1. Why this role
The Corporate Finance function needs a strong second senior leader who can act as my deputy and
effectively anchor the deal execution and structuring side, thereby freeing up my time and bandwidth to
take on larger responsibilities.
Salil Thanawala is well-positioned on investor relationships, IR, and the Family Office. The gap is a
technically grounded counterpart who can own deal architecture, tax-legal interface, and execution
discipline across JVs, fund raises, BD, and strategic transactions.
This note proposes the creation of that second senior position.
2. Role positioning
This person would operate as a Senior Corporate Finance Specialist, reporting directly to me. This
specialist senior hire role is aimed at materially strengthening the quality of structuring and execution
on BD- acquisition transactions and fund raise mandates.
The role is co-equal to Salil Thanawala, with a clearly differentiated mandate:
Salil Thanawala New Hire
Primary focus Family Office, IR, investor-facing Transaction structuring, deal execution
Orientation Commercial momentum, relationships Technical depth, execution ownership
Stakeholder interface Investors, IR, promoter family office Legal, tax, bankers, business teams
3. Core responsibilities
A. Transaction Structuring & Execution
– Design and evaluate structures for JVs, acquisitions, fund raises, platform deals, restructurings, and
strategic partnerships
– Work through commercial, tax, legal, and financial implications before transactions are taken
forward
– Drive execution discipline from term sheet through closure
– Anticipate bottlenecks early and convert complexity into executable solutions
B. Fund Raising & Capital Platforms
– Support structuring of institutional capital raises, co-investment platforms, and hybrid capital
situations
– Evaluate equity, debt, and hybrid structuring alternatives
– Shape transaction frameworks for financial investors
– Assess capital efficiency, control rights, exit flexibility, and downside protection
C. Tax, Legal & Documentation
– Review and interpret transaction documents alongside internal and external legal counsel
– Bring depth on tax and structuring implications of deal choices
– Ensure commercial intent is accurately reflected in final documentation
– Act as the internal bridge between business, finance, tax, and legal advisors
D. Deal Evaluation & Senior Decision Support
– Review and challenge financial models, business cases, and return assumptions
– Provide clear views on trade-offs, risk allocation, and value creation / leakage points
– Support IC-level decision-making on BD, investments, and strategic partnerships
– Be comfortable engaging in high-stakes discussions with conviction
E. Cross-Functional Integration
– Drive sharper alignment across legal, tax, projects, business, and finance teams
– Strengthen closure discipline across complex, multi-party transactions
– Help build a more rigorous, solution-oriented Corporate Finance practice within the Group
4. Candidate profile
Experience
– 15–20 years of relevant experience
– Background ideally from
➢ transaction advisory / M&A / structuring practices at Big 4 or boutique advisory firms, OR
➢ senior corporate finance roles in real estate, hospitality, infrastructure, or asset-heavy
sectors, OR
➢ select PE / institutional investing environments where structuring and execution depth was
central to the role (not a perfect example but someone like an Ankur Gulati)
What distinguishes the right candidate
– Has independently owned and closed complex transactions (not looking at folks who may have just
played a supporting role in closing such transactions)
– Has worked across tax, legal, commercial, and financial dimensions of deals
– Comfortable in a promoter-led, iterative environment — brings a point of view, holds ground,
adapts intelligently
– Strong enough to be taken seriously by external lawyers, bankers, tax advisors, and institutional
investors
– Consulting mindset, but with execution ownership rather than only advisory orientation
Preferred sector exposure
– Real estate, hospitality, infrastructure, or institutional investing
– Familiarity with land sale deeds, JVs + JDAs, acquisition structures, SHAs, platform documents, and
similar documentation
5. Behavioural traits
– High ownership and execution orientation
– Structured thinking, clarity under complexity
– Commercially pragmatic — not academically theoretical
– Able to challenge constructively and hold a position when required
– Low ego, high substance
– High integrity, discretion, and maturity
6. What success looks like
This hire should be ready to contribute from joining — not after a prolonged onboarding period.
Month 1–3
– Independently owns at least one active transaction workstream end to end
– Has established working credibility with internal legal, tax, finance, and business teams
– I am no longer the single point of contact on structuring questions
Month 3–6
– Running multiple workstreams simultaneously without needing hand-holding
– First-cut structuring thinking is coming from inside the team, not from external
advisors
– Visible improvement in documentation rigour and deal architecture quality across
active transactions
Month 6–12
– Functioning as a genuine deputy to me within Corporate Finance
– Alongside Salil, covers the full bandwidth I previously carried alone
– Capable of representing the team in senior internal discussions and with external
counterparts when required
7. Next steps
With alignment on the above, the proposed next steps are:
– Identify and shortlist suitable search firms based on their access to the relevant candidate pool
– Brief the retained firm on the role and initiate a structured search
– In parallel, map potential candidates directly from advisory practices, real estate firms, or
institutional investing environments
– Finalist interviews to follow the same process as Salil's hire
