Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Abhishek Chhajer is a Chief Financial Officer of the Investment Manager from January 1, 2024. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant from ICAI.
Having worked across varied sectors including metal & mining (B2B) and Airport management (B2C) with large Indian corporates, including Adani Group & Vedanta Resources. Abhishek Chhajer offers over 18 years’ experience in finance and strategy, including managing business growth and turnaround, large scale debt transactions, mergers and acquisitions, business control, governance and reporting & compliance etc.
Abhishek was working as CFO of Mumbai International Airport Limited (Adani Group) prior to joining Highway Concessions. Earlier he was associated with Vedanta Group where his last designation was Dy CFO and CCO of Steel Business.
General Counsel
Meghana is a legal and compliance professional with over seventeen years of professional experience ranging across complex sectors in multiple jurisdictions. She spent her first six years in private practice with some of the largest law firms in India and an international law firm in Singapore, followed by in-house legal positions. In the past, Meghana has held leadership roles in the infrastructure and financial services sector, and has rich experience in managing both contentious and non-contentious issues. Her notable positions include Group General Counsel with IL&FS during the debt resolution of the group, where she managed legal issues across all business verticals and worked with the government appointed board of directors. As part of her role, she was closely involved in conceptualizing and formation of the infrastructure investment trust(“InvIT”) for the road assets. Prior to joining Highway Concessions One Pvt. Ltd, Meghana was managing the legal and compliance function of Virescent Infrastructure Manager - an investment platform established by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) to focus on renewable energy assets in India. She successfully established a strong corporate governance and compliance framework for the platform. During her term with Virescent, Meghana successfully completed listing of the platform as an InvIT and issuance of corporate bonds. In her current role Meghana is leading all legal aspects of mergers and acquisition and fund raising for HC1 together with compliance management.
Meghana is an alumni of National Law Institute University, Bhopal where she has pursued her B.A.LLB(Hons).
Additional Executive Director & Joint CEO
Mr. Gaurav Chandna is currently serving as the Head Strategic Finance of the Company and leads the Company through critical decision making on capital raise (equity and debt) and fund deployment in M&A opportunities. With his 18 years of extensive experience in the infrastructure sector, Gaurav brings on board his vast experience in handling large & complex merger and acquisition, private credit and public market products including InvITs. Prior to joining the Company, he was associated with leading financial institutions such as Piramal Capital and IDFC Capital. Mr. Chandna is a B. Tech Civil Engineer from Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi MBA from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi.
Joint CEO
Dr. Zafar Khan has been serving as the Chief Operating Officer of the Company for the last three years. In his past roles Zafar has obtained extensive experience in heavy civil construction, development, project management and operations of projects in Infrastructure and Oil and Gas (Offshore and Onshore). The experience encompasses prestigious National Highway Projects, Underground Metro (TBM/NATM), Offshore/Onshore pipelines, oil platform modifications, urban water distribution lines across 6 countries. He has completed his doctorate from APS University – Rewa in “Air Pollution” and Diploma in Construction Safety Management from NICMAR. He has earlier worked with Peak Infrastructure (A Brookfield Asset Management), G4S PLC, Leighton India, Hindustan Construction Company and Nagarjuna Construction Company. He also holds Master of Business Administration degree from Deakin University, Australia.
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Narayanan Doraiswamy, aged 55 years, is a Chief Financial Officer of the Investment Manager since September 12, 2016. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant, and an alumni of Madras Christian College, Chennai where he pursued a degree in Chemistry. He is also a recipient of Platinum Award in GE (2006). Mr. Narayanan has an experience of more than 28 years in the areas of finance, accounting, taxation and compliance matters. At HC1, his stint has seen streamlining the various business processes through implementation of SOPs, strengthening funds management function, increased focus on compliance, effective
shareholder distributions, as well as implementation of technology oriented improvements like compliance tool, digitised board meeting etc. Mr. Narayanan has earlier worked with the IL&FS Group for about 15 years in two spells. He first worked with the NBFC arm of IL&FS (ORIX Auto and Infrastructure Limited). In the second term, he worked with IL&FS Transport Networks Limited (ITNL), the roads arm of IL&FS. In between, Narayanan has worked with GE Money and AIG Home Finance as Controller of their Chennai operations.
Independent Director
Ms. Sudha Krishnan, aged 62, is an independent non-executive director on the board of the Investment Manager since September 14, 2022. Smt. Sudha Krishnan joined the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) in 1983. She possesses Masters Degree in Public Administration (MPA), George Mason University Virginia, USA, Masters Degree in English Literature (MA) and Bachelors Degree (Hons) in English Literature (BA Honours) from Delhi University. She retired as Member Finance to the Space Commission and Atomic Energy Commission. As Member Finance, she served as the advisor to the Commissions on financial business pertaining to the Departments of Space and Atomic Energy. Smt. Krishnan has close to four decades of experience in public policy and finance. She has worked on secondment at the Ministry of Finance in different capacities where she has handled diverse portfolios including World Bank projects, personnel matters of the Central Government and writing memoranda and reports for the Finance Minister on improving the overall effectiveness of Government spending. She also served as Financial Adviser to the Ministry of Urban Development. She has been a Government nominee director on the boards of many Government companies and banks. In her parent department namely, the office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (the Supreme Audit Institution- SAI, of India) she has led and coordinated the production of several audit reports including the audit of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. As Principal Director (International Cooperation) she was directly responsible for advising and implementing the CAG’s international obligations both bilateral and multilateral. In her last assignment in the office of the CAG, she was responsible for developing and strengthening professional standards and practices in audit. Smt. Krishnan serves as Independent Director on boards of SBI Funds Management Ltd, IDFC Financial Holding Company Ltd, Graphite India Ltd. and National E Governance Services Ltd.
Independent Director
Mr. Manish Agarwal, aged 52, is an independent non-executive director on the board of the Investment Manager since September 14, 2022. Mr. Manish studied at BITS Pilani and IIM Calcutta, and has attended training programs of ISB, Harvard and INSEAD. He has over 25 years of experience in advising developers, financiers, governments and regulators in enabling private sector investment in Infrastructure. He has been the infrastructure sector leader at Crisil, KPMG and PwC, and represented India on PwC’s Global Capital Projects & Infrastructure network at his last stint. He led several sector-shaping engagements across energy, transport and urban sectors. His experience encompasses planning of economic corridors, designing policies for sector restructuring, preparing PPP programs and projects, managing transactions to deliver value-for-money, and advising investors on infrastructure investments. As a Thought Leader in Infrastructure, he regularly shares insights through articles and discussion papers, (including at AskHowIndia.org which he co-founded). Over the last one year, he has been teaching Infrastructure Policy and Project Finance at IIM Kozhikode, Indian School of Public Policy, and Symbiosis Center for Management & Human Resource Development. He is also developing courses to be offered at IIMC and BITSoM.
Independent Director
Janakiraman Subramanian has an experience of more than 30 years in working and delivering in the road and airport infrastructure sectors.
Mr. Subramanian has an experience of working of around 20 years with Airports Authority of India(AAI), GOI as a key member on the Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore airport privatisation. Later, he was associated with IDPL, a group company of L&T Ltd. in setting up of InvIT platform from inception and helped in monetisation of 5 road assets and successful acquisition of 8 more assets. In 2018, he became CEO of the Invit platform sponsored by L&T, with Canadian Pension funds along with Insurance Fund from Germany as major investors.
Mr. Subramanian has a strong business development acumen with sound credentials on various PPP related matters, both from sell and buy side perspective. Mr. Subramanian holds a Bachelors in Commerce from Delhi University, an Associate Member of the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of India and Certified as Independent Director by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
CEO cum Director
Mr. Neeraj Sanghi, aged 59 years, is a director on the board of the Investment Manager since December 17, 2021. He is also chief executive officer of the Investment Manager.
Neeraj has extensive experience in business development, finance, project management and operation of Projects in Infrastructure and Oil & Gas sector. Neeraj completed degree in Electrical Engineering in 1984, MBA in 1988 and MA (Sustainable Development) in 2003.
His significant tenures have been with Essar Group and Total for roughly 12 years each.
Apart from streamlining operations and relationships with stakeholders (concessioning authorities, unions etc.), he has stressed upon “Adoption of Technology” and “Workplace/
Road Safety” on the road stretches operated by Invit. He was instrumental in forming Highway Operators Association of India (HOAI), a joint advocacy forum of fund based road operators. He has been a team player and a remarkable leader.
Director
Ms. Ami Momaya has an experience of more than 17 years of experience in managing investment assets in infrastructure sectors such as transportation, logistics and renewable energy.
Ms. Momaya began her career at Morgan Stanley where she spent 17 years across their India and New York offices and was instrumental in building their India infrastructure business. As a part of Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure business, Ms. Momaya led transactions across transportation, logistics and renewable energy. Prior to joining the Infrastructure Fund in 2008, Ms. Momaya worked at Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division in New York where she focused on buyouts, mergers & acquisitions, initial public offerings and financings in services, outsourcing and payment processing sectors.
Ms. Momaya holds a Bachelors in Commerce from Mumbai University and a post graduate degree from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (Mumbai).
Director
Mr. Hardik Shah has an experience of more than 15 years of experience in managing investment assets in infrastructure sectors such as Telecom Towers, Toll Roads, Airports, Energy transportation and Renewable Energy. Mr. Shah is a member of the Asia-Pacific Infrastructure team.
Mr. Shah began his career at Macquarie Group in Sydney where he spent over 10 years across their Sydney and Mumbai offices and was involved in building their India infrastructure business. More recently, he led Brookfield’s India business in India and was responsible for building Brookfield’s team and presence.
Mr. Shah holds a post graduate degree from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (Mumbai) and is a CFA Charter holder.
Chief Operating Officer
Atul Raaizada comes with over 28 years of experience in projects operationsmanagement across renewables and packaging industries in India and abroad. At Virescent, he is responsible for the overall operations of the company including land acquisitions, technology, regulatory and CMS functions. Prior to Virescent, he was the President – Project, Operations, Land and New Technologies at Hero Future Energies. He has also worked with renewables leaders such as Suzlon and Greeninfra.
Chief Financial Officer
Parin Mehta has 18 years of experience across Investment Banking, Corporate Financeand Project Finance. He has a proven track record of advising infrastructure companies for equity raising,debt financing, bid advisory, M&A, capital markets and InvITs. At Virescent, Mr. Mehta is responsible for the entire finance function, specifically driving the M&A, corporate and project finance verticals. He has earlier worked with Edelweiss, PwC, IDFC and Standard Chartered Bank.
Non-Executive Director
Aditya brings with him a rich industry experience of over 40 years. Aditya Narayan has been the Chairman of Board for Sanofi India since April 2016. He served the erstwhile ICI Limited – now known as Akzo Nobel India Limited – for about 30 years across diverse functions and businesses. He was its Managing Director from 1996-2003 and then its non-executive Chairman from 2003-2010. From 2005-2009, he was the President and CEO of BHP Billiton, India. Additionally, he has served as an Independent Director on the Boards of number of companies including Hindustan Unilever.
Independent Director
Daisy Chittilapilly is currently the President of Cisco’s India and SAARC theatre with 25 years of valuable experience in the technology industry. She holds a strong track record of transforming operations and cultures to drive growth at scale. Prior to Cisco, she worked with Wipro Limited across multiple sales management roles. Additionally, she serves on the Executive Council for NASSCOM, and as the Co-Chair on the FICCI National Committee for AI and Digital Transformation.
CEO & Executive Director
Sanjay Grewal is an infrastructure and real estate industry veteran with over 30 years of track record in executing advisory and financing transactions worth over $20 billion.
He has led landmark investments in diverse infrastructure sectors across India and other emerging markets in Asia. He has earlier worked with Altico, IDFC, Citi, Lehman Brothers, and International Finance Corp.
Non-Executive Director
Hardik Shah is the Managing Director at KKR & Co. Inc. As a member of KKR’s Asia-Pacific infrastructure team, he is responsible for its infrastructure investments in India.
During his career spanning 15 years, he has led $4 billion of transactions in India across various infrastructure sectors such as Telecom Towers, Toll Roads, Airports, Energy Transportation, and Renewable Energy. Prior to joining KKR in 2018, he worked with the Macquarie Group and Brookfield.
Non-Executive Director
He is a Principal at 262 Advisors, based in Paris. He has advised Indian, French and other international businesses with an interest in India on cross-border strategy and risk management. He is also involved with research initiatives on policy reform in the Indian power and infrastructure sectors and writes columns for Bloomberg Quint. He previously worked as a transactional lawyer for over 25 years, in the UK, Japan and India. He was rated as one of India’s top energy and Infrastructure lawyers for over a decade. In 2000, he co-founded Trilegal, which has become a leading Indian law firm, and was the head of their energy and infrastructure practice. He remains senior advisor to Trilegal and is a member of their board. Akshay has a bachelors of arts degree in history from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University and a law degree from Oxford University.
Independent Director
Mr. Panja Pradeep Kumar, aged 66 years, is an independent non-executive director on the board of the Investment Manager since January 8, 2021. He holds a master’s degree in science from University of Madras and is a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Banks. He was previously associated with State Bank of India. He is also a director on the board of, amongst others, Shriam Transport Finance Company Limited, Trigyn Technologies Limited. Karnataka Bank Limited and Brigade Enterprises Limited. He has been appointed as the chairman of Karnataka Bank Ltd. for a period of 3 years with effect from November 14, 2021.
