Aakash is Co-Founder of India Secondary Fiduciaries fund and Chairperson of the Board of V-Mart Retail Limited. Till recently, he was also Global CFO of Naspers Fintech and PayU. As an accomplished professional with diverse global experience , he has held senior positions at Nokia India Private Limited, Baring Private Equity Partners (India), Bharti Airtel group, AT&T Corporation and as the CFO of Snapdeal.
Aakash is a steady member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from SRCC, University of Delhi and an MBA from Southern Methodist University, Texas with Beta Gamma Sigma honors. He has completed a Global Management Program from INSEAD focusing on Corporate Governance, Board Chair and Sustainability. He recently completed “Making Corporate Boards more Effective” from Harvard Business School.

Lalit Agarwal is a retail entrepreneur, and founded V-Mart in 2002, pioneering the concept of organized value retailing focusing on affordable fashion, in Tier II, III and IV Indian cities. He was awarded by Indian Retail (Franchise India) for ‘Retail Leader of the Year in 2018’ and, in July 2017, was nominated to the Niti Aayog’ Champions of Change initiative.

In Lalit’s stewardship, V-Mart has won many prestigious awards. The company was chosen as “The world’s best-performing departmental store chain” by Bloomberg in 2018, “The Best operating model in India” by Jefferies Research, Indian Power Brand 2012-2013 by Planman Media; “Most Admired Retailer of the Year”:- “Discount Retail” by Images Retail Award 2011. V-Mart has also won the “Most Admired Retailer of the Year”:- “Concept Store” by India Retail Forum 2011. It is one of the trusted retailers awarded by International Brand Consulting Corporation, USA as India’s No. 1 Brand Awards 2016: India’s Best Retail Fashion Store Chain Category.

As a leading industry voice, Lalit holds the role of the Chairman of Retailers Association of India (RAI) for the Northern Region. Lalit earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from Bombay University, and Diploma in Financial Management from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. Lalit also writes a weekly blog on the dynamics and interplay of Leadership, Culture and Technology. Track his extensive travels and experiences as he explores and understands the vast and diverse mosaic that India is lalitagarwalspeaks.com

Madan Agarwal has more than four decades of entrepreneurial experience in the fashion retail industry. He started his career by opening a tailoring shop in the 1970s and later, opened a popular and highly successful apparel and footwear retail store in Cuttack, ‘Shreeman Shreemati’. He is a mentor and a guiding force for the company, and has been instrumental in ensuring customer centricity and cost-consciousness is ingrained in the DNA of V-Mart.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts from the City College, University of Calcutta.

Murli is a Management Consultant and CXO Coach specializing in transformation & strategy, performance improvement, leadership development and change management. He has about 30 years of rich and varied experience with well-known MNCs and Indian companies. During his career, he has held key leadership positions such as Operating Partner of TVS Capital Funds, MD of Sanmar Speciality Chemicals, MD of RPG Life Sciences, President of RPG Enterprises, and Partner / Associate Partner of KPMG Consulting and of Accenture.

He is also a Director on the Board of Junior Achievement (JA) India – part of Junior Achievement Worldwide™, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about Work Readiness, Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship, through experiential, hands-on programs.

Murli has a BE (Hons) degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MMS from BITS Pilani. He also has an MS in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University, New York.

Sonal is a lawyer with almost 20 years of experience and specializes in preventing workplace harassment, diversity issues, mediation matters, matrimonial issues and negotiation. She is the Founder Director of Helping Hands, an NGO that helps implement policies against sexual harassment, and other forms of harassment and discrimination at the work-place, besides carrying out training and investigation on complaints filed with the organization. She is also the Founder Partner of Mantran Consultants, a firm specializing in CSR activities, Counselling, Diversity policies and workshops.

She holds a B.A., LL.B. (Hons) degree from the prestigious National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Her schooling is from The Lawrence School, Sanawar.

Govind possesses rich cross-functional experience of more than three decades in the Textiles, Apparel and Retail industry. He has worked across the fabric-apparel value chain, and multi- format retailing, including department stores, hypermarket, airport retail , books and music, etc. In his last professional role, he was the Managing Director of Shoppers Stop, where he started his stint in 2001 as the Vice President of Buying & Merchandising function, growing to the role of Chief Operating Officer role before being elevated as the MD.

Prior to Shoppers Stop, he was associated with Mafatlal and Johnson & Johnson. He has the unique distinction of being part of the team that launched Arvind Denim & Arrow. Govind has also worked with Bombay Dyeing.

He holds an MBA in Marketing from Symbiosis, Pune University, and B. Tech. in Textile Technology from VJTI, Mumbai University.

With a rich tapestry of global experience under her belt, Shweta Kumar steps into her role as a valued member of the V-Mart board of directors. Over the span of 25 years, She has traversed continents, leaving her mark on the landscapes of India, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, with her expertise in organizational transformation, team empowerment, leadership development, and cultural evolution.

Shweta’s career showcases her dedication to fostering growth and innovation. She excels in guiding leadership teams through transformative journeys, instigating paradigm shifts, and ushering in cultural dynamism across diverse industries.

In the past, Shweta has steered organizational growth at Naspers Limited as Head of Learning and Development – APAC, led talent strategies at Honeywell as India Director of OD and Learning, worked with Motorola, Intel and co-founded Watsimp and Invincible You, embodying resilience and empowerment across varied roles and industries. She has also worked with Walmart, Larsen & Toubro, Uber, and Hines, providing coaching to top executives and spearheading innovative programs like inclusion labs.

Shweta earned her Masters degrees in Human Resources from TISS, Masters in Change Management from INSEAD, and Masters in Applied Neuroscience from King’s College London. Passionate about development, Shweta also holds coaching certifications (John Mattone, Transformative Alignment Mapping) and specializes in Psychodrama.

At V-Mart, Shweta’s astute insights, strategic prowess, and unwavering dedication to cultivating inclusive and innovative environments are poised to elevate our organization to unprecedented heights of success.

With three decades of experience and a passion for helping individuals and organizations thrive, Raghuvesh embodies core values of Integrity, Insights, and Inclusion. His leadership style is characterized by a deep understanding of market dynamics and a relentless drive to achieve results while fostering a culture of collaboration and shared accountability.

Raghuvesh’s career spans multiple industries – Technology, Telecom, Retail and Consumer Goods, with leadership roles at Microsoft, Ola, Nokia, Yum! Brands and Procter & Gamble. He now operates independently – in executive search, across advisory and consulting roles, and as an Independent Director. He has an MBA from XLRI and a Commerce degree from SRCC, and holds several certifications Technology as well as commercial functions in both B2B and B2C.

At V-Mart, Raghuvesh’s wealth of experience, leadership roles in some of the world’s largest and best known organizations, strategic acumen, and values-driven leadership are poised to make a significant impact.

Vineet is responsible for leading the development and execution of V-Mart’s operational and customer-centric strategies, with the goal of increasing shareholder value and profitability, and enhancing employee and customer value proposition. He has over two decades of rich experience managing and growing hypermarket and value fashion formats such as Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar and FBB. In his last stint as CEO – North India with the Future Group, where he worked for 18 years, Vineet was instrumental in driving the company’s business in the region to an annual turnover of INR 6000 crore, leading a team of more than 8000 committed associates, serving customers across a retail footprint of over 3 million sq. feet. Vineet is a certified CA, CS and ICWA.

He is also an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad and has done an Advance Management Program from INSEAD, France. His diverse experience, across retail as well as capital & finance industries, makes him a leader with a sharp business acumen. This, coupled with his drive and passion is a valuable combination to accelerate V-Mart’s growth and market leadership journey. On a personal note, Vineet is a family man who has a strong support system from wife Usha and son, Jayesh, for whom he is a doting father. He speaks Hindi, English as well as several regional languages comfortably. Whenever he manages to take out time from his busy work schedule, Vineet likes to play chess and read autobiographies of leaders, besides watching movies.

As the CFO of V-Mart, Anand is a core member of the leadership team, driving growth, strategic execution and corporate governance agenda in the company. He has more than 26+ years of rich experience in strategic planning, finance, legal, treasury, fund raising, M&As, investor relations and board management. Prior to V-Mart, Anand has held leadership roles in companies like HT Media and Reebok, and has earlier worked with Ernst & Young.

In an entrepreneurial stint, Anand also co-founded and led one of India’s first ISP start-ups that was launched in 1999. His transparent workstyle and a calm disposition make him a natural at leadership and people-bonding. He is a regular speaker at prestigious industry events and well-regarded in the investor and analyst community. A CA and CS by qualification, Anand is a tech enthusiast and a former marathon runner. He is fond of gardening and reading. Despite being a workaholic, Anand is a family-oriented person at heart, and loves to spend quality time with his wife and two sons.

Mr. Jayesh Kothari as President Merchandising. This key position will be integral to ensuring that V-Mart has an innovative and agile merchandising strategy across the country. In this position, Jayesh shall be setting the product line plan vision and would lead the merchandise buying, sourcing and designing process in order to achieve and exceed our strategic goals. Prior to joining V-Mart, Jayesh has worked with companies like Reliance, Vishal, etc.and has accumulated over 30 years of work experience.

Jayesh is known to be a highly impactful and well regarded business leader in the Merchandising Domain. On the personal front, his support system lies with his wife, Manju, son Tejas, and daughter Taarishi. Jayesh is a travel enthusiast and spends his spare time exercising both his mind and body as he loves reading, participating in marathons and practising martial arts. His younger self has also won the coveted East India Taekwondo Championship.

In his long stint at V-Mart almost since its inception, Snehal has been instrumental in building the retail presence of the company, and establishing key processes in New Store Operations (NSO), business development and site selection, and marketing. During his tenure, since 2004, the company has witnessed its sales increase from 40 crore to 1200+ crore rupees, and a rapid growth in store footprint, from 5 to over 190 stores. His business acumen, understanding of market opportunity in tier II, III and IV towns at a grassroots level, and negotiation skills have enabled V-Mart become the ‘King of Fashion Retail’ where the ‘actual India’ lives.

He has over 18 years of experience across back & front-end retail operations. A multi-talented and an extremely creative personality, he is the force behind several V-Mart projects. He happens to be one of those rare professionals whose forecasts are astute. Snehal is a Commerce graduate from Mumbai University, and has also earned a Certificate in Management from Crestcom, USA. Away from his hectic work schedule, Snehal is a doting dad and loves to spend time with his family, exploring new cuisines and place.

Ramesh has been associated with V-Mart since 2011, and is responsible for supply chain planning, warehouse and logistics operations, and FMCG planning and buying. He has rich and extensive experience of more than three decades as an entrepreneur and a retail industry professional, spanning multiple functions – manufacturing, planning and buying, retail operations, and supply chain management. His focused approach, in-depth business understanding and vendor negotiation skills have contributed significantly to V-Mart’s continued success in catering to store and customer requirements timely, and in building its FMCG/kirana business.

Prior to joining V-Mart, Ramesh played a key role in Vishal Mega Mart where he led the development of over 200 FMCG/staples private labels, and also handled New Store Operations in V2 Retail Ltd. Ramesh started his retailing career in the 1980s, managing a popular apparel and tailoring showroom in Cuttack, Odisha. He has two children: a son, who is pursuing engineering, and a daughter is in architecture studies.

As Head, HR in V-Mart for the past 5 years, Anjali works closely with the stakeholders and the leadership team to design and implement HR strategy in line with the Business strategy and the future work scenarios in the VUCA space. She has more than 10 years of experience in effective leadership hiring, OD & Change Management, Talent Management, Workforce Planning, Employee Engagement, Talent Reviews and Assessment Centres. Prior to joining V-Mart in 2013, Anjali worked with the DLF Group in a managerial capacity for 6 years.

She is competent in building and driving a culture of conversations, of innovation, recognition, values & behaviors and high performance. Her modest nature, patient listening skills and optimistic attitude makes her a natural people’s person and approachable. Anjali holds a Post Graduate Degree in Human Resources from the New Delhi Institute of Management. She is blessed with a daughter.

Jaideep Jaiman, currently Vice President Analytics & Digital Transformation at V-Mart, is responsible for developing and executing VMart’s digital strategy and transformation program with an emphasis on advanced analytics and AI/ML interventions He is from the first graduating batch of IIM Rohtak and through most of his 14 years of experience, has worked with top executives of various firms as a management consultant.

As a management consultant his work included retail excellence, analytics, strategy and financial modeling. However, an engineer from early education and experience he recently founded 2 startups, one providing advanced analytics & machine learning advisory and another a video AI operating system and app store.

At V-Mart, Syed is leading the Skills Development Initiative of the company. He joined V-Mart in January 2018 after having served in key strategic positions throughout his career in leading companies, NIS Sparta (Business Head), Bharti Comtel(National Head), Centum learning(VP) & NIIT(Business Head/VP). Syed has work experience of around 22 years with 17 years in acquisition and implementation of Government/Multilateral projects in Training, Capacity Building and Skills Development Domain.

He has been associated with design as well as implementation of large scale employability and skill development projects, including the National Police Training (Prevention of Trafficking/Capacity Building), government training projects in Naxal-affected and extremism- affected districts of the country, as well as projects with the United Nations Development Program and other development sector organizations and multilateral agencies like DFID and USAID. Syed is an Economics Graduate with a PG Diploma in Management. An Avid wild life enthusiast, when not on assignment, Syed is most likely to be sighted in wildlife sanctuaries along with wife Nidhi and daughter, Raabia.

He joined us in 2013 and is currently serving as AVP-Planning at Vmart, and holds pivotal responsibilities encompassing Allocation, Merchandising Planning, and Space Planning. With over 15 years of diverse experience in IT, Consulting, and Retail, Nitin leverages his expertise to drive process automation, fostering scalability, and facilitating change management for sustainable implementation. His academic background comprises a graduation in Engineering and a Post Graduation in Supply Chain from NITIE Mumbai.

Mr Dinesh Srivastava has been associated with the Company since January 2011. He has more than 15 years of experience and expertise in Cyber security, IT planning and implementation. He handles all the information technology functions for the Company. He is responsible for driving the IT strategy of the Company.

He has diversified experience in the area of Strategic execution in Process Automation, Information Security and Risk in Retail and Operations. Expertise includes: ERP implementation, IT Audit & Governance, Application Controls review, Business Continuity planning, Endpoint Protection (Firewall, IDS/IPS), Threat Intelligence Tools such as NGFW and Vulnerability assessment etc. and also possess excellent understanding and hands on experience in implementing Security controls that ensure Business continuity including Disaster Recovery Planning.

He is married and is blessed with a daughter. In her spare time he loves to spend time with her daughter.