Mr. Analjit Singh

Founder & Chairman of The Max Group

Mr. Analjit Singh is the Founder & Chairman of The Max Group, a $5-bn Indian multi-business enterprise, with interests in life insurance (Max Life), real estate (Max Estates), senior living (Antara). The Max Group is renowned successful joint ventures with some pre-eminent firms including Mitsui Sumitomo & Toppan, Japan; New York Life Insurance Company; Bupa Plc, Life Healthcare, SA; DSM, Netherlands, Hutchison Whampoa; Motorola, Lockheed Martin, and others.

Amongst privately held family businesses, Mr. Analjit Singh is the founder of Leeu Collection, a group of leisure boutique hotels in Franschhoek, South Africa; The Lake District, UK; and soon to be opened in Florence, Italy. The Leeu Collection also includes a significant presence in wine and viticulture through Mullineux Leeu Family Wines in SA.

Mr. Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour, by the President of India in 2011. An alumnus of The Doon School and Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, Mr. Analjit Singh holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Management, Boston University. He has been conferred with an honorary doctorate by Amity University. He is serving as the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of San Marino in India.

He served as a Director on the Board of Sofina NV/SA, Belgium. And till August 2018, he was the non-executive Chairman of Vodafone India.

Mr. Singh is a member of the Founder Executive Board of the Indian School of Business (ISB), India’s top ranked B-School and has served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of The Indian Institute of Technology and The Doon School.  Mr. Singh has served on the Prime Minister’s Indo US CEO and Indo UK CEO Council. 

He has been felicitated by Senator Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State, on behalf of the Indian American Centre for Political Awareness for his outstanding achievement in presenting the international community with an understanding of a modern and vibrant India and for creating several successful joint ventures with leading American companies and promoting business ties with the USA.

He has been honoured with the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Service Category) and the Golden Peacock Award for Leadership and Service Excellence. In 2014 he was awarded with Spain’s second highest civilian honour, the Knight Commander of the Order of Queen Isabella, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University.

Mr. Dinesh Kumar Mittal

Independent Director

Mr. Dinesh Kumar Mittal is a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1977 batch (UP cadre) and has served the government of India in various capacities. Mr. Mittal was Secretary, Department of Financial Services, where he was responsible for overseeing the Banking, Insurance, and Pension policies of India. During his tenure, he worked very closely with the RBI and was on the Board of the RBI, LIC, State Bank of India, IIFCL, and IIFCL (UK). Previously as Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, he has worked closely with ICAI, ICSI, and ICWAI. As an Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Mr. Mittal was the chief negotiator of India for WTO negotiation. He also supervised all multilateral Preferential Tariff negotiations, development and operation of SEZs in India, and FDI and Overseas Investment from India. As Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, he had oversight of International Trade and Special Economic Zones. He formulated SEZ policy in March 2000 for the first time in India. He was with IL&FS on secondment from the Govt. of India and worked in the area of project development and financing of infra projects.

Mr. Mittal has hands-on experience in Infrastructure, International Trade, Urban Development, Renewable Energy, Agriculture Development and MicroCredit, Corporate Governance, Banking, Insurance, Pension and Finance. Mr. Mittal also serves as a director on the board of various companies including Max Estates Limited, Indus Towers Limited, Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited, and New Delhi Television Limited, amongst others. He holds a master’s degree in physics with a specialization in Electronics from the University of Allahabad, India.

Mr. Jai Arya

Independent Director

Singapore-based Mr. Jai Arya is a distinguished professional with a wealth of experience in the financial sector and academia. He serves as the Senior Adviser to the Dean of the NUS Business School, Asia’s leading business school. He is also an independent director on the boards of The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF)- a UK-based research consultancy, Max Life Insurance Company Limited, and Max Financial Services Ltd.

Mr. Arya has also held roles as a Senior Adviser for Asian banking to a global consultancy firm and consulted on projects for the Asian Development Bank. His extensive career in banking includes 27 years with Bank of New York Mellon and 10 years with Bank of America, working in multiple countries. At BNY Mellon, he served as an Executive Vice President and global head of business with sovereign institutions, as well as being a member of the bank’s Global Operating Committee and Asia Executive Committee. His earlier responsibilities included overseeing Asia client relationships and managing Asian country offices.

Mr. Arya holds an MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, and a BA (Honours) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

Sir Richard Stagg

Independent Director

Sir Richard Stagg holds several prominent positions including Chairman of the JP Morgan Asian Growth and Income Investment Trust, Warden of Winchester College, and Trustee of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. He served as Chairman of Rothschild India from 2015 to 2022.

Prior to his role at Rothschild, Sir Richard had a distinguished career in the UK Foreign Service from 1977 to 2015. His notable postings included serving as the British High Commissioner in Delhi and the British Ambassador in Kabul. From 2003 to 2007, he was the Chief Operating Officer of the Foreign Office, overseeing the global network of Embassies and Consulates. Additionally, from 2007 to 2017, he was the Chairman of FCO Services, a public sector unit providing secure services to the UK and foreign governments.

Sir Richard holds a Master of Arts in History from Oxford University.

Mr. Hideaki Nomura

Non-Executive Director

Mr. Hideaki Nomura is a Director on the board of the Company and held the position of Director of the Max Life Insurance Company Limited with effect from June 27, 2012, until December 8, 2020. He is also a Deputy Chairman and Director of BOCOM MSIG Life in China, a Commissioner of MSIG Life Insurance Indonesia, a Special Advisor of the Asian Life Insurance Business Department of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd in Japan, and a Special Advisor of the International Business Planning Department of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. He has 38 years of experience in financial industries including insurance, banking, and investment banking.

In his tenure with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance., Ltd. (“MSI”) for 26 years, he steered and supervised the international life insurance business as a shareholder. He also took a strategic role in helping the company expand into international insurance businesses by analyzing, structuring, and valuating M&A transactions, such as BOCOM Life in China, Sinarmas Life in Indonesia, Hong Leong Assurance in Malaysia, Hong Leong Takaful in Malaysia, Ceylinco Insurance in Sri Lanka, Mingtai Insurance in Taiwan, etc. He was also in charge of establishing new businesses, such as an Annuity Joint Venture with Citigroup (currently Mitsui Sumitomo Primary Life), a defined contribution business, and a mutual fund business.

Prior to joining MSI, he spent 12 years in Nippon Credit Bank (currently Aozora Bank) and its investment banking subsidiary in London, where his roles were bond trading, fixed income market analysis, financial derivatives sales, credit analysis, and providing loans to corporations.

He holds an MBA from the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, completed his exchange program from Anderson Business School at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has a BA in Economics from Keio University, Tokyo.

He is a Chartered Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan and a Certified Financial Planner granted by the Japan Association for Financial Planners.

Mr. Mitsuru Yasuda

Non-Executive Director

Mr. Mitsuru Yasuda is a General Manager of the Asian Life Insurance Business Dept. of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. (“MSI”). He is also a Director of Hong Leong Assurance and Hong Leong MSIG Takaful, both of which are MSI’s Malaysian Investees. He holds a Japanese CPA license and has more than 25 years of experience in the life insurance business, M&A advisory business, and audit business.

He joined MSI in 2015 and took on a supervisory role in MSIG Life Insurance Indonesia, MSI’s Indonesian subsidiary, until he was appointed as a Director of Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd. on July 24, 2020. His responsibilities in MSIG Life included sales channel & product portfolio management, budget & profit management, risk management, and so forth.

Prior to joining MSI, Mr. Yasuda spent 12 years with Deloitte in its M&A services function in both Tokyo and New York. During his tenure, he provided accounting and tax advice as well as valuation support to his clients, including both life and non-life insurance companies. He also spent 4 years with E&Y Tokyo in its audit function before joining Deloitte.

MS. Gauri Padmanabhan

Independent Director

Ms. Gauri Padmanabhan is a leadership consultant with over three decades of diversified experience in the services sector. She presently works with a few listed & private companies as a Leadership Advisor and is also an Independent Director on listed company Boards. Till December 2022, Gauri was a Global Partner, leading the CEO & Board and Consumer Markets Practices while also overseeing the Education & Life Sciences Practices, for Heidrick & Struggles. A long-tenured Partner at Heidrick & Struggles, Gauri joined the firm in 2000 and over 22 years played a key role in building a significant footprint for the business in India. Working closely at the top with c-suite client teams in India, the region & globally, she partnered with them to solve their strategic talent needs, bringing to her clients a deep understanding of the challenges that organisations face today, especially within consumer-centric & service industries. Her clients included large global and Indian corporations whom she partnered with during start-up / India entry, growth, and business transformation phases. Throughout her career, CEO succession and Next Generation leadership – with an eye on business and technology trends - has been a focus area. Supporting her clients in driving their digital & diversity agendas has been of special interest and passion. Gauri currently works with a select group of leaders on advisory and coaching projects. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Gauri had a leadership role in a major multinational with overall responsibility for customer-facing services & operations. Her career also includes general management, consulting, and teaching stints.

Mr. K. Narasimha Murthy

Independent Director

Mr. K Narasimha Murthy having a brilliant Academic record, getting ranks in both CA & ICWA courses, entered the profession of Cost & Management Accountancy in 1983. Presently, he is on the Boards of Raymond Ltd., NELCO (A TATA Enterprise), Axis Finance Ltd., Max Life Pension Fund Management Ltd., Max Healthcare Institute Ltd., Raymond Lifestyle Limited, and Max Financial Services Ltd. Earlier he was associated as a Director on the Boards of National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE), Max Life Insurance Company Limited, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., (ONGC), IDBI Bank Ltd., LIC Housing Finance Ltd., UTI Bank Ltd., (presently AXIS Bank), Member Board of Supervision NABARD, Unit Trust of India (UTI), Infiniti Retail Limited (TATA Croma), IFCI Ltd., STCI Finance Ltd., (Formerly Securities Trading Corporation of India Ltd.,), Max Bupa Health Insurance Ltd., Max Speciality Films Ltd., AP State Finance Corporation, APIDC Ltd., etc., He was also associated as a Member / Chairman of more than 50 High-Level Government Committees both at State & Central Level. He is associated with the development of Cost & Management Information Systems for more than 175 Companies covering more than 50 Industries.

He is also a Member of the Management Accounting Committee of the Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of India.

Mr. Sahil Vachani

Non-Executive Director

Mr Sahil Vachani is the Vice Chairman and the Managing Director of Max Estates Limited. As the driving force behind Max Estates, Sahil aims to revolutionize the Indian real estate landscape by bringing in Max Group’s values of Sevabhav, Excellence, and Credibility to the sector.

Since its inception in 2016, Max Estates Ltd. has offered exceptional experiences for residential and commercial use, with utmost attention to detail, design, and lifestyle under Sahil’s leadership. With a future-forward vision to enhance the quality of life through the spaces created by the organisation, Sahil has introduced the concept of WorkWell and LiveWell in India, which caters to the holistic well-being of the users of Max Estates’ premises. This operating philosophy is centered on 9 tenets of holistic well-being across physical, emotional, social, and environmental aspects, and serves as a guiding force for the organisation. Under his guidance, the organisation has also successfully partnered with New York Life for strategic collaborations and investment. Sahil has also guided the organisation to foster partnerships with Real Estate Technology players to redefine ‘customer experience’ and ‘operational efficiency’, a first in the commercial real estate space.

Sahil’s direction has led Max Estates Ltd. to be recognised as the developer of the year by ET Now, in 2020, and has helped the developments achieve several awards across sustainability, ESG, and architecture, as well as highly credible ratings from both LEED and IGBC as a recognition of their excellent sustainability efforts. His empathetic governance has been dedicated to a continuous commitment to employee well-being and safety with a deep respect for human rights, competitive wages, and non-discrimination in hiring. Sahil was also honored with a feature in BW Disrupt’s 40 under 40 publication for his excellent work in the industry. He is also part of the YPO - Delhi Chapter.

Under Sahil’s guidance, Max Estates has achieved tremendous success, with reputed brands from various sectors choosing Max Estates’ commercial developments in a move to quality workspaces, and Max Estates’ first residential development witnessing successful prelaunch sales, a true testament to the consumers’ belief in Sahil’s vision and management.