Experienced Executive Director at Pragya Securities Pvt. Ltd., a leading financial services firm. He has a long history
of working in the financial services industry. Kishor is skilled in Financial Risk Management, Business Process Reengineering,
Corporate Finance, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Development. He has a strong business
development professional background. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Mr. Garg has handled several important assignments in SEBI since joining in January 1994. He has been closely associated with SEBI and Government of India’s initiatives on Financial Literacy and Investor Education in the country. He was instrumental in launching of SEBI Complaints Redress System (SCORES), Securities Market Trainers (SMARTs) program for Investor Education, Toll Free Helpline and Financial Education through Resource Persons.

He played crucial role in establishment of NISM and setting up of its new campus at Patalganga. Mr. Garg’s current portfolio includes Office of Investor Assistance and Education, Enforcement Department, and General Services Department.

Mr. Garg is SEBI nominee on the Board of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) set up by MCA, GOI and Technical Group on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy under FSDC.

Mr. Garg holds degree in Engineering, Law and Management.

Dr. Dipesh Shah has over 21 years of professional experience in International Business, Project Development, Corporate Affairs, Corporate Law & Policy matters. His most prominent achievement includes setting up and operationalizing India’s 1st Smart City and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Before joining IFSCA in Dec 2020, in his last 12 years tenure at GIFT City, City made substantial progress in getting recognition as India’s model Smart City, starting India’s first Multi Services SEZ and only approved International Financial Services Centre. He brought in the regulatory and business changes in the GIFT IFSC to bring in Banks (now transacting more than US$ 300 Billion), International Exchanges, inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India (now daily turnover > USD 15 bn) and Insurance & re- insurance companies for undertaking offshore transactions.

He is Executive Director (Development) at IFSCA. He is responsible for the overall development of IFSC.

Dr. Shah is a Bachelor of Commerce and is Chartered Secretary from Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) & Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators, UK and has Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDM – MBA) from Nirma University, India with specialization in International Business & Finance. He has a doctorate in Philosophy in Management in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Nitesh holds a master’s degree in business administration in Finance & Marketing from Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS) and having more than 20+ years of qualitative experience in the space of Business Development, Strategy and Market operations for Exchange as well as Indian and Global brokerage house spanning across commodities, equities, and currencies derivatives.

In his current role, he heads the business development of NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) across all products. Since his association with NSE IX, he has played a pivotal role in all the major initiatives including NSE IX Receipts, which is one of the unique offerings for retail Indian investors and contribute significant role in onboarding members and educating them. He is also responsible for Debt Listing on the Debt Securities Market (DSM) platform of NSE IX.

In his previous assignment, he was the Head of Business Development with India INX (IFSC) (a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE Limited.).

With rich & diverse experience in Capital & Derivatives Market, he has played instrumental role in initiating Liquidity Incentive Schemes, Product Development, educating Members. He also possesses vast experience in trading and traded actively in all the major exchanges around the world including CME, LME, SGX, DGCX, SHFE, BFX, EUREX etc.

Hetal Kotak is a Chartered Accountant with over 19 years of experience in capital markets, she is presently working as Ad. GM – Listing at India International Exchange, the first and leading Exchange in GIFT IFSC.

Her responsibilities include identifying market opportunities and ensuring maximum flow of potential clients onboard and listing their financial instruments on the Exchange platform. Over and above the core work area of Fixed income, she is also responsible for new product development at the Exchange and works very closely with regulators and market intermediaries to fulfil the vision of IFSCA in making GIFT CITY the hub for sustainable finance. She also represents the Exchange on various committees set up by IFSCA.

Previously she has worked with BSE Ltd., in charge of Primary market (Listing & Debt issuances) and secondary market (Operations and product development) functions.

Mihir has over twenty years of experience in Private Equity/Venture Capital, regulatory organisations and consulting firm. Before joining IFSCA, he was Chief Investment Officer at NB Ventures, a VC firm based in UAE. Prior to that, Mr. Mihir Upadhyay worked with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA), Brand Capital, ICRA Management Consulting Services and JP Morgan.

He has an MBA from Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research and B.Com from the University of Mumbai.

• Sarath Sathkumara is the Chief Investment Officer of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC’s International business.
• He has been a pioneering investor in India/South Asia managing money since 1993 (the year India opened for foreign investment) and has been associated with some of the most reputable and largest global asset management firms such as the Capital Group and State Steet Global Advisors.
• He has over 30 years asset management experience as Analyst, Portfolio Manager, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, largely focusing on India.
• He has over 10 years engagement investing experience combined with public, PE, VC equity investing.
• Previous associations –
  • Taiyo Pacific Partners, Seattle, WA (2010 – 2021) – Portfolio Manager / Managing Director: He started Taiyo Greater India Fund which focused on investing in Indian midcap / small cap equities. Over his tenure, he grew the portfolio from zero to USD350mm through largely positive performance. During the past 12 years, he has met with over 700 midcap / small cap Indian companies and maintain relationships with many of them to date.
  • SBI Venture Capital Pte Ltd, Singapore (2009 – 2010) – Chief Investment Officer: The company was private equity / venture capital arm of SBI Holdings (listed in Tokyo). As Chief Investment Officer, he invested in private / public companies in Asia ex-Japan markets (India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc.).
  • State Street Corp., Boston, MA (2002 – 2008 – Senior Portfolio Manager: He was responsible for active emerging markets asset allocation (AUM USD12bn) and managed investments in Asia and MENA regions.
  • Capital International, Singapore/Los Angeles (1992 – 1998)—Analyst/Portfolio Manager: He managed an equity portfolio of USD2bn that had investments South Asia, primarily India. As a pioneering foreign investor in India, he managed close to 20% of all the foreign investment in India in the 90s.
  • HSBC Group, Dubai, San Francisco, New York (1980 – 1990) – Investment Banker: He was actively involved in M&A, private placements and corporate lending operations of HSBC during the tenure.

Ritesh is having Master Degree in Finance with over 16 years of experience in capital markets, He is presently working as AGM – Business Development at India International Exchange, the first and leading Exchange in GIFT IFSC.

His responsibilities include business development, marketing & promotion. Over and above the core work area of business development, he is also responsible for new product development at the Exchange and works very closely with regulators and market intermediaries to fulfil the vision of IFSCA in making GIFT CITY the financial hub. Since 2008 he is working with BSE Ltd.

Nilesh Shah is Managing Director of Kotak AMC.

Nilesh lead his team to the Best Fund House of the Year Award at all the mutual funds where he has worked viz. Kotak, ICICI Prudential and Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund.

Nilesh is a part time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. He is a member of the Board of Association of Mutual Funds in India and a Member of COBOSAC committee of SEBI.

Arjun is General Manager at International Financial Services Centres Authority, GIFT City, Gandhinagar. He is in charge of the Division dealing with Primary Markets at IFSCA. During the last 3 years with IFSCA, he has been involved in policy making in several areas in the capital markets including Issuance and Listing of Securities Regulations and Capital Market Intermediaries Regulations.

Prior to joining IFSCA, he has experience of over 12 years in capital markets with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and has handled various portfolios including investigations, international affairs, takeovers, buy-backs and delisting.

He has done his MBA from IIM Indore and B. Tech from IIT Madras.

Saurabh was educated at the London School of Economics where he earned a BSc in Economics (with First Class Honours) and an MSc in Economics (with distinction in Macro & Microeconomics). In London, Saurabh was the co-founder of Clear Capital and in 2007 he was rated by the Extel Survey as one of the top small cap analysts in the UK. In India, Saurabh was rated as the leading equity strategist in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by the Asiamoney polls. Prior to setting up Marcellus, Saurabh was the CEO of Ambit Capital. Saurabh is a Founding Director of the Association of Portfolio Managers in India, a trade body. He continues to be part of multiple SEBI working groups whose role is to review and reform the rules governing portfolio management in India.

Dharmesh has pursued master’s degree in business administration in finance from Institute of Management, Nirma University and he is having more than 16 years of rich & diverse experience in the space of Business Development in Capital Markets, Institutional Equity Sales, and Investment Banking.

At NSE IX, he is working as Sr. Manager in Business & Product Development. He has played pivotal role in the launch of NSE IX Receipts (Trading in Global Stocks) and International Sustainability Exchange Platform (ISX), a pioneering venture of NSE IX to drive the sustainability initiatives in India and across the world. He has also played a key role in various products launched by NSE IX.

In his previous role, he has worked with Centrum, Avendus Securities, Enam Securities and MCX.

Anurag Bansal, is a rank holder and fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a member of Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) and possesses extensive experience of over 25 years in Capital Markets. He is whole time director of SMC Global Securities Limited which along with its group companies offers a diverse range of financial services including institutional and retail brokerage of equity, derivatives, commodities, currency, online trading, depository services, distribution of IPOs, mutual funds, fixed deposits & bonds, insurance broking (life and general), clearing services, margin financing, investment banking, portfolio management, wealth advisory, real estate advisory and research.

Mr. Alok C. Churiwala is a third generation stockbroker and an Angel Investor. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce form H.R. College of Commerce & Economics, Mumbai. He has also holds a Diploma in Securities Law from the Government Law College, Mumbai apart from executive learning programs form IIM, Ahmedabad & Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. He has a rich experience of over 20 years in the Indian Capital Markets.

Churiwala Securities Private Limited (CSPL) is spearheaded by Mr. Alok C. Churiwala, whose focus & vision has helped the company to establish itself as a prominent & respected player in the industry. He has been responsible for starting the CDSL and NSE operations of the Churiwala Group. He was also responsible for the CSPL’s tie up with Larsen & Toubro and Trade.com for their Internet venture (Lttrade.com). He is currently
an independent director of on the Board of Khadim Ltd and also a member of the Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.

He is the Former Vice-Chairman of the BSE Brokers Forum, which is an industry representative body. He was also on the Board of ICSA (International Council for Securities Association) as Asian representative and has attended their meetings in Paris, Sydney, Mumbai & Stockholm. He also represented Indian Capital Markets at ASF (Asian Securities Federation) at Seoul. Besides being an Ex member of the BSE Governing Board, he has been actively involved in various committees of the exchange. He chaired National Occupational Standards Committee of BFSI Sector, Skill Development Council of India and was on the advisory Board of ICCL (Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd). He is a much sought after visiting faculty offering lectures on a wide spectrum of subjects relating to Capital Markets in India. He is widely quoted in various business publications viz. Economic Times, Business Standard, Dalal Street & Financial Express & television media like NDTV Profit, Doordarshan, Zee Business, Star News, Sahara, BBC and CNBC, CNN-IBN, etc.