AXAR DIGITAL SERVICES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Vice - Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics
Dr. Ajit Ranade is presently the Vice-Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune.
He was till last year, Group Executive President and Chief Economist with the multinational Aditya Birla Group. Also, he was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and of the Economic Policy Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He was Chair of the Research Advisory Panel of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, and member of the Governing Council of Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL) of the RBI. He represents India on the Board of Governors of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He chairs the Academic Council of Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics.
He was a member of the Capital Account Convertibility Committee and the FEMA Review committee of the Reserve Bank of India. He was a member of the Governing Council of the Banking Codes and Supervisory Board of India. He has served as a member of the Board of Governors of IIT, Bombay.
He is an engineer (IIT Bombay) and MBA (IIM Ahmedabad) and received a PhD in Economics from Brown University, USA. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Bombay in 2009, Scholar of the Year Award from Wadia Trust in 2010, Dr. Ramchandra Parnerkar Economics Award in 2012, and the Aditya Birla Leader of Leaders Award in 2015.
He is a co-founder and Trustee of the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO working in the area of electoral and political reforms.
He writes regularly in newspapers on economic, social and political topics.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chartered Accountant
- Co - Founder
Mr Devdutta B (Sunil) Modak qualified as a Chartered Accountant in May 1981. He obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management from IIM Ahmedabad in 1984. Soon after, in 1986 he began his entrepreneurial journey.
He is a serial entrepreneur. He was among the first software entrepreneurs to venture into development of software products and licensing. He began with the development of India's first law information database and also law information access service, which in its heyday served thousands of CAs, Lawyers and CS' both in employment and in practice, both in private and public enterprises, and also in law enforcement and justice delivery.
Currently, he is the chairman of Axar Digital Services Pvt Ltd with a focus on governance and compliance solutions. Starting from May 2020, together with Mr Makarand M Joshi, he conducted 21 webinars on SEBI PIT Compliance. He writes and speaks on governance, compliance, the impact of technology, water resources, Health care, futuristics, and other subjects in different fora. His passion and focus is helping mid-sized corporations achieve ‘continuous' board governance and conduct product board evaluations through Axar's BoardEye and BoardGauge solutions.
Mr. Nilesh Mehta has rich experience in financial services like investment banking, venture capital/private equity, and corporate strategy. He is currently the co-founder and Managing Partner of Access India Fund, a SEBI-registered private equity fund investing in mid-market, unlisted opportunities in India. Access has made five investments, primarily in services or consumer-facing businesses.
Nilesh managed Aureos Capital's India business as co-head and Managing Partner from 2005-2010. Aureos raised US$ 100M India Opportunities Fund to invest in mid-market opportunities in India. The Investors in the Fund include some Development Financial Institutions in Europe, Insurance companies, commercial banks, and family offices. The Fund made five investments of capital expansion and achieved two exits during its tenure. From 2000 to 2005, Nilesh was the Managing Partner of e-India Venture Fund/Infinity II, and he led four IT-related investments in India/US cross-border investments.
Earlier, he spent 16 years in investment banking, venture capital investments, and fund-based activities, occupying positions as managing director of Meghraj Financial Services (India) Ltd (MFSI) and executive director of Anagram Finance Ltd. At MFSI, he led several private equity transactions and mergers and acquisitions of mid-cap Indian companies.
He is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, where he also taught Finance and Control Systems as visiting faculty.
He sits on the Board of a few public and private companies and is one of the founder-trustees of Aavishkaar Micro Venture Fund. He is also a Charter Member and mentor of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), India.
Mr. Rajan Swaroop has spent over three decades leading corporate sector organizations. He has worked mainly in the Telecom sector and has spent lesser time with Real Estate, IT and Automotive sectors.
He has contributed to manufacturing, product development, strategic planning, sales, and marketing as he went on to lead businesses. His last two positions as CEO and MD were in Bharti Reality and Airtel Nigeria. He currently spends time mentoring start-ups and supporting social service organizations.
He enjoys nature through his walks and gardening, apart from spending time on reading, travel, and family. He is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Delhi.