MAM
BharatPe appoints Sumeet Singh as general counsel & head – corporate strategy
MUMBAI: BharatPe has onboarded Sumeet Singh as the general counsel and head – corporate strategy. The appointment will further bolster the leadership team at BharatPe, which currently is a mix of renowned professionals across industries.
Singh is a seasoned legal professional with 10+ years of experience across leading law firms including AZB& Partners, DSK Legal and Amarchand Mangaldas. He brings deep understanding of legal, compliance, regulatory and structuring aspects of multiple sectors including non-banking financial, retail, e-commerce, FMCG, digital media and technology.
Singh, who is expected to join BharatPe soon, is currently a partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, New Delhi, having joined the erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh A. Shroff in 2013 from AZB. He has actively represented some of India’s biggest e-commerce, retail entities, financial companies and start-ups. Recently, he was part of the core team advising Reliance Retail Ventures in its acquisition of the entire retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing business of Kishore Biyani's Future Group. He has also been advising Norwest Venture Partners (a US$ 9 billion investment fund) in all their recent investments in India including in Xpressbess, OFB Tech, Ess Kay Fin Corp, Veritas Finance etc. He has been an advisor to Grofers since its early days leading their fundraising work.
Additionally, Singh represented Indiamart on its pre-IPO fund raising. His other marquee representations include clients like Nestle, IFC, Inshorts, IDFC Alternatives Ltd (now Global Infrastructure Partners), Qatar based Q Invest, Raine Group and NewsCorp.
BharatPe co-founder and CEO Ashneer Grover said, “2020 has been an exciting and solid growth year for BharatPe. As we get ready to welcome 2021, I would like to welcome Sumeet to the team. Sumeet will be the first partner at a major law firm to join a start-up. I’ve known Sumeet professionally and personally for five years and there is no one better to steer BharatPe on its goal to be India’s first true digital bank. He will be responsible for corporate strategy, compliance, licensing, equity and debt deals, ESOP schemes, cap table management and preparation for eventual listing.”
Singh added, “I am excited to join Ashneer and his solid team of CXOs as they build out a truly differentiated and capital efficient fintech at BharatPe. The way BharatPe has broken away from the fintech crowd to create a solid business, bodes well for the future and I am honoured to contribute to this amazing growth.”
AD Agencies
Prakash Nair reportedly quits Ogilvy after 23 years
One of the agency’s longest-serving leaders has moved on, with his next destination still unknown
MUMBAI: After more than two decades at one address, Prakash Nair has left the building. The president and head of office, north at Ogilvy has moved on from the agency, according to highly placed industry sources. His next move remains unknown. Ogilvy did not respond to requests for comment.
Nair spent over 23 years at the agency, making him one of its longest-serving senior figures. He was elevated to lead the Gurugram office in April 2022, a role that put him at the helm of Ogilvy’s northern operations at a time of considerable churn across the advertising industry.
Before taking charge in the capital, Nair served as associate president at Ogilvy Mumbai, where he worked on some of the agency’s most prized accounts, including Mondelez, Tata Motors, and BP Castrol. Over the years, he built a reputation for driving modern, integrated, and award-winning work, the kind that wins metals at Cannes and keeps clients from straying.
His departure was marked in style. A farewell gathering was held in Delhi, attended by senior figures from across the advertising fraternity, a signal of the regard in which Nair is held in an industry that does not always pause to say goodbye properly.
Where he goes next is the question the industry is now asking. After 23 years at one of the world’s most storied agencies, the answer, when it comes, will be worth watching.
