About:

Shri Sanjay Kaul, IAS (2001 batch, Kerala cadre) is the Managing Director & Group CEO, GIFT City. Shri Kaul brings with him over two decades of rich administrative experience across the Government of India and multiple state governments. He has served in diverse leadership roles including Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Culture (GOI), Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala, Secretary in key departments such as Finance, Home & Vigilance, and Industries. He has also led several PSUs including Kerala Financial Corporation and KSIDC. Notably, during his previous deputation in Gujarat, he served as Managing Director of Gujarat Informatics Ltd and Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. He has deep expertise in infrastructure development, public administration, finance, and digital governance. Shri Kaul’s leadership will further strengthen GIFT City's growth as India’s premier financial and smart city destination.

About:

Shri K. Rajaraman belongs to the 1989 batch of Indian Administrative Service (Tamil Nadu cadre) and has assumed the responsibility of the Chairperson of International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) after serving for nearly 35 years in various leadership roles in Government of India and Government of Tamil Nadu. Prior to joining the IFSCA, he served as the Secretary to Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications. He is a B.Tech Graduate in Electronics & Communications, a first-class MBA and Master of Economics. Starting his career as a Design Engineer in BHEL, Trichy, during his rich and varied experience as an IAS Officer, he had held various administrative positions in the areas of Investment Promotion, Foreign Direct Investment, Public Sector Undertakings, Industrial Infrastructure, VAT Administration, etc. He was MD of Chennai Metro Railways for nearly 4 years during its early construction phase, Commissioner for Commercial Taxes in Government of Tamil Nadu, and Joint Secretary Expenditure in Government of India. He also served as Additional Secretary, Investment, IER and Administration in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

About:

Mr. Hiren Ved, an equity market veteran, is the Founder, Director and CIO at Alchemy Capital Management where he has been leading the firm’s Asset Management business. With over 30 years of experience in the Indian equities market, Mr. Hiren has developed a sustainable long-term investment philosophy based on fundamental research. He is known for his deep and diverse sector knowledge, bottom-up research skills and stock-picking abilities. He holds a graduate degree in Accounting from Mumbai University and a post-graduation in Management & Cost Accounting from The Institute of Cost Accountants of India.

About:

Mr. Sandip Shah, Head of IFSC Dept at Gujarat International Finance Tec – City Co. Ltd, has over 15 years of professional experience in financial services, regulations, policy development and securities market. He has authored a book on “GIFT IFSC – a comprehensive guide” and has been awarded 40 under 40 Investment Professionals in 2022. Mr. Shah has been involved since the inception of International Financial Services Centre in India and leading various initiatives with IFSC Authority, Ministry of Finance, RBI, SEBI and IRDAI to develop and promote IFSC globally. He is also instrumental in preparing key regulatory proposals for IFSC business activities. Mr. Shah works closely with IFSC Authority for developing new lines of business and activities such as Aircraft leasing, Ship leasing, International Bullion Exchange, Offshore Fund management, Fintech, bullion trading etc. Mr. Shah has played pivotal role for the establishment of International Fintech Institute and innovation hub jointly with Asian Development Bank. Mr. Sandip Shah holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Administration with a specialization in International Finance. He has also done a Diploma in Foreign Exchange and Risk Management and Company Secretary – Intermediate from Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has previously worked with HSBC in the Securities Market division and National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) in Mumbai between 2010 to 2015. He has in his earlier assignment worked for operationalizing India’s first Insurance Repository.

About:

Mr.Debanuj Roy serves as the Business Head for GIFT City at Axis AMC. He possesses 14 years of professional experience, having commenced his career with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. Following this, he made a shift to the asset management industry, where he provided guidance to corporate treasuries regarding their investments for six years. Subsequently, he assumed the role of heading West Zone for Alternate Investments at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. Mr. Debanuj has earned a double master's degree - an MBA in Marketing and MS in International Marketing from Manchester Business School, UK. He also graduated with a gold medal in Molecular Biology from University of Calcutta.

About:

Mr. Mihir is a seasoned investment professional with over a decade of experience in the asset management industry. He presently heads the Alternative Investments division at Phillip Ventures IFSC, a part of the Singapore-headquartered Phillip Capital Group. He manages the investment strategies for the Global Portfolio Management Services (PMS) and the India-focused Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) strategy based out of GIFT City. Before his current role, Mihir was part of the ETFs and Passive Investments division at DSP Investment Managers (formerly DSP BlackRock) and has also worked with HDFC Asset Management Company. Mr. Mihir has done his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and is a Chartered Accountant and a CFA Charterholder.

About:

Mr. Niutpol has an overall experience of around 15 Years in the financial services industry. He has a wide experience of structuring and marketing various funds across multiple asset classes such as Equity, Real Estate, Credit, Tech VC/FOF etc. for both Domestic as well as Overseas Investors. He is also awarded as AIWMI 40 Under 40 Alternative Investment Professional in 2021. Prior to joining Mirae he was with Nippon India heading products for AIF and PMS. He has structured and launched multiple funds under AIF and PMS and was instrumental in growing the AIF and PMS business for Nippon India. Mr. Niutpol holds a B.COM and a PGDM in Finance from Institute for Technology and Management.

About:

Mrs. Prerna Soni is the Managing Director & Business Head for Neo Asset Management’s International business. She holds over 15 years of experience including 7 years at Invest India and Various roles at General Electric and Ernst & Young. She leads global investor engagement, bringing together a unique blend of global perspective and deep insight into the Indian market. Her approach is shaped by a strong belief in collaboration, clarity, and humility — values she brings to every interaction. She is a CFA Charterholder, Chartered Accountant and holds a B.com from Shri Ram College of Commerce.

About:

Mr. Bhavin Shah is one of the most awarded professionals in the industry. In his career spanning over twenty years, Mr. Bhavin Shah has played leadership roles in building from scratch three top ranked Institutional Equity franchises: Global (JP Morgan), Asian (Credit Suisse) and Indian (Equirus). Mr. Bhavin Shah set up Sameeksha Capital to manage his personal savings in an institutional setup and hence enable others to benefit from his expertise. Mr. Bhavin Shah has appeared on business TV channels and Magazines across the globe to present his views on equities. He holds an MBA degree with Beta Gamma Sigma honors from the top ranked University of Chicago Booth school of Business and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of California. Mr. Bhavin Shah jointly holds two US patents for Microprocessor Design.

About:

Mr. Kshitij has about 17 years of experience in stock market coverage for the top media organisation where he tracks stock markets for Economictimes. When he is not tracking markets, he is busy with his camera pursuing his love for wildlife photography. Apart from tracking Sensex and Nifty, Kshitij is also a master healer and author of 'Mind over Money', The Golden Thumb Rule, PMS Talk as well as AIF Talk - a monthly series on ETMarkets. He holds a CFA and MS Finance from ICFAI University.

About:

Mr. Manav is the Engagement Director for GIFT International Fintech Innovation Hub and Head of Financial Services for Plug and Play, APAC. He specialises in strategy, operations, and innovation and has over 15+ years of experience working in the banking and insurance space with corporations such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Metlife, TD Bank, Nedbank, Oaknorth, and more.

About:

Vishrut Pathak is the Chief Investment Officer and Founder of Pi Square Investments, bringing with him over two decades of expertise in wealth management, portfolio advisory, and fund management for HNI clients and large family offices. He holds an MBA in International Finance from St. John’s University, New York, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Statement Analysis from New York University. Beginning his career in New York, Vishrut spent 10 years working with leading financial firms, gaining deep exposure to global markets before returning to India. In January 2011, he founded Pi Square Investments with a vision to provide institutional-grade investment strategies tailored for Indian investors. Under his leadership, the firm has scaled significantly and today manages an AUM of over ₹1,500 crore, with a strong focus on delivering consistent returns across diverse asset classes.

About:

CS Pradeep Ramakrishnan is a graduate in Commerce and a Fellow member of ICSI. He worked in the secretarial department of Madras Fertilizers Limited, Chennai during 1999-2000 and as the Company Secretary of Kothari Petrochemicals Limited, Chennai (Listed Company) during 2000-2002. He joined SEBI, Head Office, Mumbai in February 2002 and initially starting off with the Primary Market Department. He worked at the Southern Regional Office of SEBI from 2008 to 2015 after which he commenced his second stint at the Head Office. He was working in the Corporation Finance Department at SEBI in-charge of issue, listing, compliance, and monitoring functions from 2015 to 2020. In SEBI he handled issue and listing of corporate bonds at the Department of Debt and Hybrid Securities. He took over as Executive Director in IFSCA in February 2024. He handles the Capital market Department. He also handles Corporate Finance, Equity, Hybrid and related products, division of sustainable finance, Market infrastructure institutions - Regulation and Supervision, Investment Funds, Division of supervision of Intermediaries.

About:

Mr. Rahul Sharma is a seasoned finance professional with over 16 years of experience in the financial services industry. At HDFC AMC, Rahul focuses on expanding the company’s international business footprint. His responsibilities include managing relationships with overseas institutional investors and promoting investment offerings through HDFC AMC IFSC in GIFT City, catering to NRIs and foreign investors. Prior to joining HDFC AMC, Rahul was associated with KPMG India. Mr. Rahul is a Chartered Accountant from ICAI and holds a Law degree from Government Law College, Mumbai. He has completed his Executive Management from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA).

About:

Mr. Rajesh is a Partner in the Tax practice with over 27 years of experience in diversified sectors specially Financial Services, Technology and Fintech. He has a vast amount of experience in domestic and international tax and exchange control regulations advising clients on various tax issues including domestic and international tax planning, inbound and outbound investment structuring, contracts with foreign enterprises, taxation of foreign enterprises in India, structuring and setup of funds in mainland India and GIFT City as well as SEBI and exchange control regulations. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Commerce graduate from the University of Mumbai. He has secured 41st rank in the final examination of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

About:

Mr.Rohit Kulkarni has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, and specializes in aligning large alpha generating capital market offerings to wealthy elites. In the current role as Director of Sales and Distribution at StepTrade Capital, he lead in building strategic partnerships and networking initiatives, with an objective to reach out to elite investors on time to help build value driven wealth creating equity portfolio. He has Passion to identity and double down on deep wealth accretive products through tailored investment solutions to sophisticated Investors His expertise in conceptualizing, executing, and scaling large-scale wealth business models has been honed through successful stints with leading organizations such as Chola Wealth, Reliance Securities, and ICICI Bank.

About:

CA Shabarish Seshadrinathan is Vice President at Basiz. He is based in Mumbai, India. He is a Bachelor of Commerce from Mumbai University & a Chartered Accountant from ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) with three years of Articleship at KPMG. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA US). At Basiz, he handles Fund operations.

About:

Mr. Vikaas M Sachdeva is an industry stalwart with over three decades of experience in the Asset Management business. He is currently the Managing Director of Sundaram Alternates, driving growth across different platforms, geographies, and asset classes. During his career, he has held several influential and senior management positions across marquee financial service organizations. Among his industry affiliations, he has been an erstwhile member of the Mutual Fund Advisory Committee (MFAC), a high-powered committee appointed by SEBI to advise them on governing the MF industry. He was also on the board of the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), heading the ETF and indexing committee, which submitted the first white paper on ETFs to SEBI. More recently he was associated with the Asset Managers Roundtable of India (AMRI), the nodal body for FPIs in the country. He is the co-chair of the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) Category III AIF council. Mr.Vikaas is an active Fintech enthusiast and is currently on the Advisory Committee of India FinTech Forum.