Acumen At Work

Sushant brings over 24 years of experience, including 17 years at Ambit in various senior leadership roles and as a member of the Executive Committee. He has led the Asset Management business for more than five years, during which he has grown the AUM over tenfold and expanded the franchise to 10 cities.

Before this role, Sushant headed Ambit’s Principal Investment business, investing the firm’s balance sheet in listed equities. Over six years, his team delivered exceptional returns by running a high-conviction, concentrated portfolio focused on small- and mid-cap Indian companies.

He began his journey at Ambit in the Group CEO’s office, spending nearly five years working on M&A, capital raising, new business development, joint ventures, leadership initiatives, and the firm’s first private equity fundraise. Prior to Ambit, he worked with global firms such as MSCI Inc. and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

A Chartered Accountant, Sushant also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Indian School of Business (ISB) and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He is the Vice Chairman of the Association of Portfolio Managers of India (APMI), has served as Secretary of the ISB Alumni Association, and is a board member at Teamwork Arts (producers of the Jaipur Literature Festival).

Dhiraj Agarwal brings over 30 years of extensive experience in the Equity markets across Equity Research, Sales, and management of Long-Short funds.

During the period of 2003-2007, Dhiraj managed the Boyer Allan India Long-Short fund while also providing advisory services for the India portfolio of the Boyer Allan Asia Pacific Long-Short fund, which reached its peak with approximately USD 1.5 billion in assets under management.

Dhiraj co-founded Sharekhan while working at SSKI and has also worked with CLSA and Standard Chartered Securities. Prior to joining Ambit Investment Managers, he was Co-Head & Head of Sales of Ambit Institutional Equities, since 2018.

Dhiraj holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore and graduated from Shriram College of Commerce, Delhi.

She is responsible for overseeing finance, accounting, audit, and taxation functions, ensuring strong financial governance and compliance at Ambit.

She brings over 25 years of experience across accounts, audit, and taxation. She has been associated with Ambit since 2008, playing a key role in strengthening the organization’s financial framework.

Prior to joining Ambit, Veena was part of the Corporate Accounts function at Patni Computer Systems Limited. Earlier, she served as a Partner at R. B. Pandya & Co., Chartered Accountants, and has led taxation and audit functions across multiple Chartered Accountancy firms.

She is a Chartered Accountant.

Karan Wadhwa is a Director at Ambit Investment Managers and Executive Director – Product & Advisory with Ambit Global Private Client. He has over a decade of experience in the Wealth and Asset Management space.

Prior to joining Ambit, he worked with True North and Nikko Asset Management. Karan holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Babson College.

Ashok Wadhwa is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ambit and Non-Executive Director of Ambit Finvest Private Limited.

Ashok founded Ambit in 1997 and has been responsible for building Ambit into one of India’s premier full-service Investment Banks.

Alongside Ambit, he co-founded RSM & Co., a tax advisory firm. He built RSM into a world-class Indian consulting house over a decade, which then merged with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2007.

Widely regarded as an incisive investment banker, Ashok has steered a broad gamut of transactions across sectors and geographies.

He is the recipient of several awards, including the Priyadarshini Academy award for Outstanding Contribution in the field of Financial Management.

Before founding Ambit, Ashok was Managing Partner, Arthur Andersen, Mumbai. He is very active in industry forums and has in the past served as President of Bombay Chambers of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Member, Managing Committee, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Member, Managing Committee, Young President’s Organization (YPO).

Ashok is a Chartered Accountant and Law graduate from the University of Mumbai.

Amrita is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Private Client and is responsible for propelling the growth of the wealth management business.

She has built a talented and diverse team that is united in its thinking and approach to be value accretive.

She has over two decades of experience across banking and wealth management, where she has led businesses in Citibank, Avendus Capital and Reliance Private Client.

She has completed her B.Com (H) from Jesus & Mary College, Delhi University and holds a Masters in Finance from MFC, Delhi University.

Berjis Desai is an Independent Director on the Ambit Board. He is also Director of some of the leading listed and non-listed public companies in India including The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited, Praj Industries Limited, Jubilant Food Works Limited, Man Infraconstruction Limited, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited, Star Health & Allied Insurance Company Limited and Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited.

A former journalist, Berjis is a writer and columnist. Since 2003, he was the Managing Partner and from 2016, a Senior Partner of J.

Sagar Associates (JSA), a national law firm with more than 300 lawyers. He is now an independent legal counsel engaged in Private Client Practice into succession and estate planning for HNIs and promoter families through wills, trusts and family arrangements.

Berjis graduated with first-class honours from Elphinstone College and stood first in the University of Bombay at the LL.B exam.

He won the Rotary International Scholarship to study post graduate law at Cambridge University in the U.K. and stood first at the Solicitor’s Examination.

Emeric is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Ambit Wealth Private Limited. He is currently a Director in Daiwa Securities Group’s International Business Planning Department, where he manages the Daiwa – Ambit relationship at an operational level and supports management oversight across businesses, including overseas M&A and European infrastructure investments.

Emeric has over 15 years of experience in the financial industry. Prior to joining Daiwa, he has worked with BNP Paribas and Aozora Bank and he has experience spanning project finance, leverage finance, private equity and venture capital fund investments, and strategic M&A initiatives from origination through execution and post-merger integration.

Emeric holds a Master’s degree in Management from Audencia School of Management from France and he is a CFA® Charterholder.

Sanjit Chowdhry is the Joint Group Chief Operating Officer (Joint Group COO) at Ambit Group, leading strategic initiatives and overseeing functions such as Risk, Operations, Treasury, and Brand & Corporate Communications.

He brings in over 30 years of experience in both high growth transformational setups as well as large global banks across areas of Executive leadership, Risk Management, Client Relationship Management, Strategy and Sales.

Prior to joining Ambit, Sanjit worked as the CEO of BanyanTree Bank Ltd., Mauritius.

He has been on the Management Committees of banks such as RBL Bank and Barclays Bank in India where he headed Wholesale Banking and Commercial Banking Risk respectively.

He has also held senior positions in Standard Chartered Bank and ANZ Grindlays Bank with experience across a range of business segments and geographies.

Sanjit holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from McGill University, Montreal.

Ashwini Kakkar has been an Independent Director on the Ambit Board since 2005 and was appointed Chairman in April 2013.

He has worked in many global companies including Otis Elevator Company, Philips India Ltd., International General Electric India Ltd and subsequently, Thomas Cook India Ltd. At Thomas Cook, he was not only managing the Indian Company but also handling operations in the region from Singapore to Egypt and was inducted as a Director on their worldwide Board.

In 2006-07, he turned entrepreneur and is now involved in Mercury Travels Ltd., Mercury Himalayan Exploration, Via.Com, Explore Broadcasting Ltd. and Akshay Software Pvt. Ltd.

A distinguished member of the Institute of Directors, London, Mr. Kakkar was conferred the ‘Chevalier De L’Ordre Merite’ by the French Government in 2007. It is the equivalent of the Padma Vibhushan in India.

Mr. Kakkar has been on the boards of various French organizations including the Global board of the Insead Alumni Association, Atout France, Europassistance and is currently on the Global Board of Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim), which is headquartered in Paris.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology at Kurukshetra, an MBA from Insead, France, and a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management Kolkata.

Ketan brings over 20 years of experience across trading, advisory, and institutional sales.

He strengthens Ambit’s execution platform across cash and derivatives while deepening institutional partnerships.

Previously, he led proprietary derivatives trading at Reliance Industries and managed balance sheet hedging at IDBI Bank.

A Chartered Accountant, he combines technical precision with market discipline.

Nitin leads Ambit’s Institutional Equities franchise, driving growth through integrity, differentiated ideas, and disciplined execution.

A member of the Executive Committee, he partners closely with research to enhance market strategy and iconoclastic accounting & ESG capabilities.

With over 24 years across leading firms, he is a CA, CS, Harvard AMP alumnus, and holds a Master’s from Kurukshetra University.

Vikas Gandhi has over two decades of experience in the financial services industry.

He has been with Ambit since 2013, prior to which, he has worked with MF Global India Limited, Phillip Capital India Private Limited and India Securities Limited.

He is a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary by training.

Ashok Wadhwa is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ambit and Non-Executive Director of Ambit Finvest Private Limited.

Ashok founded Ambit in 1997 and has been responsible for building Ambit into one of India’s premier full-service Investment Banks.

Alongside Ambit, he co-founded RSM & Co., a tax advisory firm. He built RSM into a world-class Indian consulting house over a decade, which then merged with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2007.

Widely regarded as an incisive investment banker, Ashok has steered a broad gamut of transactions across sectors and geographies.

He is the recipient of several awards, including the Priyadarshini Academy award for Outstanding Contribution in the field of Financial Management.

Before founding Ambit, Ashok was Managing Partner, Arthur Andersen, Mumbai. He is very active in industry forums and has in the past served as President of Bombay Chambers of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Member, Managing Committee, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Member, Managing Committee, Young President’s Organization (YPO).

Ashok is a Chartered Accountant and Law graduate from the University of Mumbai.

Ameet Parikh is currently the Managing Partner of Morphis Business Advisory, a successor to Tranzmute Capital & Management, a company he co-founded in 2011.

Mr. Parikh started his career with Arthur Andersen, going on to hold national and global leadership positions in that firm as well as in Ernst & Young. He later founded Axis Risk Consulting, which was acquired by Genpact.

During his over three-decade-old career, he has advised companies in several industries ranging from Health and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Technology Services, Business Process Outsourcing and Advertising.

Mr. Parikh is a Chartered Accountant and a Law graduate.

Anil Jaggia has close to four decades of expertise in Banking and Financial Services covering HDFC Bank, Centurion Bank of Punjab and Citi Bank. A senior banker with an impeccable leadership track record, Anil brings in considerable expertise in Information Technology, Risk Management, Finance, Customer Service, Operations, Financial inclusion, Enterprise Transformation, Quality Improvement, and Administration. He is presently an Advisor and Consultant in Financial Services sector.

Anil is ex-Group Head and ex-Chief Information Officer of HDFC Bank. He is well known in the Banking Industry as a Technology leader who spearheaded HDFC Bank’s IT function at a market leadership position. At HDFC Bank, he also led the various other functions like Legal, Financial Inclusion, Quality and Customer Service . As Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for IT, Finance, Operations & Legal functions and was part of the core leadership team which helped restructure and recapitalize Centurion Bank of Punjab. He has successfully executed three mergers, while integrating all business processes including IT system in record time. Anil has worked with Citibank in India, Singapore and USA in businesses covering Cash Management, International Trade, Foreign Exchanges & Derivatives, Asset Sale and Commercial Cards and worked across functional areas including Business Management, Product Management, Operations, Sales and Trading. He held the position of Head – Forex & Derivatives as his last assignment with Citi Bank in India.

Currently on the Board of Ctrl S Datacenters Ltd and Epimoney Private Limited, He has been associated with Epimoney Pvt Ltd, a Fintech lending startup, since inception in 2016 and guided the company in a nascent sector through various business cycles and led the Risk Management and IT at the board level. Anil has previously served on the Boards of Yes Bank Ltd as an Independent Director where he headed the IT Strategy Committee and served on various other committees including risk Management. He has also served on the boards of SBI Cards and Payment Services Private Limited and HDB Financial Services Limited. While serving on the Board of HDB Services during its growth phase, Anil played a key role in guiding strategy, IT, Risk Management and Credit.

He has also served on the Global Customer Advisory Board of IBM; and Global Customer Advisory Board of CISCO.

He is a MBA (PGDM) from IIM Ahmedabad and B. Tech. from IIT Kanpur.

Anil Mehta is a financial services veteran with over 40 years of experience across diverse businesses. An MBA graduate from SP Jain Institute, Anil has a profound knowledge of the mortgage, banking & insurance sectors. He is recognized for his pivotal role as the co-founder of India Shelter Finance Corporation Ltd. Founded in 2010, India Shelter became a leading housing finance company with a mission to enhance housing access for middle and lower-income segments. His strategy included developing a unique lending model focused on borrowers without regular income or credit history and leveraging technology to streamline operations.

The company successfully raised capital from marquee PE investors followed by a successful IPO in 2023, after which Anil handed over the management to a professional CEO.

His career includes key positions at Max Life Insurance, ANZ Banking Group, Bank of America, and American Express, where he led consumer credit and business functions, fostering innovation and growth.

Mr. Sanjay Agarwal is the Chief Executive Officer of Ambit Finvest Private Limited. Before joining Ambit Finvest, Mr. Agarwal established Finmax Credit and Finance Pvt. Ltd., a retail NBFC that was later acquired by the Ambit group. Under his guidance, the SME Lending business has had remarkable growth in AUM i.e. CAGR of over 80% since September 2018.

With nearly three decades of experience in the financial services industry, Mr. Agarwal exemplifies a strong entrepreneurial drive, exceptional business acumen, and robust credit underwriting skills.

Notably, during his tenure at Yes Bank, he successfully built an MSME lending book worth over INR 18,000 crore, disbursing loans exceeding INR 35,000 crore. He established and expanded the MSME lending team of over 800 members, extending Yes Bank’s reach by 110 locations.

While serving as the Head of Risk at Standard Chartered Bank, Mr. Agarwal played a pivotal role in the introduction of the Unsecured Business Loan Product for SMEs. This product has now become a standard lending template in the industry.

Moreover, he has held significant leadership positions in esteemed organizations such as Centurion Bank of Punjab, SIDBI, and SBI Commercial & International Bank Ltd.

Throughout his illustrious career, Mr. Agarwal has facilitated the disbursal of over INR 1 Lakh Crore in loans within the MSME lending space, showcasing his deep expertise and remarkable contributions to the industry.

In 2010, ICAI had conferred him with the prestigious “Professional Achievers Award” for his exceptional achievements as a professional. In 2015, he was honoured with a Certificate of Recognition for enhancing the brand image of ICAI.

Mr. Sanjay Agarwal is a Chartered Accountant (Rank holder) from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a Cost Accountant from The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Mr. Sanjay Dhoka is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Ambit Finvest Private Limited. He is part of the senior leadership team at Ambit Finvest and plays a key role in business planning and strategic decisions. Mr. Dhoka leads the Operations, Finance & Accounts, Treasury, Admin, Regulatory Compliance, and Internal Control functions at Ambit Finvest. He also manages the company’s relationship with its various stakeholders.

Mr. Dhoka has around 30 years of cross-functional expertise from NBFCs to stockbroking and manufacturing and mining industries. He has worked at major companies such as Karvy Financial Services, the Anand Rathi Group, the Aditya Birla Group, and SOCGEN-Crosby Securities. Since 2010, he has been associated with the Ambit Group.

He has played an instrumental role in setting up and growing the NBFC arm of Ambit Group and has also been a member of the Board of the company since May 2011. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Ajmer, Rajasthan.

Shalini Kamath is an Independent Director, Transformation Strategist, and Executive Coach.

Her Board positions include Abbott India, Borosil Glassworks, Johnson Controls – Hitachi, Maple Infra InvIT, Ambit Finvest, TRRAIN, and CSCGA.

As a Transformation Strategist, she assists organizations through their change and transformation journey to enhance productivity, efficiency, processes, systems, and organizational culture. She is a certified and practicing Executive Coach, having completed numerous assignments across Financial Services, Logistics, Agri, Manufacturing, and Consumer industries.

Her Human Resources career spans close to a decade and a half with Group HR Head positions for Chevron Texaco India (Oil & Gas), Star India (Media & Entertainment), KPMG India (Consulting, Audit & Taxation), and Ambit Holdings (Financial Services & Investment Banking). Prior to her roles in HR, Shalini was the Deputy Marketing Director at Raytheon India, responsible for Business Development of large multi-million dollar programs in the areas of Defense & Commercial Electronics.

Shalini began her working career in Zambia and Botswana in Southern Africa. Over a decade, she worked with the governments of both countries and acquired extensive experience in tripartite partnership projects related to community-oriented income generation programs.

Mr. Vikrant Narang is the Joint CEO of Ambit Finvest Private Limited. He has played a pivotal role in building the Retail SME Business at Ambit Finvest, including setting up credit and operational policies and processes, rolling out the branch expansion strategy, portfolio management, and treasury operations.

Mr. Narang has more than two and a half decades of experience in the financial services industry across building retail MSME business, corporate finance, debt and equity capital markets, and structured capital raising solutions. Prior to joining Ambit, he was a senior member of the KKR (NBFC) business, where he originated and underwrote numerous lending transactions. Previously, he was a Director at Barclays Capital (Investment Banking), responsible for client coverage across large Indian Groups, mid-market clients, and financial sponsors. Mr. Narang also worked in the Investment Banking division at ABN AMRO Bank and PwC. He has managed relationships across industries and diligence and managed portfolios for several years while being part of KKR, Barclays, and ABN AMRO. Extensive specialized experience across structured credit, acquisition financing, syndicated loans, and corporate finance advisory in onshore and offshore markets.

He is a member of the National Forum on NBFCs and HFCs of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the National Committee on NBFCs of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Mr. Vikrant holds B.A. (Hons.) Economics from SRCC, University of Delhi. He is also a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Raj Dugar has over 25 years of leadership experience across venture capital and private equity in India and across Asia. Raj spent 17 years as Founding and Managing Partner at Fidelity Growth Partners/Eight Roads.

Earlier, he was a founding member of Carlyle Asia Buyouts Fund (India) and a co-founder and MD at WestBridge Capital. His previous roles were at Goldman Sachs (investment banking) and at Booz Allen & Hamilton, in the US and Asia.

He has served on the investment committees for Eight Road’s India, China, Japan, and Europe funds, as well as for Arbor Ventures, a global fintech fund, and for Anterra, an agritech fund. Raj holds an AB in Economics and Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Dhiraj Agarwal brings over 30 years of extensive experience in the Equity markets across Equity Research, Sales, and management of Long-Short funds.

During the period of 2003-2007, Dhiraj managed the Boyer Allan India Long-Short fund while also providing advisory services for the India portfolio of the Boyer Allan Asia Pacific Long-Short fund, which reached its peak with approximately USD 1.5 billion in assets under management.

Dhiraj co-founded Sharekhan while working at SSKI and has also worked with CLSA and Standard Chartered Securities. Prior to joining Ambit Investment Managers, he was Co-Head & Head of Sales of Ambit Institutional Equities, since 2018.

Dhiraj holds an MBA from IIM Bangalore and graduated from Shriram College of Commerce, Delhi.

Gautam Gupte is the Group Chief Operating Officer at Ambit. Prior to this, he was a Director in the Corporate Finance business at Ambit, where he was responsible for origination and execution of capital market transactions.

With over twenty five years of corporate finance experience, he specializes in advising clients on the SEBI Takeover Code, SEBI ICDR listing and other capital market regulations.

He has been involved in execution of over forty capital markets transactions at Ambit, involving open offers under the SEBI Takeover Code, delisting offers, buyback offers, initial public offering, qualified institutional placements, mergers, block deals and rights issues.

Before joining Ambit in 2001, Gautam was with SBI Capital Markets Limited for nine years, where he was associated with a broad range of capital markets, project advisory and fund raising activities.

Prior to joining business school, Gautam worked at Tata Motors Limited for two years.

Gautam holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from IIT, Delhi and a post graduate diploma in management from IIM, Calcutta.