Sir Charles Richard Vernon Stagg

Independent Director

Sir Charles Richard Vernon Stagg has been the Chairman of Rothschild and Co., India since 2015. He is a Director of the JP Morgan Asian Investment Trust and a Trustee of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Before joining Rothschild, Sir Richard was a career officer in the UK Foreign Service from 1977-2015. His last two postings were as High Commissioner in Delhi and British Ambassador in Kabul. From 2003-2007, he was the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the Foreign Office’s global network of embassies and consulates. From 2007-2017, in addition to his diplomatic responsibilities, Sir Richard was the Chairman of FCO Services – a Public Sector Unit (PSU) providing secure services to the UK and foreign governments. Sir Richard has an MA in History from Oxford University.

Jai Arya

Independent Director

Mr. Jai Arya is a member of the Board of the UK-based research consultancy, the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). He is also Adviser to the Dean, NUS Business School, Singapore, as well as their Head of Executive Education. In addition, Mr. Arya has also been a Senior Adviser for Asian banking to a global consultancy firm and has also consulted on a project basis for the Asian Development Bank.

Prior to this, Mr. Arya worked for Bank of New York Mellon for 27 years and Bank of America for 10 years, in various Asian locations. Before leaving BNY Mellon in April 2014, Mr. Arya was an EVP and global head of their business with sovereign institutions, as well as a member of the bank’s Global Operating Committee and Asia Executive Committee. His earlier roles included Head of Asia Client Relationships and Asian country offices.

Mr. Arya received an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University and a BA (Honours) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Naina Lal Kidwai

Independent Director

Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai is an Independent Director, Max Financial Services and Senior Advisor, Advent Private Equity. She is also a Non-Executive Director on the boards of Nestle SA and CIPLA Ltd. and has been the Past President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). She retired on December 2015 as Executive Director on the Board of HSBC Asia Pacific and Chairman HSBC India. She is Chairman of the Harvard Business School, South Asia Board.

An MBA from Harvard Business School, she makes a regular appearance on listings by Fortune since 2002 and other listings of international women in business. She has received many awards and honours in India and was awarded the Padma Shri, for her contribution to trade & industry, by the Government of India in 2007. She has edited two books ‘Contemporary Banking in India’ and ‘30 Women in Power: Their Voices, Their Stories’.

Her interests in water and the environment and empowerment of women are reflected in her Board positions of not-for-profit institutions such as Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, The Energy Resources Institute, International Advisory Council of the Inquiry of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Commissioner for the Global Commission on Economy & Climate, Chair of FICCI’s Water Mission and FICCI’s Inclusive Governance Council and Chair of the India Sanitation Coalition.

Ms. Kidwai is one of India’s representatives on the BRICS Business Council and India Malaysia CEO Forum, and is on the governing Boards of the National Council of Applied Economic Research and ICRIER and also a member of Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Advisory Council. She has been a member of the Government of India’s Industry Task Force, the Prime Minister’s Trade and Industry Council, the National Manufacturing Council, the National Trade Council, and on the Working Group on Banking, Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and the National Institute of Bank Management.

Sahil Vachani

Director

Mr. Sahil Vachani is the MD & CEO of Max Ventures and Industries Limited (MaxVIL), one of the three listed companies of the US $3.2 billion Indian conglomerate – The Max Group.

He also serves as a Director on the Boards of Max Financial Services Limited (MFS) and its subsidiary Max Life Insurance as a representative of the Owner Sponsor Group led by Mr. Analjit Singh.

Mr. Vachani joined the Max Group in 2016 with a focus on creating a powerful Real Estate brand – Max Estates Limited – and steering MaxVIL’s other businesses towards growth. Since assuming his role at MaxVIL, Mr. Vachani has successfully completed key transactions that will have an enduring impact on the Company’s growth journey over the next few years.

Mr. Vachani has also facilitated intellectual and financial capital to promising and proven early-stage organisations across identified sunrise sectors led investments through Max I.

Mr. Vachani started his career as an investment banker with Citigroup in London, where he worked on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) across the Middle East and Africa regions. In 2004, he joined Dixon Technologies, a consumer appliance manufacturing firm as Business Head and set up new verticals across multiple locations. He was also involved in the launch of new products, setting up of new manufacturing facilities and establishing relationships with leading brands as customers.

He then progressed as the Co-founder and Managing Director of Dixon Appliances Pvt. Ltd., where he was responsible for the business from inception, including designing of products, building the team, setting up the manufacturing facility and operations, and building relationships with leading brands in India such as Panasonic, Godrej and LG, among others. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Sciences from the University of Warwick, UK and an Executive Management Program on Disruptive Innovation from the Harvard Business School.