OUR LEADERSHIP

Rashesh Shah
Chairman

Rashesh Shah is the Chairman & Managing Director of Edelweiss, one of India's leading diversified financial services organisations. With more than 35 years of experience in financial services, Rashesh is particularly driven about the transformational role that financial services can play in translating India's vast savings into investments. A regular commentator on macroeconomic policies, development matters, financial markets in the mainstream and financial media, he serves on the Boards of various companies. He has served as the President of FICCI, India's apex industry association. Rashesh has also been a member of several government and regulatory committees including the Insolvency Law Committee on IBC.

An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Rashesh also holds a Diploma in International Trade from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

Venkatchalam Ramaswamy
Non-Executive Director

Venkat has nearly three decades of experience in financial markets and has been instrumental in Edelweiss’ evolution from India’s first new-age boutique investment bank to a diversified financial services organisation. He is recognized for cultivating large institutional relationships - spanning international pension funds and insurance companies - which helped scale the EAAA Alternatives platform; during his tenure, the Alternative Asset Management business became among the largest in India.

Venkat holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering.

Vidya Shah
Non-Executive, Non-Independent Director & Chairperson, Edelweiss ESG Council

Vidya Shah is the Chairperson and CEO of EdelGive Foundation, an organisation set up by Edelweiss Group, with the aim of funding and building the capacities of India’s not-for-profit sector.

With over three decades of rich industry experience, she has established EdelGive as a platform for strategic philanthropy. Under her stewardship, EdelGive has been instrumental in growing over 150 organisations, scaling their budgets, impact and reach exponentially.

She also serves on the board of various prominent Civil Society Organisations such as Agastya International Foundation, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University, Mann Deshi Foundation and the Indian School of Public Policy.

She spent the first 11 years of her career in the field of investment banking with companies like ICICI, Peregrine and NM Rothschild.

Vidya holds an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Dr. Ashima Goyal
Independent Director

Dr. Ashima Goyal has over three decades of experience. She is Professor Emeritus at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, has served on several boards and policy committees including as a part-time member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and was also a member of India's Monetary Policy Committee. She has been a visiting fellow at the Economic Growth Centre, Yale University, USA and a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow at Claremont Graduate University, USA.

She has an M. Phil., MA and BA in Economics from the University of Delhi and holds a PhD in Economics from University of Mumbai.

Shiva Kumar
Independent Director

Shiva Kumar has served at State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (now merged with the State Bank of India) as Managing Director. At State Bank of India, he was Deputy Managing Director and has held various positions. He was also the Project Leader for the business process re-engineering project for complete transformation of the largest Bank in India in collaboration with McKinsey & Company. He was a part of their credit card project and had set up metal gold business for the Bank. He was also a representative of Associate Banks on the Managing Committee of Indian Banks’ Association. In 2013, he received the ‘Business Leadership Award’, from the Institute of Public Enterprises.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Patna University and is an associate member of the Indian Institute of Bankers.

C. Balagopal
Independent Director

Mr. C. Balagopal is the former Chairman of the Board of Federal Bank Ltd. He is also a Trustee of Anaha Trust; Member of the Governing Council of the Centre for Management Development, Trivandrum; Member of the Advisory Board of Fourth Wave Foundation; Member of the Board of TIMed Medical Devices Incubator of SCTIMST. Mr. Balagopal completed his BA and MA from Loyola College, Madras University, and joined the IAS in 1977 and worked in Manipur and Kerala.

In 1983, he resigned from the IAS to promote a venture to make hi-tech biomedical devices for the first time in the country. Acquiring the knowhow from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology, Trivandrum (SCTIMST) and with the support of National Research Development Corporation and KSIDC, he set up his venture, Penpol Ltd, near Trivandrum.

In 1999, Penpol entered into a joint venture with the Terumo Corporation of Japan. Today, Terumo Penpol Ltd is the biggest manufacturer of blood bags in India and one of the world’s biggest makers of high-tech bio-medical devices. In 2012, he sold his stake in Penpol and turned to investing in startups, mentoring entrepreneurs, writing (four books to his credit), travel, and his many other interests.

Mr Balagopal runs a Trust, which supports social projects in Kerala and Manipur in primary health, primary education, and rural livelihoods.

Rajiv Jalota
Independent Director

Mr. Rajiv Jalota, a former IAS officer with over 35 years of service, has led transformational reforms across governance, infrastructure, maritime, industry, urban affairs, e-Governance, taxation and public finance. Recognized for change management, ease of doing business and strategic vision, Mr. Jalota advanced transparency, efficiency and sustainability in large-scale social and economic development, PPPs, public procurement and contract management.

As Chairman, Mumbai Port Authority (as Secretary to Government of India) and Indian Ports Association, Mr. Jalota represented India at global maritime forums including QUAD, chaired MACN, India steering committee, among others. He crafted the Cruise Bharat Mission, CoE on ESG and Circularity and CMEC and also served as Director General of Shipping.

As Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), Maharashtra, Mr. Jalota presented a Rs. 4 lakh crore ($58Billion) budget, and as GST Commissioner, Maharashtra oversaw India's largest indirect tax reform in its highest revenue-earning state, winning the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration (2017).

He introduced the capital value system of property tax in Mumbai, crafted four $4.5Billion civic budgets and planned city-wide solar, water, and sewerage systems. As CEO of MIDC, he drove global investor outreach and the creation of SEZs and industrial parks through transformative land development and PPPs.

Mr. Jalota holds a Master's in International development policy from Duke University and M.Sc. in Chemistry from Lucknow University. Mr. Jalota also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Supreme Industries Limited, Dredging Corporation of India Limited, TATA Projects Limited, Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited and NCDEX e Markets Limited.