Our Team

Naozad is the COO of KIAL. He joined Kotak Mahindra Group in April 2000 and was part of the team that set up Kotak's first VC fund, which closed in 2007 with a 2.5x multiple return on capital.

Naozad has been closely involved with the setting up and structuring of all the private equity and real estate funds of the Kotak Mahindra Group from inception.

Experience:
• Worked as Senior Vice President - Group Finance & Strategy at Kotak Mahindra Bank, he was responsible for investor relations (institutions), strategic initiatives, proprietary investments, group budgets and MIS.
• Prior to joining Kotak, Naozad worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers for five years in the corporate finance practice
• Naozad is a chartered accountant and a company secretary.

Prakash heads Investor Relations at KIAL

Experience:
• Prakash has been with Kotak since 1993 and worked in a multitude of divisions including Investment Banking where he was a Relationship Manager, Private Banking, heading the Product Development and Marketing Function.
• At Mutual Funds, he was head of Retail Sales, Marketing and Product Development

Sandeep joined in April 2007 and has worked on the land acquisition for and conceptualization of the Mumbai Special Economic Zone, India's first Greenfield SEZ of $1.2 billion. He has eight years of experience working in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.

Experience:
• Raised private equity for a rail infrastructure development project
• Provided advisory services on SEZ, transport infrastructure and tourism projects with India's leading credit rating company, CRISIL
• Holds a Bachelors of Engineering and an MBA from the Indian School of Business in April 2007

Sonu has 7+ years of professional experience. He has been with Kotak Group since 2006. Prior to joining the KRFG in 2011, he was with Kotak Investment Banking where he was a Vice President, covering Financial Sponsors Group & Alternate Energy practice. At Kotak Investment Banking, Sonu has worked on a wide range of sectors including renewable energy, healthcare, financial services, industrials etc. and was involved in marquee transactions such as USD 104 million growth equity raise by Apollo Hospitals from Apax Partners, USD 175 million equity raise by Mahindra & Mahindra from Goldman Sachs PIA, USD 175 million buyout of Sigma Electric by Goldman Sachs PIA and USD 50 million growth equity investment in Magma Fincorp by KKR.

Sonu is a Chartered Accountant and has cleared all the 3 levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA Institute, USA) program.

Shagoofa joined in June 2006 and has twelve years of professional experience in the fields of international taxation, legal advisory services, corporate and commercial law, business advisory services, audit and finance.

Experience:
• Worked with Nishith Desai Associates, as the Head of the Real Estate Fund practice and Inter-national Tax Policy practice team representing leading the fund structuring and setting up of India-focused investment funds.
• Passion for tax policy issues led her to working with the Chinese Taxation Ministry on a World Bank sponsored study on post-World Trade Organization tax reforms in China.
• A law graduate from Mumbai University, Shagoofa is also a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary.

Hemal joined in December 2009 as a qualified Chartered Accountant in India and Chartered Certified Accountant from London, UK.

Experience:
• Worked with Hiranandani Developers Private Limited in Mumbai where he handled audit and tax for four years
• Worked in London with Pauls Freight Services (PFS) Limited as Assistant Manager- Finance and over to Mauritius to head the logistics business as General Manger of PFS Mauritius Limited.
• Worked in Dubai as General Manager for PLUS971 FZE, heading the business for branches based out of Italy and Hong Kong.
• Worked as Vice President Finance with Saffron Asset Advisors a Private Equity fund advisor, managing two real estate funds, one listed on Euronext exchange in Amsterdam and the other, a private fund based out of Mauritius.

Raj joined in October 2007 with experience in the field of assurance and investment banking covering the real estate sector.

Experience:
• Brings two years of article ship at KPMG and one year of industrial training at JM Financial Consultants Ltd.
• A Chartered Account, he has received the second level of his CFA and is a member of the Association for Investment Management & Research, USA.

Shashidhar joined KRFin April 2010 with 3 years of experience in Real Estate investments.

Experience:
• Associated with TCG and Vornado Realty Trust's offshore real estate fund, the India Property Fund as a Senior Analyst where he was involved in investment analysis, asset management, investment exits and deal flow management in NCR region

Yayati joined KRFin December 2009 as a specialist in Real Estate to manage the Asset Creation and the created Assets.

Key facts:
• Experienced in the field of Construction Project Management at Synergy Property Development for over 5 Million Square Feet of Prestigious Real Estate projects in Mumbai
• Worked with Jones Lang LaSalle and Aamby Valley Sahara Lake City for about 4 years in their respective Project Teams
• Holds a post graduate degree in Construction Management from National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) and a B.E. in Construction from the University of Mumbai.

Aneesh joined KRFin May 2008 with previous experience working with J.P.Morgan M&A Investment Banking Desk in Singapore on live transactions in the Telecom and Cement space.

Mr.Sivakumar graduated in 2006 with a B.Tech in Industrial Biotechnology from Anna University, Chennai and completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from the Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore in 2008.

Varun joined KRF in August 2010 with experience in Real Estate finance & strategies and the software industry.

Experience:
• Worked with the Lodha Group of companies as a Finance & Strategy Manager during the economic downturn taking crucial decisions such as the launch of sub-brands targeted at the affordable segment
• Holds a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Computer Science & Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) in 2008.

Mayur joined the Team in November 2010.

Experience:
• Consultant in Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, a management consulting firm based out of Mumbai & Chicago. He has interned previously with Barclays Capital at London in the Foreign Exchange Structuring desk.
• Mayur graduated in 2008 with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore in 2010.