Decoding ESG with Dr. Mukund Rajan and APREA India Networking Event

Dr Mukund Rajan is the Chairman of ECube Investment Advisors, a first of its kind platform created in 2019 to catalyse Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) changes in Corporate India. Prior to this, he held a number of senior executive positions through his 23-year career with the Tata Group, where he served as the first Brand Custodian of the Tata Group, Chief Ethics Officer of the Group, Chairman of the Tata Global Sustainability Council, and Member of the Group Executive Council at Tata Sons. He served on the boards of various Tata companies including Tata Teleservices, Tata Communications, Tata SIA Airlines and Tata AIG.

Dr Rajan serves as the Chairperson of the Environment Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and is a member of the Council of Management of the Forum of Free Enterprise.

In 2007, the World Economic Forum honoured Dr. Rajan as a Young Global Leader. He was also part of the inaugural class of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Aspen Institute India Leadership Initiative.

Dr Rajan graduated from the BTech program at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 1989. He completed a Masters and Doctorate in International Relations on a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. His doctoral dissertation, "Global Environmental Politics", was published by Oxford University Press in 1996, and his second book, “The Brand Custodian – My Years with the Tatas”, was published by HarperCollins in 2019.  His third book, on Corporate Responsibility and ESG, titled “OUTLAST – How ESG Can Benefit Your Business”, co-authored with Dr Colonel Rajeev Kumar, has just been published by HarperCollins.

Neel, an alumnus of Harvard Business School and a Masters' in Finance and Economics with a Degree in Law has about 26 years of rich business experience.

Neel heads the core real estate business and is now instrumental in setting up I.T. office parks and residential townships. He is on the Board of Chalet Hotels, hospitality division of the group, which manages seven 5‐star properties across India. He has successfully set up the brand 'Inorbit Malls' at pan India basis and Inorbit is now among the top 3 mall companies in the country.

Neel is also on the Board of 'Shoppers Stop', the country's prestigious department store chain.

He was selected as the Top 40 under 40 by Economic Times.

He chairs some of the important committees that shape key industry developments, like:

• APREA, Chairman, India Chapter.
• NAREDCO‐President, West.
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chairman ‐ National Committee on Real Estate and Housing.
• Advisory Board Member, SCAI (Shopping Centres Association of India)

He has been appointed by the Government of India to study and suggest changes to the Special Economic Zone policy.

He was invited by the Honourable Prime Minister of India as a member of 'Champions of Change'.

S. Sriniwasan (Srini) has been with the Kotak Group since 1993 and currently heads KIAL.

Srini established one of India’s first Real Estate funds in 2005 and steered the growth of the business to raise and invest USD1.8bn. Srini also oversees Kotak Private Equity, Kotak Infrastructure Funds, Kotak Special Situations Fund and Kotak Listed Strategies. Overall, KIAL has raised about USD4.06bn in funds across these asset classes.

Prior to KIAL, he was a part of Kotak’s investment banking joint venture with Goldman Sachs since inception in 1995. As co-head of Kotak Investment Banking till 2005, Srini advised leading domestic and international companies on capital raising, M&A and strategic divestitures.

Srini is a member of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) committee for policy initiatives on Foreign Direct Investment and REITs and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) subcommittee on Capital Markets. He also serves as Chairman for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), South Asia Valuation Professional Group Board. He is also Co-chairman of APREA India Chapter and a member of the Governing Council of Global Real Estate Institute (GRI) – India Chapter. He is a Member of the Executive Committee at the Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (IVCA) and a Member of the Private Credit Council at EMPEA.

Dr Mukund Rajan is the Chairman of ECube Investment Advisors, a first of its kind platform created in 2019 to catalyse Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) changes in Corporate India. Prior to this, he held a number of senior executive positions through his 23-year career with the Tata Group, where he served as the first Brand Custodian of the Tata Group, Chief Ethics Officer of the Group, Chairman of the Tata Global Sustainability Council, and Member of the Group Executive Council at Tata Sons. He served on the boards of various Tata companies including Tata Teleservices, Tata Communications, Tata SIA Airlines and Tata AIG.

Dr Rajan serves as the Chairperson of the Environment Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and is a member of the Council of Management of the Forum of Free Enterprise.

In 2007, the World Economic Forum honoured Dr. Rajan as a Young Global Leader. He was also part of the inaugural class of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Aspen Institute India Leadership Initiative.

Dr Rajan graduated from the BTech program at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 1989. He completed a Masters and Doctorate in International Relations on a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. His doctoral dissertation, "Global Environmental Politics", was published by Oxford University Press in 1996, and his second book, “The Brand Custodian – My Years with the Tatas”, was published by HarperCollins in 2019.  His third book, on Corporate Responsibility and ESG, titled “OUTLAST – How ESG Can Benefit Your Business”, co-authored with Dr Colonel Rajeev Kumar, has just been published by HarperCollins.

Dr. Purushottam has over 25 years of sustainability strategy and environmental consultancy experience in the areas of environmental impact assessment; air pollution modelling and meteorology; GHG emissions inventory and carbon offsets; carbon neutrality strategy; waste management strategy; and water risk, technology solutions for sustainability and CSR. She is a physics postgraduate with Phd, in environmental science and engineering from IIT Mumbai.

Sunita has worked with regulatory bodies in UK and India in various infrastructure development projects, city planning and construction projects covering environmental impacts and mitigation. She is well versed with various reporting/disclosure frameworks such as SASB, GRI, CDP and GRESB and Integrated Reporting.  She has helped large companies globally to streamline their sustainability strategy through a systematic process-oriented approach and enabled the selection of right tools for systematic sustainability disclosure management. She is well versed with the use of technology in Sustainability management and has been associated with a startup for creation of a platform on Sustainability data management. She has helped companies develop an understanding of ESG risks and the importance of embedding in enterprise risk management systems.

Sunita has executed over fifty engagements in sustainable business strategy, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility across the UK, United States, Mexico, South Africa and India. She has a deep understanding of Climate Change Science and adaptation and has driven sustainability strategies for companies in the construction, real estate, banking, telecom, automotive, steel and IT sectors.

During her career spanning 25+ years, she has served in Infosys, SENES Consultants and Casella Stanger; and as founding member of a startup in the area of Sustainability Tech Solutions.  She has authored many white papers on Sustainability and is a speaker in national and international forums.

In her spare time, Sunita likes to bake, read, or tend to her garden. She is a perpetual cleaner and nature lover.

Quaiser Parvez is the CEO of Nucleus Office Parks, a premier commercial real estate asset manager in India. With over two decades of experience in real estate, capital markets, and operations management, Quaiser has led multiple businesses and projects. He bringsin a wealth of knowledge and proven leadership to his role.

Prior to joining Nucleus Office Parks, Quaiser held significant roles at Radius Developers, CBRE, and Jones Lang LaSalle, where he led various operations and projects, contributing to their growth and success. He also spent several years managing offshore operations at Arthur J Gallagher.

Quaiser is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Delhi University.