (2004 to 2016).
She has been selected as one of the 25 most powerful women in business by Business Today in 2004-2014.
Asialaw Profile hailed her as one of ‘The Leading Lawyers – India’ in the fields of Mergers & Acquisitions, General Corporate Practice, Dispute Resolution, Corporate Governance and Capital Markets & Corporate Finance for 2013, while Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Chambers Global, have identified her as a leading individual in the Corporate Mergers & Acquisition, Private Funds, Private Equity, Litigation and Infrastructure Sectors.
    The post 31 Topmost M&A Lawyers in India appeared first on iPleaders.
31 Topmost M&A Lawyers in India published first on https://namechangers.tumblr.com/
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a-alex-hammer · 5 years
Text
Facebook Announces Calibra Digital Wallet and Libra Cryptocurrency
Facebook has introduced a new cryptocurrency-driven financial system, called Libra, in a newsroom release today – and said they will launch it next year. This blockchain fuelled technology will allow Facebook users to send money around the world for free as easily as they share a text message or a photo. The Libra will be run by a nonprofit association by 28 organizations in a nonprofit Libra Association, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
They say they hope to address major problems with Calibra, a new digital wallet that you’ll be able to use to save, send and spend Libra. Issues such as the bankless – as almost half of the adults in the world don’t have an active bank account with worse numbers in developing countries and even worse for women – and approximately 70% of small businesses in developing countries lack access to credit and $25 billion is lost by migrants every year through remittance fees.
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“We’ve seen Internet change the game for everything that could be digitized, except for money,” the leader of Facebook’s Calibra division David Marcus told CNBC.
“Whenever a company as large as Facebook gets involved it helps give a larger degree of legitimacy and mainstream acceptance to an industry still plagued by speculation of illegal activity and regulatory scrutiny,” said Investing.com U.S. markets Editor Jesse Cohen.
Tony Gu, Founding Partner at NEO Global Capital, one of the world’s leading blockchain investment firms with over $400 million in assets, commented:
“Facebook’s arrival on the crypto scene illustrates the subtle transformation of money as an economic medium, mirroring the metamorphosis of the global financial system into a virtual economy. Whereas cryptocurrencies are often not viewed in the same league as traditional capital markets, the scales are set to tip in favour of the digital asset class with the social media behemoth’s latest endorsement via Libra. The digital coin’s core proposition, beyond onboarding a greater sense of legitimacy to the nascent space, lies in its fulfillment of a future where Facebook becomes the sole custodian of value. Money prescribed under the modern theory of macroeconomics have two definitions: M1 and M2, with the latter referring to the multiplier effect of currency in use. By boosting the circulation of transactions across its growing platforms, Facebook is a unique position to capture the spillover effects of coins that are issued within its ecosystem i.e. M2, imagined through a built-on-blockchain central bank anchored by Libra. Consequently, the creation of value is now recognized as a responsibility that can reside with players in the private sector, previously the exclusive domain of centralized authorities such as governments and banks. By rewriting the playbook, Web 3.0 will welcome distinctly different rules of engagement, as well as players eager to stake their claim in an unexplored era. The deployment of blockchain technologies, in this instance, gestures to Facebook’s greater need to create a token of trust that exists and functions independently of the business entity. While Facebook’s purposed entry into the crypto-space has translated to optimism in the stock markets, observing steady share gains across the past few days, investors bearing in mind the longevity of their investments have to exercise prudence in navigating the blurring lines between emerging technology and the enterprise environment.”
Jehan Chu, Co-founder of Social Alpha Foundation and Managing Partner at Kenetic, commented:
“Facebook’s bold, all-in crypto approach is not only a breath of fresh air for the industry, but is the new benchmark for unicorns if they want to get to the trillion dollar level. Crypto economies are still in their infancy and have massive growth curves ahead, and Facebook will not only boost the industry, but benefit from utilizing their own internal cryptocurrency to capture and drive value. History will mark Facebook’s Libra as the starting gun of cryptocurrency 2.0. Facebook’s onboarding of the “Who’s Who” in global payments resembles how Apple brought in the largest music publishers to their iTunes platform. While it’s unlikely that the endgame will result in the same power shift away from traditional institutions, Libra will trigger a seismic shift in how these institutions engage and adopt crypto into their businesses – Visa crypto won’t be far away. While critics bemoan the centralized nature of Facebook’s crypto, I believe it is an enormously positive driver that will accelerate crypto into mainstream consciousness and adoption, and provide further capital and opportunities for fully decentralized blockchains like bitcoin and ethereum and the startups that build on them.”
Matt Luczynski, CEO, and Co-founder of Travala.com, the blockchain-based hotel booking platform said:
“Having Booking.com as one of the members of the Libra Association is indeed a positive sign not only for the cryptocurrency space but for the entire travel industry. Cryptocurrency and blockchain hold huge potential in revamping the travel industry, making it more efficient and streamlined, so seeing a well-respected, household name like Booking.com pledging their commitment to the future of cryptocurrencies is really refreshing to see. I believe this is far more than a group of tech companies cashing in on the hype, this signals the start of crypto’s mass adoption. Visa, PayPal, Stripe, are all trailblazers within the payments space, and this involvement in Facebook’s Libra is not only reassuring but sparks a new excitement in those of us already championing cryptocurrency as a form of everyday payment.”
Mateusz Tilewski, CTO of Concordium, the next-generation, decentralized world computer and the first with ID-verification built in at the protocol level, commented:
“With some of the world’s biggest payment giants such as Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and Stripe on the consortium of companies governing Facebook’s bespoke cryptocurrency, and with its coin due to be pegged to government-issued cryptocurrencies, this development is bound to transform the way international transactions are carried out. This development is especially interesting in light of the FATF announcing that it will impose new rules for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), with regulatory compliance set to be at the top of Facebook’s agenda. While detractors may claim that Facebook is trying to create a new stream of revenue amidst its net profit falling 51 percent year-on-year, it has an enormous reach of 2.38 billion monthly active users which will undoubtedly help with the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies and will see other big players moving into the space.”
Iain Wilson, Advisor at NEM Ventures, the venture capital and investments arm of the NEM blockchain ecosystem, said:
“On balance, it’s probably helpful for traditional players to enter crypto, especially alongside other traditional players who already have, such as Visa (with Wirex) and Paypal (with Coinbase). A company like Facebook has huge distribution and potential for P2P or microtransactions, so the mass market will be further exposed to tokens. At this point, people will be free to exchange out of a centralised Facebook system into a more decentralised currency like bitcoin.”
Tara Annison, Technical Product Manager at the PR9 Network, which provides real-time trading and settlement for blockchain-based assets held in cold storage, commented:
<
p style=”padding-left: 40px;”>“The introduction of Libra shows that a wide range of players across the blockchain and traditional finance/tech space are interested in blockchain technology and its potential. The Libra Foundation has stated that they think blockchain is a powerful tool for improving financial inclusion and it will be interesting to see how they shape the product offering around this, especially regarding the user experience. They have also developed their own blockchain and are using Move as the programming language, so it will be exciting to see if this sparks other innovations in the space and other companies exploring their open source technology. Within the Libra whitepaper, the focus is very clearly on improving financial inclusion and the prevalence of mobile technology in many of these regions. Therefore, I would expect a mobile-first offering which takes advantage of the user experience expertise many of these companies have. The ability for users to understand the offering and be able to easily purchase and trade Libra will be pivotal in the success of the project.”
About Richard Kastelein
Founder and publisher of industry publication Blockchain News (EST 2015), a partner at ICO services collective Token.Agency ($750m+ and 90+ ICOs and STOs), director of education company Blockchain Partners (Oracle Partner) – Vancouver native Richard Kastelein is an award-winning publisher, innovation executive and entrepreneur. He sits on the advisory boards of some two dozen Blockchain startups and has written over 1500 articles on Blockchain technology and startups at Blockchain News and has also published pioneering articles on ICOs in Harvard Business Review and Venturebeat. Irish Tech News put him in the top 10 Token Architects in Europe.
Kastelein has an Ad Honorem – Honorary Ph.D. and is Chair Professor of Blockchain at China’s first Blockchain University in Nanchang at the Jiangxi Ahead Institute of Software and Technology. In 2018 he was invited to and attended University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School for Business Automation 4.0 programme.  Over a half a decade experience judging and rewarding some 1000+ innovation projects as an EU expert for the European Commission’s SME Instrument programme as a startup assessor and as a startup judge for the UK government’s Innovate UK division.
Kastelein has spoken (keynotes & panels) on Blockchain technology in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Beijing, Brussels, Bucharest, Dubai, Eindhoven, Gdansk, Groningen, the Hague, Helsinki, London (5x), Manchester, Minsk, Nairobi, Nanchang, Prague, San Mateo, San Francisco, Santa Clara (2x), Shanghai, Singapore (3x), Tel Aviv, Utrecht, Venice, Visakhapatnam, Zwolle and Zurich.
He is a Canadian (Dutch/Irish/English/Métis) whose writing career has ranged from the Canadian Native Press (Arctic) to the Caribbean & Europe. He’s written occasionally for Harvard Business Review, Wired, Venturebeat, The Guardian and Virgin.com, and his work and ideas have been translated into Dutch, Greek, Polish, German and French. A journalist by trade, an entrepreneur and adventurer at heart, Kastelein’s professional career has ranged from political publishing to TV technology, boatbuilding to judging startups, skippering yachts to marketing and more as he’s travelled for nearly 30 years as a Canadian expatriate living around the world. In his 20s, he sailed around the world on small yachts and wrote a series of travel articles called, ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Seas’ travelling by hitching rides on yachts (1989) in major travel and yachting publications. He currently lives in Groningen, Netherlands where he’s raising three teenage daughters with his wife and sailing partner, Wieke Beenen.
Visit Website
Toronto’s Creative Destruction Lab Joins Facebook’s Libra Association – June 19, 2019
Australia’s Power Ledger to bring P2P Energy Trading to Austria – June 19, 2019
Litecoin Foundation Teams Up With Bibox And Ternio On Special Edition Litecoin Debitcard – June 19, 2019
US Legislators Call for Halt to Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Plans – And to Face Congress – June 19, 2019
Hyperledger Welcomes Diverse Line-up of New Members for Identity Project – June 18, 2019
Facebook Announces Calibra Digital Wallet and Libra Cryptocurrency – June 18, 2019
MIT Professor Silvio Micali’s Algorand Project Announces Date for First Auction – June 6, 2019
SEC sues Canadian Messaging Service Kik Selling Unregistered Securities in its $100 million ICO – June 4, 2019
CrowdEngine Teams Up With Polymath Adding Security Token Issuance to List of Crowdfunding Services – June 3, 2019
Bitcoin Inc. CEO  Morgan Rockcoon Busted – 21 Months in Prison and Fines – June 3, 2019
Reshaping a Nation’s Logistics Sector: Singaporean Blockchain Company PLMP Cuts Multimillion Dollar Deal With Indonesia – June 3, 2019
Swisscom TV Opens Blockchain-based Art Gallery – June 3, 2019
Canadian Messaging Service Kik Burns $5 Million Fighting SEC Over Utility Tokens, Now Raising $5 Million More to Continue Battle – June 3, 2019
Salesforce Introduces CRM Blockchain Platform For Selected Clients – June 3, 2019
Block.one Plans to Tackle Pitfalls of Social Media With New Blockchain Community Called “Voice” – June 3, 2019
CasperLabs and Ethereum on Proof of Stake Protocol at CryptoChicks in Toronto, family ran Hack-A-Thon for blockchain family – June 3, 2019
World Economic Forum Inaugurates Global Blockchain Council to Address Lack of Well-Defined Rules for Working with Blockchain – May 29, 2019
India’s First Blockchain Powered VoD Platform ‘myNK’ Launches At Cannes Film Festival – May 27, 2019
New Zealand’s Cryptopia Exchange Packs It In – Announces Liquidation – May 15, 2019
Canadian Blockchain Expert Alex Tapscott and NextBlock Global Limited to Pay $1M for Misleading Investors – May 15, 2019
View All Articles
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Source/Repost=> http://technewsdestination.com/facebook-announces-calibra-digital-wallet-and-libra-cryptocurrency/ ** Alex Hammer | Founder and CEO at Ecommerce ROI ** http://technewsdestination.com
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equalresearch · 2 years
Text
Stock market boomed due to global market trend, Sensex crossed 54 thousand
Good signals from the global market and falling crude prices drove the Indian stock market higher on Thursday. On Thursday morning, Sensex and Nifty began trading with green brands. At the start of the trading session, the 30 point Sensex opened with a gain of 395.71 points to 54,146.68. Meanwhile, the 50-point Nifty opened at 16,113.75. During the pre-opening session, 29 out of 30 Sensex shares rose.
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On the other hand, due to buying in the global stock market, there was a slight rise in the US market. The Dow Jones closed with a gain of 400 points, up 70 points. Computer stocks continually strengthen the market. The European market saw an increase of up to 1.5%. The Asian market also showed strength.
The movement of the stock market
Wednesday Earlier Wednesday, after a long stretch, there was a huge rally in the stock market. At the end of the trading session, the 30-point BSE Sensex jumped 616.62 points to close at 53,750.97. Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange Nifty closed at 15,989.80 points with a gain of 178.95 points.
 
 For more information, visit: https://theequaleresearch.com/
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growlegalweed-blog · 6 years
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Legal Weed Resources
Check out... https://legalweed.gq/420/webinar-2019-california-cannabis-forecast/
Webinar: 2019 California Cannabis Forecast
Currently, two main drivers are responsible for market growth in California: the conversion of black-market consumers to legal consumers, and the emergence of new cannabis consumers who were previously held back by the stigma of consuming an illegal product. We will consider these drivers and potential new consumer profiles we see emerging in 2019.
2019 California Cannabis Forecast
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-california-cannabis-forecast-registration-56498105354
    Live webinar featuring experts insights into the current CA cannabis market and forecast for 2019 trends.
About this Event
Ellipsis & LME Law present:
2019 Cannabis Forecast
Live webinar Weds. 2/27 @ 11am PT /2pm ET
Agenda:
– Growth drivers in the cannabis market
Currently, two main drivers are responsible for market growth in California: the conversion of black-market consumers to legal consumers, and the emergence of new cannabis consumers who were previously held back by the stigma of consuming an illegal product. We will consider these drivers and potential new consumer profiles we see emerging in 2019.
– Product categories and changing consumption habits
New laws and regulations are creating safer products for consumers and thereby changing consumption habits. What are the fastest growing market segments and product categories to look out for in 2019?
– Will California set the tone for other markets?
As the largest cannabis market in the world, California is experiencing unprecedented growth and industry activity. Most Canadian firms are looking to invest in this state specifically — what can we learn from the best practices emerging here and how can these lessons be applied to other states?
Panelists:
Steve Ernest , Ellipsis
Steve is an investor member of The Arcview Group and a mentor to Canopy Companies and a partner at Ellipsis. Steve has been an angel investor since 2015, and supports NCIA, MPP and SSDP. Prior to joining the cannabis industry, Steve spent nearly a decade in the financial capital markets across sales, investment banking, business development, valuation, trading, client relationship management, wealth advisory and investment planning, managing over 600 million dollars.
Steve’s past experience includes: Financial Advisor, J.P. Morgan Securities, Underwriter, State Farm Insurance and Financial Representative, Northwestern Mutual. Steve earned B.A.s in Finance and Risk Management with a Minor in Economics from Illinois State University and currently holds Series 7, Series 66 and Series 79 licenses.
Kim Geraghty, Ellipsis
Kim is a French American entrepreneur currently residing in Los Angeles. Prior to her work at Ellipsis, Kim founded and led Madame Munchie, California’s award-winning luxury edibles brand featured in Food & Wine, Business Insider, and the SF Chronicle. She has been recognized as a successful cannabis CEO and industry leader, speaking at conferences, conducting media interviews, and providing consulting services for leading cannabis firms. She obtained one of the first cultivation permits in Mendocino County.
Before entering the cannabis industry, Kim worked for leading financial institutions worldwide. In Paris, she worked in audit at KPMG on UCITS funds and in asset management at Lazard on the S&P 500 fund. In New York, Kim was an investment banker at Credit Suisse covering M&A, LBOs and IPOs for large tech clients. In San Francisco, she worked in venture capital at Next World Capital, specializing in consumer and enterprise technology startups.
Kim holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Strategy froml’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP, Paris) and is fluent in English, French and Spanish. She has lived in the U.S., France, and Costa Rica. She loves to bake, nurture entrepreneurial success, create Excel models, and travel.
Lauren Estevez, Attorney & Founder, LME Law
Lauren Estevez is a Los Angeles-based attorney advising licensed cannabis industry operators, brands and ancillary businesses on strategy, investment sourcing, and regulatory compliance. Lauren has been practicing in the cannabis space since shortly after Proposition 64 was passed in California, and has completed over 100 cannabis projects with U.S. and international companies. In addition to cannabis, Lauren also advises clients on CBD and The Farm Bill. Her work has been featured on CNBC, Cheddar, and in Law360 and she is a regular contributor to cannabis industry conferences.
Prior to her career in cannabis, Lauren graduated from Harvard Law School and worked at an AmLaw100 global law firm in London & New York in the Capital Markets and Banking groups, and at a start up, where she managed a multi-million dollar book of business and her clients included emerging and Fortune 500 life sciences and technology companies.
Lauren Estevez, Esq.
Attorney & Founder
https://www.lme-law.com  
(c) 617-945-8032 
6121 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL 
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message and any attachments are confidential and may be attorney-client privileged. Dissemination, distribution or copying of this message or attachments without proper authorization is strictly prohibited.  If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately, and permanently delete the original, and destroy all copies, of this message and all attachments.
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charliebilello · 7 years
Text
Storytelling Animals
"People think in stories, not in facts, not in numbers, not in statistics. We are a storytelling animal." – Yuval Noah Harari, Masters in Business
“All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” – Paul Simon, The Boxer
--
In December 2015, the Federal Reserve was preparing to hike interest rates for the first time since 2006. The media had a story angle involving Emerging Markets and they were sticking to it…
“US Rate Rise Could Hurt Emerging Markets” – WSJ, Dec 2015
"These countries [all Emerging Markets] are most at risk from U.S. rate hike." - CNN Money, Dec 2015
“Fed rate hike to put pressure on emerging market corporates in 2016” – Reuters, Dec 2015
“EM faces ‘taper tantrum’ as US prepares to hike” – CNBC, Dec 2015
“Why a rate hike by the Fed could have a devastating impact on some people [Emerging Markets] around the world” – Washington Post, Dec 2015
“Why rising interest rates are bad news for emerging markets.” – The Conversation, Dec 2015
At the time, I was called by one of these fine outlets and asked the following question: “Emerging Markets are going to get crushed by the Fed Rate hike. This is an absolute disaster, right? Can I get a quote on that?”
I paused for a moment to think about the question. The longer I’m in this business, the lower my tolerance for bullshit. My bullshit radar here was at 100%.
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This was my response…
I don’t give quotes but perhaps I can provide some historical perspective to your story.
1) Let’s start with 1998. The Fed cut interest rates 3 times that year, from 5.5% down to 4.75%. Emerging Market stocks had (at the time) their worst year on record: -26%.
2) In 1999, the Fed hiked interest rates 3 times, from 4.75% to 5.5%. Emerging Market stocks had one of their best years in history: +66%.
3) From January 2001 through November 2002, the Fed cuts rates from 6.0% down to 1.25%. Emerging Market stocks fell 7% during this period.
4) From June 2004 through June 2006, the Fed hiked rates from 1.00% to 5.25%. They did not cut rates until September 2007. From the June 2004 rate hike until the rate cut in 2007, Emerging Market stocks advanced 179% versus a return of 42% for the S&P 500.
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5) From September 2007 through December 2008, the Fed cut rates from 5.25% down to 0%. During this time Emerging Markets stocks fell 41% versus a decline of 36% for the S&P 500.
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Needless to say, this historical perspective was not what the reporter was looking for. There was no quote of mine included in the article as it did not fit into the bearish Emerging Market narrative they were shooting for. As Paul Simon said, people hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest.
Fast forward to today and the Fed has hiked interest rates 3 times since December 2015. Has the Emerging Market crisis materialized? Not exactly.
1) Emerging Market stocks have advanced 25% since the first rate hike versus a gain of 18.6% for the S&P 500.
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2) Emerging Market High Yield Bonds have advanced 22% versus a gain of 17% for U.S. High Yield Bonds.
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3) Emerging Market currencies (CEW) have advanced 10% while the Dollar Index (UUP) is slightly lower.
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And so thus far Emerging Markets seem to be holding up quite well in the face of Fed hikes, as they did previously in 1999 and 2004-06.
To be clear, that doesn't mean they will continue to do well or have to do well. There is no simple rule as to what Emerging Markets will do in response to Fed policy. If there was this game of investing would be easy but as we know it is anything but. Emerging Markets could go down from here or they could continue to go up. One must understand that its direction is determined by of a multitude of factors, only one of which is U.S. interest rate policy.
The more important takeaway here is to be wary of narratives of convenience that are devoid of any evidence. Let the media and the many pundits tell their stories. It is their job to do so; it is their job to entertain and explain. It is your job as an investor to detect their bullshit and learn to ignore it. As we are “storytelling animals,” this is by no means easy. But ignore it you must if you want to have any success in this most difficult of businesses. For there is certainly no edge in believing in fairy tales while there just might be one in ignoring them.
***
Related Posts:
Fed Rate Hikes and Stock Market Returns
Are Equity Returns Dependent on Easy Money?
An Emerging Divergence in Central Bank Policy
When Bond Kings Short Emerging Markets
To sign up for our free newsletter, click here.
This writing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation regarding any securities transaction, or as an offer to provide advisory or other services by Pension Partners, LLC in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The information contained in this writing should not be construed as financial or investment advice on any subject matter. Pension Partners, LLC expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken based on any or all of the information on this writing.
CHARLIE BILELLO
Charlie Bilello is the Director of Research at Pension Partners, LLC, an investment advisor that manages mutual funds and separate accounts.  He is the co-author of four award-winning research papers on market anomalies and investing. Mr. Bilello is responsible for strategy development, investment research and communicating the firm’s investment themes and portfolio positioning to clients. Prior to joining Pension Partners, he was the Managing Member of Momentum Global Advisors and previously held positions as a Credit, Equity and Hedge Fund Analyst at billion dollar alternative investment firms.
Mr. Bilello holds a J.D. and M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Fordham University and a B.A. in Economics from Binghamton University. He is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and a Member of the Market Technicians Association. Mr. Bilello also holds the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate.
You can follow Charlie on twitter here.
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garkomedia1 · 6 years
Text
How the U.S. and U.K. are partners in chaos
Editor’s Note: This edition of Free Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning Money will not publish on Thursday Nov. 22 and Friday Nov. 23. Our next Morning Money newsletter will publish on Monday Nov. 26.
Story Continued Below
HOW THE U.K. AND THE U.S. ARE PARTNERS IN CHAOS — A little thought bubble as we head into the weekend and the short Thanksgiving week. MM spent some time over the last several days in Washington and New York with a variety of executives who are sifting through the 2018 midterm election results and trying to make some sense of the path of U.S. politics.
Many are trying to figure out where America is headed with a growing schism between a metro-area dominated, more highly educated electorate trending toward the Democrats and smaller town and rural voters sticking with President Donald Trump and the GOP and embracing the president’s hardline trade and immigration policies and his culture war appeals.
Consensus among these executives (and frankly among anyone else) is that American politics is a directionless wreck with no path forward on anything from health care to education to retirement savings to climate change and gun violence and long-term fiscal deficits. One British banker mused about how he’s never seen the U.S. so screwed up or derelict on the world stage.
Then he stopped himself almost immediately to say how the U.K. was really wasn’t any better with no consensus on how to deal with Brexit, a potential end to Prime Minister Theresa May’s tenure, a civil war inside the Conservative party and a plunging pound. It remains largely unclear in the U.K. whether May’s softer Brexit plan will somehow survive or no deal will emerge leading to a hard Brexit or a new referendum will take place to reverse Brexit entirely.
Tensions in the U.S. and U.K. are different in many ways but they share commonalities of fractured politics and deep divisions on fundamental identities as either insular and nationalistic or more globally integrated and diverse. We got no revelatory insight in these conversations beyond a morbid sense that only grave and immediate crisis that cannot be ignored will jolt either nation into clarity. And maybe not even then. Happy thoughts for your Friday!
SPEAKING OF THE TWO AMERICAS… CNBC’s John Harwood writes on data compiled by Brookings’ Mark Munro that show that “districts won by Democrats account for 61 percent of America’s gross domestic product, districts won by Republicans 38 percent. That economic separation underpins cultural divisions that usually command more attention. … Residents of districts won by Democrats generate 22% more output per worker, and have a 15% higher median household income.” Read more.
** A message from The National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Proxy advisory firms—secretive companies most Americans have never heard of—are putting Americans’ retirement savings at risk. These firms can give inaccurate, conflict-ridden and sometimes politically motivated recommendations that jeopardize Americans’ retirement savings. Learn More: https://proxyreforms.com/ **
MORE WILBUR ROSS DRAMA — POLITICO’s Nancy Cook and Andrew Restuccia with the details: “To hear Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his allies tell it, rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. Administration officials and close White House advisers say the 80-year-old Ross could be out of a job in a broader Cabinet shakeup as soon as January or as late as mid-2019. Ross, long said to be on thin ice with President Donald Trump, denies either scenario. ‘I’ll serve as long as the president wants and I have no indication to the contrary,’ he told an audience at a Yahoo! Finance event on Nov. 13.
“But in a sign of Ross’s perceived weakness, at least one influential Trump ally has begun speaking openly about his desire for the Commerce job if and when it becomes vacant: Office of Management and Budget chief Mick Mulvaney. …
“Other names circulating for the top Commerce slot include Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon; Ray Washburne, a major Republican donor and the President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and Karen Dunn Kelly, undersecretary for economic affairs at Commerce, who is jockeying for the job internally at the department.” Read more.
Restuccia (@AndrewRestuccia) also tweeted that McMahon would meet with Trump in the Oval on Friday.
GOP INVESTORS MORE BULLISH POST MIDTERMS — Somewhat counter-intuitive findings in this E-Trade survey of investors after midterm elections in which Democrats took back the House: “Republicans skew more bullish … with 38% saying they are more bullish toward the market than they were before the election. Democrats are slightly less optimistic, with 33% expressing more bullishness.
“Yet Republicans are also less positive about the personal impact of the results: Republicans are significantly more pessimistic across every measure tested, including how the new Congress will impact their investing portfolio, taxes, savings and bond yields, inflation, debt interest, and cost of goods and services.” Read more.
FIRST LOOK: ABA ON THE CRA — The ABA has a new comment letter out this morning to the OCC in response to its request for ideas to change the Community Reinvestment Act. From the comment: “Regulators should revise the CRA framework to incorporate fully the electronic channels through which many consumers prefer to conduct financial transactions. In addition, amendments to the CRA regulations must reflect that banks of all sizes are no longer restricted to conducting business in a limited geographic location.
WARNINGS SIGNS IN RETAIL SALES? — Pantheon’s Ian Shepherdson: “The headline retail sales numbers for October looked good, but the details were less comforting. Gains in auto sales, building materials—due to the hurricanes, likely— and higher gasoline prices cannot be the foundation of solid broad growth, and the core numbers were rather weaker.
“The key message from the recent data, in our view, is that the impact of the tax cuts, which pushed sales up sharply in the spring, is fading rapidly. Our measure of core retail sales, which excludes autos, gasoline and food, rose at a mere 2.7% annualized rate in the three months to October, slowing from the 9.9% peak in the three months to July.”
TRANSITIONS— Jacqueline Corba, a POLITICO alum, has joined CNBC’s Squawk Box team as anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin’s producer. She was previously Senior Producer of special programming at Cheddar. Good get!
DEMS FLOAT POTENTIALLY BIG RULE CHANGES — Washington Examiner’s Colin Wilhelm and Laura Barrón-López on new proposed rules changes drafted by Democrats in the House: “One change would require a three-fifths majority to raise taxes on individuals outside the top 20 percent of income earners.
“The draft rules would also eliminate dynamic budgetary scoring, which takes economic growth under consideration when determining the cost of legislation in federal spending. … If agreed upon by a majority of members in the House, the new rules would also effectively do away with standalone debt ceiling votes in the chamber, reinstating a rule that deems the debt ceiling raised if a budget is passed.” Read more.
MUELLER ANXIETY GRIPS THE WHITE HOUSE — Good read from POLITICO’s Darren Samuelsohn: “Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. insist they aren’t worried about special counsel Robert Mueller. But half a dozen people in contact with the White House and other Trump officials say a deep anxiety has started to set in that Mueller is about to pounce after his self-imposed quiet period, and that any number of Trump’s allies and family members may soon be staring down the barrel of an indictment.
“Then there are the president’s own tweets, which have turned back to attacking Mueller after a near two-month break. … ‘You can see it in Trump’s body language all week long. There’s something troubling him. It’s not just a couple staff screw ups with Melania,’ said a senior Republican official in touch with the White House. ‘It led me to believe the walls are closing in and they’ve been notified by counsel of some actions about to happen. Folks are preparing for the worst.’” Read more.
GOOD FRIDAY MORNING — Happy weekend everyone! Next week is Thanksgiving. Thank God. Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver..
DRIVING THE DAY — President Trump at 1:00 p.m. awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to several recipients including Miriam Edelson, wife of billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson … Industrial production at 9:15 a.m. expected to rise 0.2 percent with manufacturing up 0.3 percent …
BOWMAN CONFIRMED; WHAT ABOUT NELLIE LIANG? — POLITICO’s Victoria Guida: “The Senate in a 64-34 vote … confirmed Kansas State Banking Commissioner Michelle Bowman as a member of the Federal Reserve Board, the culmination of a yearslong push by community bankers to guarantee that someone who shares their experience sits at the central bank.
“Bowman, nominated in April, is the first person confirmed to the Fed seat reserved for a community banker, a position created in 2015. The seven-member Fed board now has five members, after dwindling to as low as three over the past year. The Fed’s newest governor has served as Kansas’ top bank regulator since Jan. 31, 2017.” Read more.
Trump now has two more Fed nominees awaiting Senate votes, Marvin Goodfriend and Nellie Liang, a long-time Fed staff member who played a critical role during the financial crisis. The White House continues to telegraph confidence that they can get Liang through the Senate Banking Committee and to the floor for a vote.
But banking groups and some Senate Banking members including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have expressed significant opposition and suggested Liang could interfere with efforts to reduce regulatory burdens on large financial institutions. So far, GOP Senate leadership has mostly stayed out of it, waiting to see what happens at the committee level.
FED UNVEILS COMMUNICATION REFORM PLAN — POLITICO’s Zachary Warmbrodt: “The Federal Reserve … unveiled plans for a review of the way it conducts monetary policy. The review the Fed has mapped out for next year will include outreach to the public, including a June 4-5 research conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the central bank said. Federal Reserve Banks will host a series of public events around the country to get input, the Fed said.
“Beginning around the middle of next year, Fed policymakers will discuss the feedback received from the events. ‘With labor market conditions close to maximum employment and inflation near our 2 percent objective, now is a good time to take stock of how we formulate, conduct, and communicate monetary policy,’ Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a statement.” Read more.
QUARLES, TAKE TWO — Cap Alpha’s Ian Katz: “Fed regulatory czar Randy Quarles put in his second consecutive day of congressional testimony on Thursday. This one before the Senate Banking Committee was barely an hour … Overall, the message was again broadly positive for banks.
“He tried to convince Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that the Fed is carefully monitoring leveraged lending, and contested assertions from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that he’s making the stress tests too easy.”
TECH, BANKS LEAD STOCK REBOUND — AP’s Alex Veiga: “A rebound in technology companies and banks helped reverse an early slide for U.S. stocks Thursday, breaking a five-day losing streak for the market.
“Health care and industrial stocks also rose, offsetting losses in retailers, homebuilders, utilities and other sectors. Energy stocks also helped lift the market as the price of U.S. crude oil rose for the second straight day. … The late-afternoon market rebound marked the latest episode of volatile trading for the market this week.” Read more.
POUND SLIDES AMID BREXIT TURMOIL — NYT’s Peter Eavis: “Big declines in Britain’s currency, the pound, often have signaled wrenching changes for the country. Could this be the case again as … May struggles to win support for her plan to take Britain out of the European Union?
“The British pound on Thursday fell 2 percent against the dollar. That’s a large decline for a currency belonging to a developed economy and is the biggest one-day drop since the weeks after Britain’s vote in June 2016 to leave the European Union … Though the pound is down 15 percent since that vote, it remains well above the lows it hit in January 2017, when it was becoming clear that Mrs. May’s government favored a more drastic separation from important economic arrangements with the European Union.” Read more.
ECONOMISTS SPLIT ON MIDTERMS OUTCOME — WSJ’s Harriet Torry: “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were roughly split on whether the outcome of the recent midterm elections would dispel or increase uncertainty for the economy and financial markets in the coming months. The vote means that come January, Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans will retain control of the U.S. Senate.
“Nearly half of respondents in the economists’ survey, 46 percent, said economic uncertainty would increase somewhat following the midterms, while 40 percent of respondents expected it would decline somewhat after the vote.” Read more.
HOUSE PANEL TO LOOK AT FINANCE SECTOR DIVERSITY — Reuters’ Pete Schroeder: “Democrats are planning to dramatically step up their focus on improving financial services for underserved communities when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, according to several people briefed on the matter.
“Representative Maxine Waters, who is poised to take over the chair of the Financial Services Committee after Democrats won a majority in the House in Nov. 6 elections, is considering creating a subcommittee dedicated to financial inclusion and diversity in the sector, as well as a taskforce to focus on financial technology innovation, the people said. Waters had previously said the issue would be a priority.” Read more.
GOLDMAN CEO ‘PERSONALLY OUTRAGED’ BY 1MDB SCANDAL — Bloomberg’s Keith Campbell and Jennifer Surane: “David Solomon had a message for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. employees shaken by the firm’s involvement in a multibillion fraud scandal: This isn’t us.
“‘I am personally outraged that any employee of the firm would undertake the actions spelled out in the government’s pleadings,’ the firm’s chief executive officer said in a voicemail left with employees on Wednesday. ‘The behavior of those individuals is reprehensible and inconsistent with the good work and integrity that defines work that 40,000 of you do every day.’” Read more.
CREDIT UNIONS HAVE MORE WOMEN CEOs — Per new research from economists at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA): “In the financial sector where females are significantly underrepresented in management positions, credit unions create and sustain opportunities for female leaders to serve their communities.
“We measured credit union success in three key categories, and here’s what we found: Female executives are significantly more common at credit unions compared to other financial institutions: A majority (52%) of credit union CEOs are female. Accounting for differences in asset size, there is no evidence for a gender pay gap at credit unions” Read more.
ANOTHER DEM PICKUP IN THE HOUSE — POLITICO’s Elena Schneider: “Democrat Jared Golden has defeated GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd District, bringing Democrats’ net gain in the House to 36 seats with five GOP seats still uncalled — and with Poliquin still embroiled in a lawsuit against Maine’s secretary of state over the vote.
“Golden had 50.5 percent of the vote to Poliquin’s 49.5 percent, according to the Maine secretary of state’s office. Golden’s victory — the first House race ever decided by a ranked-choice voting system — also marked the 20th district that Democrats won that had been carried by … Trump in 2016.” Read more.
AND ONE MORE… POLITICO’s Brent D. Griffiths: “Southern California Rep. Mimi Walters was ousted Thursday night, the latest House Republican to lose their seat in the formerly deep-red Orange County. The Associated Press called the 45th congressional district race with Democrat Katie Porter leading Walters, a two-term incumbent who previously served in the California senate, by just over 6,000 votes as ballots continue to be counted.” Read more.
** A message from The National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Proxy advisory firms have no obligation to look out for investors’ best interests, and the recommendations of these secretive companies can put Americans’ personal investments and retirement savings at risk. Put simply, these firms give advice that is often at odds with the best interests of Main Street investors.
That leads to bad decisions that can undermine company performance and drag down retirement account balances for American workers. Thankfully, the Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring ways to provide much-needed oversight. And Main Street investors can take action by telling Washington to look out for working Americans and their savings. Learn more: https://proxyreforms.com/ **
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Narrow win for Fox shows restlessness with dual-class shares
New Post has been published on https://new800numbers.com/business/narrow-win-for-fox-shows-restlessness-with-dual-class-shares/
Narrow win for Fox shows restlessness with dual-class shares
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LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) – A shareholder proposal calling for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc to scrap its dual-class share structure was rejected on Wednesday, although the measure received significant support among voters outside the controlling Murdoch family.
FILE PHOTO: Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corporation, reacts during a panel discussion at the B20 meeting of company CEOs in Sydney, July 17, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Reed//File Photo
Fifty-seven percent of votes cast sided with the position of Fox’s board, which argued that the current share structure provided flexibility and enhanced the company’s ability to focus on long-term results, a Fox regulatory filing said.
The majority of Fox shares traded publicly are class A shares, which have no voting rights. The Murdoch family owns about 39 percent of the class B voting shares, according to a proxy from the company, which owns the Fox broadcast network, cable channels and a movie studio.
Critics argue that the current set-up concentrates too much power with the Murdoch family. Forty-three percent of votes cast were in favor of eliminating the two classes of shares and giving all shares a vote. The vote was advisory, so passage would not have forced any changes at the company.
Even so, it was noteworthy that more than half of shareholders outside of the Murdoch’s control voted in favor, said Paul Hodgson, an independent governance consultant. In addition to the family stake, 6.7 percent of the voting shares are held by ValueAct Capital, whose chief executive, Jeff Ubben, is also a Fox director.
“The message the public shareholders are sending management is get rid of the dual voting class of shares,” Hodgson said. The measure’s supporters may use the results to try to persuade Fox management to meet with them to discuss the issue, he added.
Kevin McManus, a vice president of proxy adviser Egan Jones, said the number of people voting against the dual voting class marked “a very significant percentage and puts pressure on the company.”
Laura Campos, a director at the reform measure’s sponsor, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, said Fox’s structure made change unlikely despite the result.
“At many companies, 43 percent would be more than enough to prompt serious action from the board. At a company with a dual-class capital structure, it’s less likely that we’ll see any sort of substantive response from the board,” she said via email.
Asked about the result, a Fox spokesman sent remarks by director Viet Dinh, who said at the company’s annual meeting that the board believed the current structure was valued by shareholders.
FILE PHOTO – 89th Academy Awards – Oscars Vanity Fair Party – Beverly Hills, California, U.S. – 26/02/17 – Actress Anjelica Huston, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and model Jerry Hall. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok
“The board believes that many are attracted to our stock by the dual class structure and stability and leadership provided by the Murdoch family, both of which have contributed to the long-term success of the company,” Dinh said.
Major mutual fund firms have been pushing the importance of equal voting rights as a way to improve the way companies are run.
Fund executives worry about cases like technology initial public offerings such as Snap Inc, which offered outside investors no voting rights. The fear is that unequal voting structures concentrate too much power in the hands of insiders.
At a 26-minute annual meeting on Fox’s movie and television studio lot in Los Angeles, shareholders on Wednesday also easily re-elected Rupert Murdoch and his two sons to the company’s board, suggesting continued support for the family even as its Fox News division is recovering from a series of costly sexual harassment settlements.
The Twenty-First Century Fox Studios flag flies over the company building in Los Angeles, California U.S. November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
That issue has slowed Britain’s regulatory review of the company’s bid to take over broadcaster Sky Plc. Co-Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch, speaking at the annual meeting, said the company was confident the deal would close by the middle of next year.
Fox also has recently talked to Walt Disney Co about selling much of itself, according to a CNBC report. The company did not directly address that matter during the meeting but said it was confident in its current assets.
“We have the required scale to continue to execute on our aggressive growth strategy,” Lachlan Murdoch said.
The proposed new voting structure is aimed at beefing up investor oversight over Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James, who are all Fox board members.
“This structure leaves some shareholders with disproportionate voting power and others with none at all. We think eliminating it would benefit the shareholders and the company,” said Roxana Tynan, speaking on behalf of the foundation.
The current structure, she said, “can create corporate cultures with no accountability.”
On another advisory measure, 78 percent of votes cast were in support of Fox executives’ annual compensation.
Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and Ross Kerber in New York; Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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