UKIBC - Key Persons
Ankita Sharma comes from a core admin background, with 10 years' experience in Administration, and has worked with companies such as Guavus Network Systems Pvt Ltd., Barista Coffee Company, and One97 Communication Pvt Ltd. Ankita started her career with The Ashok Hotel in New Delhi. She has completed her Hotel Management course from the Ashok Institute of Hospitality, and her Tourism Management & B.com from Delhi University.
Job Titles:
- North Head of Private Business Risk Lead for Private Business & Private Equity Chair PwC UK - India Group
Arif has recently taken on the role as Chair of the PwC UK India Business Group. He is an experienced Partner based in Leeds and has a close affinity to India where he was born, though he has lived in the UK from the age of 1. He joined PwC in 1996 and became a Partner in 2009. He was Leeds Office Senior Partner from 2013 to 2016, and head of one of PwC's London Audit business units from 2016 to 2019. In addition to his India role, he is the Risk line of service market leader for private business and private equity nationally, and he also leads our private business practice across the North of England.
Arif is married to Meena, a GP, and they have 2 children aged 9 and 8. Cricket is a big passion and he still plays, captaining his local 2nd team, and he coaches the U11s and U9s where his son plays.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Chartered Management Accountant With Extensive Knowledge of the Financial
Chris is a chartered management accountant with extensive knowledge of the Financial, Professional and Legal services sector and their respective clients built up through his career. Chris had eight years working in international relations in London where he headed up Liverpool`s business embassy, after moving here from Shanghai where he lead the award winning Liverpool Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010.
Job Titles:
- Commodore
- Director, Aerospace & Defence
Commodore Bunty Sethi joined the Indian Navy on 01 Jan 86 and is a Surface Warfare Officer specialising in Navigation and Aircraft Direction (ND). The officer's afloat navigation appointments include, commissioning an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) and tenures on board INS Ranjit, INS Agray and INS Ranvijay. During the course of his career, he has had the privilege of commanding three front-line warships, INS Vibhuti, a Fast-Attack Craft (Missile), INS Kora, a Guided-Missile Corvette and INS Gomati, a Guided-Missile Frigate. Whilst commanding INS Gomati, the ship was deployed for active combat duties, as part of anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden. He was also Executive Officer of a Destroyer, INS Ranvijay.
Dickie is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UK India Business Council. Dickie joined us in August 2013 and recently served as Vice Chairman before stepping up to CEO in October 2022. He is based at the UKIBC Business Centre, Gurgaon.
He is a graduate of the universities of Durham (History) and Cambridge (International Relations). After University, Dickie joined the John Swire & Sons' management trainee programme based in Hong Kong and Pakistan. From 2005 to 2007 he was Manager Delhi & North India for Cathay Pacific Airways. From 2007 until 2013, Dickie was a founder director of Flying Fox, an innovative adventure tourism company headquartered in Delhi.
Dickie has spent the last decade living in India.
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst
- Senior Analyst of Market Entry & Research
Goverdhan Singh is Senior Analyst of Market Entry & Research at the UK India Business Council for the India Market. He is responsible for research reports and database management.
Prior to joining UKIBC, he was working with Eli India and HCL Technologies. He has been involved in finding the right opportunities for various sectors such as food and drink, automotive, industrial goods, healthcare, retail, and advanced engineering. He completed his graduation in Computer Science Engineering from Rajasthan University in 2011.
He has been involved in developing comprehensive plans for research and marketing. His focus was on implementing programs that consistently generate new, high quality leads for the company. His expertise covers the domains of research and marketing techniques for various products and services.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Strategy Consulting Project Manager
Gunjan Sharma joined the UK India Business Council in October 2013 and is responsible for executing and managing all consultancy and research projects aimed at assisting businesses, investors, government departments, LEPs and other entities in the UK-India corridor.
Gunjan is an expert strategy consulting project manager with his career foundation in the automotive industry. His core expertise is research and intelligence, where he has successfully led various teams in critical and strategic projects requiring extensive research, analytical and technical skills. He specialises in strategic planning and management and has worked with clients around the world in helping them understand the nuances of specific markets. His key skills include strategy frameworks, competitive intelligence, market sizing, value chain analysis, product benchmarking, technology monitoring, industry analysis and macro-economic trend analysis.
Gunjan holds a bachelor's degree in engineering. After graduation, he worked with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India as a Lead Business Analyst. Prior to joining the UK India Business Council, Gunjan worked with Evalueserve, an India based research and analytics firm, where he was responsible for leading research teams that provided strategic solutions to Fortune 500 companies.
Jonathan joined the UK India Business Council in 2014 and is responsible for the overall implementation of outreach plans supporting business in the UK-India trade corridor. This includes the overview of our Marketing, Event and Business Development Teams.
Jonathan graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA Hons in Spanish & Italian in 1993. His experience, throughout a 20 year + commercial career includes the running and formation of several businesses across varied sectors, and the leadership of corporate commercial teams encompassing over the last 10 years Logistics, Finance and Energy Efficiency Sectors.
A professional with over 10 years of experience across Marketing and Events, Kadambari has extended her specialised consultancy services across a number of sectors in India, UK and Internationally. From conceptualising, planning and executing a number of high level, large scale events, Kadambari's expertise include offering bespoke turnkey event solutions along with Marketing and PR Strategies for Corporate Events, Conferences & Conventions, Social & Personal Events, including Wedding Planning for Celebrity and Political Weddings, and Mega Sporting Events such as the Indian Premier League Cricket. Her holistic and global experience has developed an in-depth knowledge in the strategic planning and delivery of any type of high-level event.
Kadambari works closely with the UKIBC's India team to deliver all Membership and Advocacy Events on-ground in India and is also responsible for managing and implementing India bound UK Delegations and Visits.
Since joining UKIBC in October 2018, Kadambari has been directly involved in the running of India bound Delegations for the Higher Education and F&D Sectors, and liasing closely with the internal and external UKIBC stakeholders to optimise the standard of India events and run them to highest corporate standards, maintaining the level of UKIBC events in India and the UK.
Kadambari is a "behind the scenes" philanthropist and animal welfare supporter, who often extends her services to conceptualise and execute fundraising initiatives in the civil sector and CSR segment. Born in the UK, Kadambari moved to India and completed her schooling at the British School, New Delhi, after which she returned to the UK to complete her Higher Education.
Kealan joined the UK India Business Council in 2019 and is responsible for Policy and Advocacy and leads on Communications. Kealan plays a key role in UKIBC submissions to the UK and Indian Governments. Other key responsibilities include conducting comprehensive research, writing informative reports and whitepapers, managing advocacy campaigns, and handling our social media output.
Kealan recently completed a Master's in International Development at the LSE, having previously graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. Before joining the UK India Business Council, Kealan worked at a consultancy providing expertise and training programmes in the field of corruption and governance between undergraduate and graduate studies.
Kevin joined the UK India Business Council in December 2008 and has a range of responsibilities: coordinating the work of the team across the UK and Indian offices; directly leading the Advocacy, Advisory, Membership, Communications and Research teams.
He also leads the UKIBC's relationships with the Department for International Trade and directs the UKIBC's engagement with Government bodies across the UK and India, including the UK's Devolved Administrations, English cities, and Indian States. Kevin has directed major projects, including developing strategies to generate more trade and investment between India and Greater Manchester, the Leeds City Region, and the Sheffield City Region. He remains a Strategic Advisor to the Sheffield City Region, attends the Manchester India Partnership Board meetings, and is on the Advisory Board for the West Midlands India Partnership.
Kevin also co-ordinates the UK side of both the UK-India CEO Forum, which reports to the Prime Ministers, and the UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), which reports to the UK's Secretary of State for International Trade and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry. He also directs the UKIBC's Ease of Doing Business in India campaign, and will lead the UKIBC's inputs into the UK-India FTA consultations the UK and Indian Governments will conclude in 2021.
Kevin joined the UK India Business Council after 19 years in the UK's Diplomatic Service, where he served in The Netherlands, Malta, Romania, India, and various London postings. In India, Kevin spent three years at the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata helping UK businesses win contracts and find partners in Eastern India and assisting Indian companies expand into the UK.
Mala Isaac joined UK India Business Council in November 2014. One of her key responsibilities is to help with calendar management and allied logistics support for some members of the senior management. She is also responsible for providing support on events and other general administrative functions including vendor management.
Mala has completed her Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Bangalore University and has 10 years of experience in Administration. Prior to joining UKIBC, Mala was working with Schneider Electric as Admin Executive and she was had experience with multiple roles like Front Office Management, Travel Management, Help Desk Management, Executive Assistant, Medical Insurance Management, and also L & D support.
She is based out of Bangalore.
Manish joined the UK India Business Council team in April 2017. Previously he worked with Tecnova India Pvt Ltd, a leading India Entry Consulting organisation and has handled projects related to identifying and shortlisting partners, go to market, operations improvement, diversified portfolio development, strategy and implementation, existing portfolio improvement and also expansion for companies into other global territories such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Middle East etc.
Manish is a Management Graduate from New Delhi Institute of Management, Delhi, with 8+ years of experience in strategic business consulting for varied sectors including automotive, industrial goods, petrochemical sector, defence and aerospace, aviation, media industry, tools and machining.
Megha is Company Secretary from Institute of Company Secretaries of India and a Lawyer from CCS University.
She has over 5 years of experience with leading German Consulting firms like Maier + Vidorno Market Development Services Private Limited and Japanese like Tokyo Consulting Firm Private Limited.
Her area of expertise is in Compliance matters with regard to Companies Act, 13, Foreign Exchange Management Act, Incorporation of Foreign subsidiaries, Liaison Office/Branch Office/Project Office, local registrations and advisory to various multinational clients.
She has excellent relationship management skills in structuring, due diligence and client interactions combined business acumen for devising efficient solutions and in closing deals.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director - Infrastructure Asset Management
Nisha is a qualified corporate lawyer by profession. Nisha has thoroughly enjoyed working in the corporate space and continues this sectoral advantage by leading on the Financial, Professional and Legal Services Sector at UKIBC. For the past 10 years, she has been based in New Delhi, India where she worked for the British High Commission and then went on to practice UK law with a firm in Delhi for their UK clients while transitioning back to the UK permanently in 2021.
During the past 10 years, Nisha has developed a vast network in the UK India corridor and has worked closely with government as well as private sector in both countries. Placing her uniquely close to understanding the key market drivers as well as understanding wider bi-lateral objectives being driven at home in the UK.
Prasenjit joined the UK India Business Council in October 2010. He leads on the Advanced Engineering and Energy sectors and is based in London. Within the overall sectors, the key areas that he focuses on, include aerospace, defence & security, automotive, energy & natural resources, technology collaboration and sustainable manufacturing.
He has over 16 years of business consulting, stakeholder management, strategy development and project leadership experience. At UK India Business Council and in his previous roles at UKTI and in the advisory divisions of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG, he has worked closely with senior decision makers within corporate and government organisations, advising them on strategic commercial projects, economic impacts as well as on areas related to international trade and policy formulation. Prasenjit has extensive experience in advising clients on market entry, business growth and transformation strategy, corporate planning, feasibility assessment, project management and Public-Private-Partnership project advisory.
Prasenjit has a postgraduate degree (MA) in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chairman
- Chairman of the Group Board
- Group CEO
- Its Chief Executive Officer
Mr Heald joined the UK India Business Council as its Chief Executive Officer in September 2010 and has recently stepped up to Executive Chair as of September 2020 and Chair as of October 2022.
Since Richard's arrival, the UK India Business Council, working in partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT), has expanded rapidly extending its scope and reach both in India and in the UK. The UKIBC acts as secretariat for the UK Prime Minister for the UK India CEO Forum and for the UK Government in the Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO). Latterly, the organisation has evolved into a full provider of export services to small and medium sized companies. The UK India Business Council also provides sector focused policy advocacy and consultancy to members and major corporates in areas such as infrastructure, the digital economy, healthcare, learning, advanced manufacturing & defence, retailing.
Richard was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to economic and trade relations between UK and India on 11 th June 2016.
Richard sits on the Panel of Experts at the India-UK Financial Partnership and is a member of the CBI's International Trade & Investment Committee and is a DIT Midlands Investment Champion. Before joining the UKIBC, he worked as Vice Chairman, Rothschild, South and South East Asia where he played a key role in advising numerous UK, Asian and Indian companies on spin-offs and capital raisings, secondary capital raisings, outbound and inbound M&A as well as the provision of debt and restructuring. He worked for Rothschild for over 17 years and has over 30 years experience of the international financial markets, 20 years of which has been focused on advisory and capital raisings for governments and major corporates across the globe.
Mr Heald is a graduate from Oxford University with a degree in law and is married with two daughters.
Group CEO Richard Heald: There is a huge opportunity to move UK-India economic agenda forward in key areas
Rohit is currently working as Director and India Board Member at the UK India Business Council. He has overall responsibility for Management Consultancy and Implementation engagements. He has practical knowledge and experience in consulting sales and advising senior management of mid to large-size organisations in new market entry and growth strategies, business planning and implementation. He possesses strong P&L knowledge, organisational skills, and the ability to manage and motivate teams, to consistently deliver high performance.
Before UKIBC, he was working as an Associate Vice President at a Management Consulting firm Tecnova, primarily focused on advising the companies of the US and European origin in developing their India entry strategy, expansion planning, business setup and implementation. Previously he has also served in automobile OEMs Maruti Suzuki and Hero Honda Motors in their Supply Chain and Global Sourcing department.
Rohit holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur and Columbia Business School, New York. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and registered as an Independent Director with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. He is open to taking up an Independent Director position(s) in Corporate Boards, supporting them in Corporate Strategy and Governance.
Shivam joined the UK India Business Council in 2015, and is responsible for Food and Drink sector trade promotion and policy and advocacy engagements. He is a market research and consulting professional with 5 years of experience in Retail & Lifestyle, Consumer Products, Food and Drink, Automotive, and Healthcare, advising clients on Market Entry, Expansion & Operations, Regulatory, Consumer Behaviours, Channel Mix, and also doing channel partner tie ups for international brands. Previously he worked with BMR Advisors and has counselled clients on changing trends, rising opportunities and estimated threats.
Shivam holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the Dehradun Institute of Technology and is currently pursuing an Executive Post Graduate Diploma in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).
Shivraj joined the UK India Business Council in August 2017, and has nearly 9 years of management consulting experience advising the top and senior management of large and mid-sized companies from across the globe. His expertise includes business case development, analytics, market sizing, developing growth strategies, industry analysis, stakeholder management, and bringing problem-solving approach in overall project management.
Shivraj has helped several UK businesses from various sectors to understand the India market and make successful entry into India. During his tenure in leading consulting companies such as Boston Analytics India Pvt. Ltd. and Strategic Analysis India Pvt.Ltd. he was responsible for scoping the deliverable, project planning, managing the team, anchoring the findings with key stakeholders and providing business research-driven reports across wide industries such as Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Engineering Polymers, Electronics & Electrical, Retail, FMCG, Food and Drink, and Engineering Goods.
Shubhi leads the UK India Business Council's Food & Drink Advocacy Group and Trade Promotion services based in Delhi.
With 12-plus years of experience in responsible positions and over 9 years with the United States of Department of Agricultural (USDA) at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi as Senior Agricultural Specialist, Shubhi brings a vast amount of international and bilateral experience.
At USDA, Shubhi worked on numerous marketing, advocacy, and advisory projects garnering an in-depth knowledge of agribusiness, micro and macro economics, food safety-regulatory measures, regulatory & policy issues, and food & agricultural price policy/agricultural trade policy. Her hallmarks include in-depth understanding of both Indian and related international trade policy issues and she has worked on regulatory aspects related to agriculture, food, and beverage sector (including market access issues, WTO, SPS, and TBT) subjects in close association with various ministries/agencies under Government of India and Indian trade bodies.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Regional Head
Siddharth Mukne is a regional head at UKIBC and is responsible for engaging with companies across the UK and South Wales with an interest in the Indian market.
Siddharth has studied polymer engineering & PGDM in International Trade Management from universities in India. He also holds an Executive MBA & Masters in International Marketing from UK universities.
He has a strong background in business management, project management & operations, having worked with multinational engineering & life science companies across Europe & India.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director / Subhayu Ray
Surbhi has total 8 years of experience, she has worked with the Indian industry and the government for developing policies and programmes to enhance growth of Indian industry both domestically and globally
She is a post graduate in branding and marketing and joins UKIBC from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) where she has worked for 6 years.
Surbhi is a team player, she is passionate about her work, and looks for opportunities to work with new ideas and concepts.
She is also an ardent reader and loves to travel.
Tara joined the UK India Business Council's London office in January 2009. She manages the UKIBC's Research and Policy Department and leads its Higher Education and Retail sector work.
Her main responsibilities include strategy development, client relationship management, delivering member services, top level business engagement, supporting UK and Indian companies' trade and investment activities, and identifying new business opportunities. Tara also organises regular policy advocacy forums, high level roundtables and seminars and is in charge of producing comprehensive research reports for the UKIBC. Prior to her role at the UK India Business Council, Tara worked as a research consultant for Mirabilis Advisory Pvt Ltd (a Delhi based business consultancy) and in the marketing department of the Singapore Tourism Board in Mumbai.
Tara has over 8 years of experience in both primary and secondary research as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis. Over the course of her career in both India and the UK, she has interviewed and conducted in-depth consultations with a wide range of important stakeholders including high profile business leaders, think tanks, trade bodies, international companies and CEOs in the UK and India, written and produced thought leadership reports and white papers and developed and conducted surveys and focus groups.
Tara graduated with an MSc in Tourism Management and Destination Marketing from Nottingham University Business School and a Bachelor's in International Economics from the University of Massachussetts at Amherst, USA.
Tushar Chaudhary joined UKIBC in October 2013 and is responsible for the Launchpad and Business Set-up services of the UK India Business Council. In his role as Head of Launchpad and Client Relations, Tushar supports UK Business in their market entry into the Indian market before and during their permanent establishment.
Tushar is an engineering graduate in Electronics and Communication and has a Master's degree in Global Business Management. He has close to ten years of work experience in business development, market research and business intelligence in domestic and international markets.
Before joining UKIBC, Tushar worked with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a UK based professional organisation. In his role as National Business Development Manager, he has helped the IET to grow its member base in India. He has also worked in the automotive industry with organisations such as Mercedes-Benz Research & Development, India and Dearborn Electronics.
Tushar's strengths include new business development, account management, business intelligence, problem solving, organisational and people skills.
Vikram is Finance professional with rich experience in Audit, finance & accounting, business partnering & commercials. Before joining UKIBC he served as the Head of Finance at New Delhi-based Clove Dental, a network of over 60 dental clinics. He also worked for Deloitte and Ingram Micro (formerly BrightPoint India Pvt. Ltd) in previous professional assignments.