Mr. Hemendra Kothari (Chairman)
Hemendra Kothari, a fourth-generation member of a prominent stockbroking family, is the Founder, Chairman, and Trustee of both the Hemendra Kothari Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Formerly the President of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mr. Kothari established DSP Financial Consultants Limited, which later became DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd. He served as its Chairman until 2009 and currently is the Chairman of DSP Finance Private Limited.
Beyond his financial endeavours, Mr. Kothari is a board member of several industrial companies and is associated with the Confederation of Indian Industry. He is deeply committed to environmental, educational, health, and cultural initiatives. His significant roles in conservation include being a Member of the Rajasthan State Board for Wildlife (and formerly also the Maharashtra State Board), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), and the Advisory Council of the Global Tiger Forum (GTF). He also serves on the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Governing Council and is the India Chairman of The Nature Conservancy. Additionally, he is an Advisory Committee Member of the Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) and a Member of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP).
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Mr. Bittu Sahgal
Founder-Editor of Sanctuary Asia, India’s first wildlife magazine, Bittu Sahgal has produced over 30 wildlife documentaries that have been aired on India’s national television network. His columns on environment and development feature in a number of English and regional language publications in India and overseas. He is involved with several global conservation campaigns and is an active member on a range of government and non-government organization boards and committees. His key involvements focus around campaigns to save tigers and to highlight the connection between human rights, biodiversity conservation, deforestation, ecosystem values and climate change.
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Ms. Aditi Kothari Desai
Aditi Kothari Desai is the Chairperson of DSP Asset Managers Private Limited (DSPAM), a leading investment manager in India. She also serves as a Director of DSP Finance Private Limited, the DSP Group’s lending company, and is a co-founder and Chairperson of Compoundexpress, a platform for advisors and mutual fund distributors in India.
Aditi’s professional focus is on driving digital transformation in finance. She has been instrumental in developing DSP’s digital platforms for investments, education, corporate services, and distributor engagement. Additionally, she is on the Board of Tifin India, an AI company specialising in wealth and asset management.
At DSPAM, Aditi oversees financial wellness programmes, including Winvestor, which is designed to enhance financial knowledge and security for women. In her previous role, she was responsible for business development as the head of marketing, digital, and sales, and she also launched the group’s international business. Her career began at Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group in New York, where she worked on M&A activities within the Financial Institutions Group.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Aditi is a Trustee at the Hemendra Kothari Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Trust. She also serves as an Independent Director at Godrej Agrovet and is a board member of DASRA, a prominent philanthropy foundation in India. Furthermore, she advises the British Asian Trust and the South Asia Advisory Board of Harvard Business School, and holds the position of Vice President of the Bombay Natural History Society.
Aditi holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Ms. Shuchi Kothari
Shuchi Kothari holds significant roles within the DSP Family Office, serving as a director at DSP HMK Holdings Pvt. Ltd. and DSP Investments Private Limited. She also holds an additional Executive Director position on the Board of DSP Asset Managers Private Limited.
She was also a director of Health & Glow Pvt. Ltd., a beauty retail chain with approximately 170 stores across India.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Shuchi represents Epic Foundation, a US-based social organisation, in India. Furthermore, she is a partner in Greenstone Fund Manager LLP, Greenstone Sponsor and Managers LLP, Greenstone Energy Advisors LLP, and Greenstone Advisors LLP.
Dedicated to philanthropy and conservation, Shuchi is a trustee of both the Hemendra Kothari Foundation (HKF) and the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT).
Academically, Shuchi holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (BSE) from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Mr. Anand Khatau
Anand Khatau is Managing Director-Senior Advisor at Julius Baer Wealth Advisor India Private Limited and has been part of the team that established Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management Practice in India. He has three decades of experience in acquiring and managing client’s portfolios, and closely works with leading fund managers, analysts, leading industry players to assess global situation and formulate the strategy for asset allocation in client’s portfolios. He is successfully managing relationship of few Large Listed Corporates, Trusts, Promoter Family & Family offices, CXO And CEO’s.
Anand is also president at Malabar Hill Club. Prior to joining the firm, Anand was a Senior Consultant with Ernst & Young, where he was advising Indian and multinational companies on their India strategy, and advised clients on their tax and business issues. Anand is a commerce graduate from University of Mumbai and is a Chartered Accountant.
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Header image © Dr. Anish Andheria