CA. Atul Kumar Gupta, is the founder promoter and director of ESG Research Foundation. A staunch leader has risen to the highest echelon of accounting profession to acquire position of President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for the year 2020-21, the second largest accounting body in the world after being its Vice-president in the year 2019-20. He has served the Accountancy Profession for more than two decades and is widely respected for his strong organisational skills and deep insight in the affairs of profession. A commerce and a law graduate by education, he served as Chairman of Digital Accounting and Assurance Board, Board of Studies, IT Committee and Indirect Taxes Committee of the ICAI.
With deep interest in the research, he is credited for the project of preparation of accrual-based financial statements of the Indian Railways (third largest Railway of world) under the ambit of Accounting Research Foundation.
With his diverse and deep knowledge, he has served in various governmental bodies in past. He has been first Chairman of the Accounting and Finance Services Sectional Committee constituted by the Bureau of Indian Standards. He has also been member of Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB), Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA), SEBI’s Primary Market Advisory Committee.
On International front, he is on the Board of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), XBRL International.. He, earlier, has been the Chairman of Committee on Education, Training & CPD of SAFA, Board Member of SAFA, IIRC, PFC committee of CAPA.
Being thoroughly conversant with the professional concerns and demands of his times, CA. Gupta has authored many relevant books and has published numerous articles in leading newspapers, magazines and professional newsletters, and delivered lectures in about 1600 seminars and conferences.
CA Deepak Batra is the founder promoter and director of ESG Research Foundation. Deepak specializes in policy formulation, project finance, and advisory to Smart cities, forensic audits, risk management and management consulting. He has worked globally and has experience of working in china, various European countries, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Dubai, Qatar etc.
Deepak is an eminent fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is also qualified in law. He has been Project Director in number of World Bank aided projects. He has 30+ years of experience in working with leading PSUs and over 200+ State/Local bodies, including banks, Indian railway and urban local bodies. He has also experience in substantially all phases of corporate recovery process. He also mentors number of startups and advised clients with independent, formal valuation opinions that serve a variety of objectives, including business acquisitions or mergers, refinancing & reorganization, buy-sell agreements, tax or regulatory compliance, etc.
He is actively involved with many professional bodies and societies and is also part of various state/regional committees. He is an active speaker at various National and International Forums and conferences.
CA Spandan Shah is a director at ESG Research Foundation. He is an ESG consultant and a value chain management expert with 10+ years of international work experience, having worked with Big 4 firms in India, London and Dublin.
Spandan has completed his MBA from Imperial College London, where he specialised in strategy, climate change, and sustainability. Spandan advises companies on ESG strategy, circular economy, ESG reporting, and sustainable business transformations. Spandan is also the founder of GreenAlytics, a UK-based ESG analytics and reporting start-up.
Spandan has authored various thought-leadership articles on ESG and Sustainability, and regularly also conducts session on ESG topics at various forums in India. He is also a Director at ESG Research Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation in India, engaged in increasing awareness of the ESG agenda within the accounting and wider business community in India.
Recent projects include supporting a $500 million UK-headquartered company with ESG reporting requirements as part of their funding arrangements and working with a $10 million family-owned Indian mining company in assessing their GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) across six operational locations.
Spandan is currently pursuing Global Reporting Initiative accreditation – which is one of the oldest and widely accepted ESG reporting standard globally.
Outside of work, Spandan is involved in various non-profit and impact focused initiatives. Since 2013, he is associated as a volunteer with an Ahmedabad based NGO engaged in providing education to less-privileged kids. Currently, he also serves as a Trustee/Director at AIESEC UK, a charity organisation in the UK.
Mr. Rajesh Kumar Bhalla is the CEO of ESG Research Foundation. He is Former Additional Secretary of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) – A Statutory and Regulatory Body (Under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India). He is a Highly experienced professional with over 38 years of dedicated service at ICAI, India, excelling in administration, compliance and regulation, and leadership of a vast network of more than 11 lacs stakeholders, 167 branches, 5 Regional Offices. Having proven expertise in managing administrative affairs of ICAI. He was recognized with various awards including out of term elevations from time to time for exceptional performance. Skilled in navigating mergers, demergers, as well as networks of CA firms, driving sustainability movements, and excelling in academic. He was also instrumental in formulating digital evaluation system for CA Examinations in ICAI and Self Service Portal (SSP) for effectively establishing a paperless environment within the organization.
Having Core Competencies in End-to-End Administration, Project Management, Risk Management, Sustainability Initiatives, Decision Making, Negotiation Strategic, Team Management & Leadership, Operational Excellence, Policy Development, Relationship Building, etc., He is an active speaker at various Forums and conferences.
Kiren Srivastav A passionate Entrepreneur and philanthropist with over two decades of experience in Marketing. A business-focused, branding and marketing strategist with expertise in Brand Building, Innovative strategy and omni-channel marketing .Founder of Fempowerment Foundation & Awards which works towards empowering women in different spheres of Life , Chairperson of Council for Fair Business Practices Creative Arts Festival supported by Stalwarts like Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra ,Adi Godrej, Smt Rajashree Birla & Shekhar Bajaj .
Sh. Ajay Mittal, IAS (Retd.), Former Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Govt. of India
Shri Ajay Mittal is a Law and Economics graduate and has done Post-graduation in Rural Development. He joined Indian Administrative Service in 1982 and superannuated in 2018. During his career span of more than 33 years, he has served in various capacities in the Govt. of India – Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Secretary; Ministry of Personnel (DoPT); Development Commissioner of Madras Export Processing Zone; Principal Secretary in the Election Commission of India; Director in the Ministry of Home Affairs; Director of State Administrative Training Institute, Shimla; Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of HP; Additional Chief Secretary to Government of H.P., etc. He was also the Chairman of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board. Among various significant initiatives and notable work done during his service, he also successfully implemented the Hydro Power Policy of HP ensuring fast track completion of small hydro projects by private sector participation giving the State a leadership position in small hydro power sector as Principal Secretary (Power) to the Government of H.P. He drafted and successfully implemented ‘Atal Bijlee Bachat Yojana’ an innovative scheme for energy conservation as Chairman of the HP State Electricity Board in 2008. He is a Founder President of BVP Lab Society running 2 diagnostic healthcare facilities on “No Profit No Loss” entity, in Shimla (H.P.) since 2001. He also founded “Shikshamitra” society to promote education among children of migrant workers from Bihar, Jharkhand and U.P. in Himachal Pradesh.
Mr. Dinesh K Sarraf, Former Chairman & Managing Director, ONGC
Mr. Dinesh K Sarraf is a Postgraduate and an associate member of The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and The Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has experience of over three and half decades in the oil and gas industry, having started his career in Oil India Ltd. He joined ONGC in 1991 and handled various key assignments at corporate offices and was elevated to the post of Director (Finance) in ONGC Videsh in 2000. In December 2007, he joined back ONGC as Director (Finance) and in 2011, he assumed the charge of Managing Director, ONGC Videsh. As MD, he transformed ONGC Videsh into an aggressive growth engine for ONGC Group by clinching many high value deals within a short span of time. He was instrumental in several oil and gas acquisitions in Mozambique, Brazil and Azerbaijan by ONGC Videsh to ensure energy security for the country. In March, 2014, he joined ONGC as its Chairman & Managing Director. Under his leadership, ONGC strongly emphasised on adoption of the best operational & cost practices and appropriate oil and gas technologies, for realisation of greater operational efficiencies. Under his leadership ONGC has made the biggest ever financial decision in its history, unveiling an investment of more than $5 Billion in the east coast oil and gas asset to enhance oil and gas production significantly. After his retirement in September, 2017, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) till December 2020.
Mr. Vishwanatha Gowd Yerur, Former MD & CEO, LIC Housing Finance
Mr. Y Viswanatha Gowd, former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LIC Housing Finance Limited has relinquished his position on 31st July 2023, upon his retirement from the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Prior to taking over as CEO of LIC Housing Finance, Mr. Gowd was the Chief Operating Officer of the company.
He joined LIC of India as a direct recruit officer in 1988 and had risen through the ranks to this senior position. He also served as Regional Manager of LIC HFL’s South Eastern Region around 2017. Under his leadership South Eastern Region was the top performing Region of the Company and the loan book of the Region grew by 63%. In a career spanning over three decades in LIC of India, Shri. Gowd has made his mark in the areas of Marketing, Finance, and Pension & Group schemes. He holds the privilege of heading two divisions of LIC of India viz. Udipi and Dharwad as Senior Divisional Manager. He was also the Nominee Director on the Boards – LIC Financial Services Ltd; LIC HFL Asset Management Company Ltd; LICHFL Care Homes Ltd; LIC Mutual Fund AMC. He was also a member of different Committees like Executive Committee, Risk Management, Stake Holders, ALM, IT Strategy, CSR ESG and Debenture Allotment etc. in LIC Housing Finance Ltd.
Prof. (Dr) Rajiv Kishore Dubey, Former CMD, Canara Bank
Prof. Dubey is M.A. (English Literature), LLM, D. Lit, CAIIB, MBA (HR) and has done a PG Level Course in Development Banking from Victoria University of Manchester, UK and also attended a course at Christ’s College, Cambridge University. He has recently completed his PhD in 2022. Prof. Dubey worked as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Canara Bank from Jan, 2013 to Sept, 2014. He held the Office of Executive Director (ED) of Central Bank of India from Sept, 2010 to Jan, 2013. He started his banking career with Punjab National Bank (PNB) from Nov, 1977 and rose to the level of General Manager (GM) in March 2008 after working at different levels both in operations and administration across India.
During his tenure in Canara Bank, he turned around the bank in less than two years by galvanizng the entire staff of the Bank, turning focus on Retail banking, SME banking and technological advancements. Marketing vertical was setup by him to leverage the technology and boost the fee income of the Bank. He has Co-authored an E-book on Data Privacy titled ‘Data Protection & Privacy Implementation – India Perspective’. He has also been awarded Honory Distinguished Professorship by Sri Sharda Institute of Indian Management – Research in 2018
CA. Sanjay Rikhy, Former CFO Rajshree Cement Works
CA. Sanjay Rikhy has more than three decades of corporate experience at leadership positions in Manufacturing as well as Service industry – Hero Group/United Vanaspati Ltd/Philips India/RP Goenka group/Aditya Birla Group. He held various key positions – CFO Rajshree Cement Works, unit of Ultratech cement Karnataka; Circle Finance Head Idea Cellular Ltd now Vodafone Idea Limited for varied geography circles; Deputy CFO RPG Paging Ltd; Regional Administrator North Philips India Ltd.
Presently, he is a Management Consultant/Advisor for providing end to end assistance and facilitation to the Business owners towards efficient carrying out of business through effective Financial Planning and achieving execution excellence by Assessing & Analyzing & Managing Risks, Operational Checks & Controls, Governance & Risk Compliance, framework & Management, Working capital Management, Business data analysis. Among various awards and achievements, he also received appreciation & acknowledgements for Analysis of the Indian business environment under a study conducted by delegates of The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan school of Business Administration & the CII on Indian Telecommunications Infrastructure and its impact on business operating in India,1994. Also performing as Mentor of Change in AIM Attal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Govt. of India. Mentors of Change are instrumental in making the Atal Tinkering Labs a successful platform for students by joining in experimenting, innovating, and bringing their knowledge to practice.
CA. Sanjay Guglani, CEO, Silverdale Capital Pte Ltd, Singapore
CA. Sanjay Guglani is a Chartered Accountant, Management Accountant, Company Secretary, and Sloan Fellow of Management from London Business School (as British Chevening Scholar).He is the Founder and CIO of Silverdale Funds, and CEO of Silverdale Capital Pte. Ltd, which is licensed by Monetary Authority of Singapore for fund management – accredited investors (AILFMC). He manages over a dozen funds, inter alia: Silverdale Bond Funds which is a Top Decile bond fund having won several accolades from Asian Private Banker, WealthBriefingAsia, HFM, Eurekahedge, AI Hedge Funds, Wealth & Finance, Investors’ Choice, etc. and being ranked by Bloomberg amongst the Top-5 Asian Funds. Earlier, he was the Founder-Managing Director of Silverdale UK, controlling stake investments in Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, etc. in joint venture with Goldman Sachs, Lehman Bros, Morgan Stanley, etc. His firm was consistently ranked amongst the Top-3 investment banks for Indian convertibles by Bloomberg, Reuters, Dealogic, etc.
He started his professional career in 1990 by launching one of the first retail portfolio management schemes in India and entrepreneurial career as Founder-Managing Director of Saksham Group, which was then one of the largest external fund manager in India. Prior to that, he was instrumental in setting up capital market ventures for GE Capital (then, SRF Finance), and in managing one of the largest cash-futures arbitrage books in India. He is a guest lecturer in several business schools, including Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), London Business School (LBS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), SP Jain School of Global Management, Singapore Management University (SMU), etc. He has presented several technical papers at several forums, including at United Nations, Switzerland.
CA. Ankur Aggarwal, CEO & Founder, Bricks n Woods, Dubai
CA. Ankur Aggarwal, a highly accomplished professional in the field of finance and business consultancy, embarked on his journey after completing his B.Com (Hons) degree from Delhi University in 2008. During his tenure as the Managing Partner of M/s. Ankur Aggarwal & Co, Indian Chartered Accountancy firm from 2011 to 2021, he showcased his unwavering commitment to excellence and dedication to providing superior services. His exceptional leadership and expertise in finance propelled the firm to new heights, solidifying its reputation as a trusted and sought-after advisor.
He holds the esteemed position of CEO & Founder of BnW, along with his partner Vivek Oberoi, a renowned Bollywood celebrity and entrepreneur, leveraging their combined experience and insights to deliver exceptional results. With his extensive experience, BnW is managing an AUM of 11.4 billion AED. The company specializes in exclusive properties in the UAE, capitalizing on his 16+ years of economic mastery in becoming a trailblazer in the industry. As a Managing Partner of AKGVG Group, his expertise in financial advisory further enhances the company’s offerings. His unwavering commitment to excellence and dedication to providing superior services have earned him numerous recognitions and achievements, solidifying his reputation as a leader in his field. His leadership and market insights have been instrumental in BnW’s growth and success.
CA. Anuj B Golecha, Founder Venture Catalysts Group
CA. Anuj Golecha, a dynamic entrepreneur and an avid angel investor started his professional journey in 2003, as a practicing Chartered Accountant. In 2014, he embarked on his venture into angel investments, assembling a personal portfolio that presently spans beyond 100 enterprises as of 2023. In 2016, he co-founded Venture Catalysts Group aiming to reshape the future of investment and incubation.
His journey encapsulates a remarkable blend of innovation, investment, and impact. As an investor driven by passion and an entrepreneur guided by purpose, his steadfast mission is to elevate start-up investments into a formidable asset class. His vision extends beyond financial gains, culminating in a commitment to transform society through the power of entrepreneurship and innovation. His origins in Mumbai find a deeper resonance in Rajasthan, where his family’s ethos shapes philanthropic initiatives. With a focus on education and healthcare for the underserved, his contributions materialize through support for a college and a hospital project in Rajasthan. Additionally, committed to community enrichment, he serves as a dedicated trustee for Gurukulam School.
