Jaspal Bindra

Mr. Jaspal Bindra is the Executive Chairman of The Centrum Group – a leading domestic integrated financial services group. He is a seasoned Banker with a successful global MNC career of over 30 years. He was previously the Asia-Pacific Head of Standard Chartered Bank and has also worked with Bank of America & UBS. He has vast expertise in all areas of banking including Treasury, Capital markets, Investment Banking and Consumer Banking.

Under his leadership, the Centrum Group has diversified its operations from a fee based business to a fee cum lending model with the introduction of Housing Finance, SME & Micro Finance businesses.

He is currently the Chairman of FICCI’s Maharashtra Council and a Governing Board Member of XLRI.

Sandeep Upadhyay

Sandeep Upadhyay joined Centrum Capital Limited in June 2008 and is currently serving as Managing Director of Infrastructure Practise at Centrum Capital Limited. As a senior Coverage Banker he is responsible for covering the Stressed asset resolution apart from leading Investment Banking initiatives across core sectors like Transportation, Logistics, Energy & Utilities space.

He is an alumnus from XLRI, Jamshedpur besides holding a Post Graduate Degree in Project Management specialising in Infrastructure sector alongwith a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Gujarat University. He has over sixteen years of extensive experience in raising Private Equity, Project Finance and advising Government & established private sector clients on M&A, Stressed asset resolution and Bidding initiatives.

Prior to Centrum, he worked with SBI Capital Markets and with IL&FS Group in financial advisory and fund raising domain on marquee Infrastructure Projects.

Partha Dey

Mr. Partha Dey serves as a Senior General Manager at ICICI Bank and has more than two decades of professional experience. He currently holds multiple responsibilities and one among them entail resolution of stressed assets. As part of the same, he has been closely involved in implementing a diverse array of resolution mechanisms over the last few years entailing both recapitalizations and business restructurings.

Prior to this, Mr. Dey was with ICICI Venture, the private equity arm of ICICI Bank.  Before moving to ICICI Venture, Mr. Dey served as General Manager of the Project Finance business at ICICI Bank and was actively associated with evolution of infrastructure financing in India spanning all its sub-sectors over more than a decade. He led financing of a significant number of landmark infrastructure transactions with successful outcome. He also has experience in consulting with focus on operational turnaround and business strategy.

He graduated from IIT Kharagpur (B.Tech) and IIM Calcutta (MBA).

Anurag Das

Ravi Chachra

Eshwar Karra

Eshwar joined the Kotak Mahindra Group in 2000 and brings with him over two decades of Financial Services experience. He is part of the core leadership team at Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd.

Eshwar has recently taken over as the CEO of the Kotak Special Situations Fund where he oversees investments across all special situation opportunities. The fund strategy is to invest in opportunities across all asset classes and participate in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) initiated resolutions.

Prior to Kotak Special Situations Fund, Eshwar was the CEO of Phoenix Asset Reconstruction Company (a Kotak sponsored ARC) which had an AUM of USD 1 billion. During his 5 year tenure at Phoenix, he made investments across all major sectors and successfully resolved investments.

Eshwar was the founding member of the distressed assets business at Kotak and has helped the group in successfully investing over INR 2,500 crores (USD 417 million) of its proprietary capital in distressed assets. He has built time tested expertise in identifying distressed opportunities, structuring and executing complex financial transactions as well as securing profitable exits.

Prior to Kotak, Eshwar has worked at Ceat Financial Services (RPG Group) and Sundaram Finance Ltd.

Eshwar holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Pune and is a Management graduate from the Institute of Management Development and Research, Pune.

Krishnava Dutt

Krishnava Dutt’s experience encompasses the entire repertoire of corporate commercial practice including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, banking and finance and commercial disputes.

Krishnava has closely worked with several large corporate groups, investors, private equity funds and renowned banks and financial institutions. He has also worked closely with both the government at the centre and state governments in India while advising on several transactions including disinvestments of public sector undertakings and framing of policies. Clients have deeply appreciated his strong financial, accounting and business acumen, which helps in providing a well-rounded commercially prudent legal advice to clients.

Krishnava has been identified by India Business Law Journal as one of India’s top 100 lawyers and is mentioned amongst the India A-List lawyers of 2017. Describing him as “a sharp, distinctive individual who has made the most of the booming Indian infrastructure market” RSG Consulting (London) has identified Krishnava as being amongst the leading second generation of Indian corporate lawyers. Chambers and Partners has identified Krishnava as a leading lawyer in India.

Krishnava serves as an independent director on the board of directors and committees (including as Audit Committee Chairman) of several internationally reputed listed companies.

Krishnava started his legal career at Calcutta High Court. After a short stint at the high court, he joined ICICI Bank in Mumbai where he gained several years of experience in handling transactions involving stressed assets and the international banking sector. He joined Amarchand Mangaldas in 2005 and was made partner in 2007. He retired from Amarchand Mangaldas in June 2009.

Aditya Khanna

Aditya Khanna is a financial entrepreneur with a rich experience of more than 14 years in global portfolio management, value investing and structured finance. Aditya has founded ART Special Situations Finance (ASSF) with an objective of restructuring and revitalizing stressed companies in India. ASSF is an RBI-Registered NBFC and primarily focuses on corporate-level events related to Insolvency, Liability management and/or Recapitalization.

Previously, Aditya was an Investment Director at Delhi-based Samaira Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd, investment advisor to Mylen India Growth Fund. From 2006 until 2015, Aditya was a  Portfolio Manager for Credit Strategy at Allen Global Partners, a New-York based event-driven hedge fund with assets under management of approx. US$ 1 billion and part of top-ranked U.S. Investment Bank Allen & Company LLC. Over 10 years at Allen Global Partners, Aditya was responsible for investments in global equities and distressed credit securities. Prior to joining Allen Global Partners in 2006, Aditya was a Technology Analyst at Global Investment Bank Merrill Lynch, US.

Aditya holds a Bachelors of Science (BSc) in Computer Science from the College of Engineering at Cornell University, NY, United States (2004) and a Chartered Financial Analyst CFA® (2010). Aditya completed the Executive Education Program - Negotiation and Competitive Decision-Making - from Harvard Business School, MA, United States (2015) and holds the Professional Certificate in Financial Risk Management from New York University, NY, United States (2005). Aditya is a member of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and YnG (Young Presidents Organization Next Generation).

Rakshat Kapoor

Rakshat Kapoor has over 18 years of experience in structured credit. He is responsible for the overall strategy and investments in the credit business. Prior to joining Centrum, he was with Nomura Securities where he worked in Private Credit, Debt Capital Markets and Investment Banking Divisions. Prior to that, he was with Deutsche Bank’s structured credit investments and ICICI Bank’s structured finance team. He has worked on turnaround situations & restructurings, distressed debt and private equity. He has led investments across industries – infrastructure, cement, industrials, manufacturing, textiles, oil & gas and telecom and his experience includes origination and providing customized financial solutions across the capital structure. Rakshat received his Chartered Accountancy from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Delhi University.

Kalpesh Kikani

Mr. Kalpesh Kikani is Managing Director and Senior Partner at AION Capital, a strategic partnership between Apollo Global and ICICI Group.

Kalpesh has been investing in India for over 20 years.  Previously, he was a part of ICICI Bank’s senior management team, as the Global Head of Special Situations & Structured Finance, where he was responsible for running India-focused investment teams based in Mumbai, Singapore and London.

Prior to this, Kalpesh established a corporate and investment banking business in Europe focusing on leveraged and structured finance transactions with teams based in the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium. Over the course of his career, Kalpesh has deep experience in investing in the area of buy-outs, distress and credit investments.

Nirav Pujara

Nirav Pujara is a Partner with Deloitte India and part of the Corporate Finance & Restructuring practice. He has over 17+ years of experience in delivering Business Consulting, Risk Advisory, Restructuring services and Operational turnaround advisory services to corporates across industries.

Nirav’s areas of expertise include Insolvency Professional services, working capital management, pre-insolvency monitoring services, operational turnaround services and debt raising.

He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and qualified Resolution Professional. He also has a substantial overseas work experience including a stint with Deloitte UK member firm for two years.

Sumit Khanna

Sumit leads Deloitte’s Corporate Finance and Restructuring practice in India. He has led the India team supporting the Resolution Professional on several large insolvency engagements such as Bhushan Steel, Binani Cement, Lanco Infratech, Aircel Cellular, etc. and manages the overall operations of the corporate debtor and the sale of the business through eliciting of compliant Resolution Plans Sumit was part of the committee formed to develop regulation for Insolvency Process by Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He often shares his experience and insights on the topic of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, at various industry forums. He has a broad investment banking experience across sectors and of having led several large and successful M&A transactions as also Capital raises. Prior to joining Deloitte, he worked with PwC, Morgan Stanley and HSBC. Sumit has a Master’s degree in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi.

Sunil Varma Marri

Sunil heads the investment banking practice for the Energy, Utilities and Airports sectors at Centrum Capital Limited. In the last three years, he has played a key role in fund raise and M&A initiatives for several clients including stressed companies.

Before joining Centrum, Sunil headed the energy practice at ICRA Management Consulting Services Limited and advised marquee companies in the private sector, PE funds, governments and regulators on transactions, restructuring, strategy and risk.  

Sunil led multiple financial restructuring assignments totalling INR 360 billion. Sunil has also advised the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and IFC on policy and risk related assignments.  He played an important role in the restructuring of five power utilities in Andhra Pradesh as a member of the Reforms Group. Sunil is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and NIT Warangal.

Manish Jain

Mr. Jain, MD – Head of India at SSG Advisors, has over 17 years of experience in the investment industry with significant knowledge and track record in special situations investments across sectors. He’s been instrumental in helping SSG grow its investment footprint in India during the last 4 years.

Previously, Mr. Jain was a Senior Vice-President at Clearwater Capital Partners, responsible for managing investments across a wide spectrum of industries with a special focus on asset resolution and real estate investments. He started his career as an Investment Analyst at the International Financial Corporation as part of the Global Financial Markets division where he was responsible for new deals and portfolio management in the financial services sector.

Mr. Jain holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Jayant Saran

Jayant leads Forensic Technology and Discovery at Deloitte in India. He has over 19 years of experience in technology, Investigations, Anti-bribery and corruption, fraud management, forensic technology and regulatory compliance. He has worked across industry sectors with primary focus on financial services, IT/ ITES, consumer markets and manufacturing industries. Jayant has assisted clients with has assisted companies with matters related to cybercrime, bribery and corruption investigations, litigation support through e-discovery, dispute resolution and responding to regulatory enquiries.

Select relevant experience:

• Data preservation, separation and restoration/ recovery in Mergers, acquisition and electronic discovery engagements
• Technology driven investigations, including in case of a large stock exchange, eKYC operations for a bank and several cybercrime incidents
• Reviews and investigations of several data theft cases, including in case of several senior management personnel leaving our client to join a competing organization
• Appearing in legal proceedings as an expert witness on handling and management of electronic data
• Investigations of misreporting of performance metrics relating to finance, operations, marketing spends etc. by various business in manufacturing, consumer, automotive, finance and IT/ITES sectors.

Rajiv Agarwal

Mr. Rajiv Agarwal is the CEO and Managing Director of Essar Ports Ltd, one of the largest private port companies in the country. Mr. Agarwal is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience and has held leadership position in industries like Ports, Shipping, Telecom, Retail and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO).

He became MD and CEO of Essar Shipping, Ports & Logistics Limited in 2010.  He Joined Essar Group in 1997 as Chief Operating Officer in Essar Telecom and was the Executive Director of Essar Shipping Limited (ESL) from 1998-2002. He has been instrumental in setting up several startup companies as CEO like The MobileStore Limited, Telecom Towers and Infrastructure Limited and Aegis Communications.  He has been key member of several industry committees like Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Federation of Indian Commerce Industries (FICCI), The Associated Chamber of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and SUPERBRANDS for several years.

He is recipient of Maritime Personality of the Year’ 17 at Gujarat Star Awards and Port Personality of the Year’ 17 at Maritime & Logistics Awards.  He has also been conferred with Maritime Standard Excellence Award’ 16 in Dubai for his contributions to maritime Sector.  In the past he has also won the CEO of the Year Award in 2009 at Asia Retail Congress and was among the finalists for Asia Business Leadership Awards, 2015 by CNBC.

Kaustubh Kulkarni

Kaustubh Kulkarni is the Group Head - M&A and Strategic Financing at JSW Steel Ltd. He is responsible for leading M&A, managing the strategic financing requirements of the Group, Treasury Risk management and also handling banking relationships.

He joined the JSW Group in Nov 2017, prior to which he was Managing Director & Head of Debt Capital Markets for Standard Chartered Bank in India, with whom he was for 12 years. Prior to his association with Standard Chartered, he has worked in ICICI Securities and in SICOM and has an overall experience of 22 years in areas of debt capital markets, financing solutions and Treasury management.

Apurva Jayant

Apurva’s practice focuses primarily on rendering advice on Private Equity, M&A transactions including distressed M&A (carried out under the Indian Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code). She assists Indian and international investors as well as target companies with structuring and documenting acquisition and divestment transactions, across various sectors and in the listed as well as unlisted space.

Before joining the Firm, she has worked with various leading Indian corporate law firms in Mumbai such as AZB & Partners, Amarchand Managaldas & Suresh A. Shroff, JSA, and most recently, Samvad Partners. Apurva has over a decade of experience in executing complex acquisition transactions including PIPE deals and transactions that were governed by multi-regulatory regimes.

EXPERIENCE

An illustrative list of matters handled by Apurva includes:

Insolvency & Restructuring

• Advising and assisting a major consortium comprising of the largest steel manufacturers globally in connection with their proposed bid for Essar Steel India Limited, a company undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• Advising and assisting one of the largest Japanese conglomerates in connection with certain purchase of assets of Amtek Auto Limited, a company that underwent corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• Advising and assisting TA Private Capital (a Hong Kong based debt fund) with respect to funding of the acquisition of an Indian food processing company undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• Advising and assisting ACRE India on several transactions involving the purchase of stressed assets (under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 as well as prior to the commencement of insolvency proceedings).
• Advising and assisting several private equity investors proposing to participate as a resolution applicant in a corporate insolvency resolution process being conducted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 across various sectors including power, hospitality and pharmaceuticals.

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Advised Baxter Healthcare Corporation, a leading US-based pharmaceutical company in its 100% acquisition of Claris Injectables Limited, an Indian pharmaceutical company manufacturing sterile injectables.
• Advised Mylan Group in connect with an asset sale transaction involving purchase of reproductive health and fertility treatment of another global pharmaceutical company.
• Assisted Omnicom Group on its sale of global businesses of Sellbytel Group to Webhelp.
• Advised and assisted Henkel AG & Co. KGaA in relation to the acquisition of the Darex Packaging Technologies business, a business segment of GCP Applied Technologies.
• Advised and assisted CMS Group in connection with their stake sale in CMS Infosystems Limited to Baring Private Equity Asia.

Bikash Jhawar

Bikash’s practice focuses primarily on rendering corporate legal advisory, and assisting clients undertaking investments, Joint Ventures and M&A activities in India, or Indian clients looking at similar activities offshore.

He has a vast experience of Indian foreign investment regulations & practices, and is sought out for advice on structuring investments into India.

His work has covered multiple sectors including Logistics, Infrastructure, Media & Technology, Renewable Energy, Real Estate, Stressed Assets, Financial Services and Asset Management.

Bikash, as part of the Insolvency and Restructuring Practice, has acted on mandates on behalf of resolution professional, committee of creditors and prospective and successful resolution applicants in the restructuring and resolution of companies undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process.

He also assists Indian and foreign clients in legal risk management, and continuous legal review & support of their operations in India.

Ravindra Rao