Jignesh Shah paves way - twirling up gen-next dimensions for FTIL

Transferring action to manage the state of affairs at FTIL, Jignesh Shah will not be holding any executive or managerial position in the company. A series of events did the rounds in the company lately, with the induction of new members in FTIL board last week and now the elaborate change of management that took place on 20^th November, 2014.

Overlaying a purposeful structure with constructive intents, making way for new entrants into the Board of FTIL, Jignesh Shah has charted the next phase of growth for the company. The relay took place when he handed over the cudgel of responsibilities and management of FTIL to various individuals of repute and sublime credentials.

Jignesh Shah was invited to be Chairman – Emeritus and Mentor of FTIL, and inspire entrepreneurship, whilst Prashant Desai was handed over a bigger responsibility having been appointed as MD-CEO of FTIL by the board. He is also expected to oversee the execution of the founder’s vision of FT 3.0.

The expansion of the board with 3 non-executive directors was also announced on the occasion i.e. Ms. Nisha Dutt , Mr. Sunil Shah and Mr. Miten Mehta. Ms. Nisha Dutt is a Silicon Valley veteran who holds M.S. and MBA degrees from Oklahoma State University and Ohio University, having over a decade’s consulting and technology experience in over a dozen countries. Mr. Sunil Shah is an IIM - A alumnus and founder of Gujarat Innovation Society and Mr. Miten Mehta, qualified from Kellogg’s, has twenty years of extensive experience of Silicon Valley and US.

Additionally, two more executive directors were included in the board - Mr. Jigish Sonagra and and Mr. Rajendra Mehta. Mr. Jigish Sonagra holds a business management degree and is qualified as Chartered Accountant and CISA Auditor with 14 years of rich experience in exchange technology and related products. He will be the Director - New Ventures of the Company.

Mr. Rajendra Mehta is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 20 years of experience in banking & financial sector, and is ex-COO of CLSA. Mr. Rajendra Mehta will be Director - Member Technologies of the Company. Further, Mr. Manjay Shah and Mr. Dewang Neralla will exit from the Board of the Company. Mr. Dewang Neralla will become MD & CEO of Atom Technologies and Mr. Manjay Shah will become MD & CEO of Tickerplant.

Interestingly, it is a reconstituted board with 12 members and 5 non-executive directors and independent directors; 4 executive directors and 3 non-executive directors. The board already comprises IAS (Retd.) officers, chartered accountants, lawyers and successful entrepreneurs with start-up and corporate experience along with two directors with international exposure, making it among one of the most independent and professional board-run companies in corporate India, and is all geared up to avail the existing and new opportunities presented by the digital era.

Also, the ‘JS Digital Innovative Award’ established to honour the contribution of FTIL’s founder Jignesh Shah was unanimously approved on the occasion. The growth trajectory of FTIL has witnessed myriad dimensions and diverse paradigm technology innovation and implementation since inception, having been founded by Jignesh Shah and two of his colleagues. Several exchanges and trading terminals were set up, with a consummate distribution network, linking India with Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. Exemplarily, they were known for recreating new-age digital silk and spice routes.

More transcendent accomplishments were setting up of MCX, MCX-SX and IEX in India, SMX in Singapore, DGCX in Dubai and Bourse Africa in Mauritius, by FTIL with his vision, under Jignesh Shah’s leadership. They are among the most globally respected and recognised institutions in their respective market segments and geographies.

The announcement came after the board expansion, with induction of Berjis Desai and Anil Singhvi into the board last week, along with the founder’s vision projection for Digital India @2025 as part of FT 3.0 Made in India technology to build and power India’s own equivalent of Amazon, Google, Alibaba and Baidu et al over the next 10 years.

Quoting futuristic vision of FTIL – on board expansion

FTIL Board reaffirms its confidence in Management Team to execute on its Founders’ Vision for ‘Digital India @ 2025’ as part of FT 3.0. ‘Made In India’ Technology to Build and Power India’s own equivalent of Amazon, Google, Alibaba and Baidu et al over next 10 years. In the series of events, ODIN to be spun out as separate subsidiary or SBU to attract majority strategic partner / investor was the highlight.

As the new directors were welcomed, the experts in FTIL alluded that the vision 2025 for FTIL was futuristic and pragmatic. The occasion of the expansion of FTIL board got stimulating citations from the leaders of FTIL, as well as the new directors.

Mr Venkat Chary, IAS (Retd), ex-Chairman FMC and Chairman FTIL, welcomed the new Directors on the Board, saying - "Both Berjis and Anil are world class industry seasoned professionals known for being highly independent and vocal about corporate governance and protecting minority shareholder interest on the companies where they serve on the Board, and FTIL will certainly benefit from their experience as the company transforms itself under leadership of its Founder and MD, Jignesh Shah, in to technology partner to build and power new generation digital enterprises that will emerge over next 10 years as part of his vision Digital India @ 2025. Prashant Desai is a thorough industry professional and has played key role in IR and M&A over past year at FTIL."

Mr Jignesh Shah Founder and MD of FTIL also congratulated the new Board of Directors and said, "I have no doubt that the new Board coupled with FTIL’s technology, scale and execution capabilities can significantly contribute in creating & powering at least 100 new digital leaders in 10 key sectors over next 10 years. These new Digital Disruptors will be the bellwether of inclusive development and growth besides creating a domino effect in the ecosystem that will be breeding ground to more new entrepreneurs, start-up’s and job creation and will become the showcase of Digital India by 2025."

Mr Berjis Desai said, “FTIL is a global leader in building robust, enterprise class, scalable and cost efficient technology for developing but fast growing markets like India, SE Asia, Middle East and Africa and I’m excited to be part of its Board as the company embarks on its journey to shift orbit and become preferred technology partner for India’s next emerging tech-enabled giants in key vertical sectors, in line with its Founder’s vision of Digital India @ 2025."

Mr Anil Singhvi said, "I believe, FTIL with its world class Talent, Technology, Capital, Infrastructure and Leadership is ideally poised to become the obvious choice as partner for entrepreneurs and organizations, who would rather outsource the services and conserve the resources to scale up their business. I’m excited about the journey ahead and optimist about FTIL Management team’s ability to execute on Founder’s Vision of Digital India @ 2025".

Mr Prashant Desai added to their view saying, "Despite the recent challenges, there is renewed positive energy within all corners of FTIL. The team is confident of its ability and is confident that FT 3.0 will emerge as a unique Indian IT company focused on ‘technology + innovation+ enterprise’ DNA of FTIL and in the process create significant shareholder value. I am very happy to be on the Board."

Subsuming the views and quotations, the metamorphosis of FTIL with the latest FT 3.0 technology complemented their views and space-age vision for FTIL, to enthuse stakeholders with realistic growth that is expected to be exponential in the coming times. 

New rollers of developments at FTIL

The week gone by has brought in new waves of optimism for FTIL. FTIL turned new leaves with a distinct step forward – the expansion of FTIL Board, having inducted industry leaders commanding colossal wealth of experience in the business spectrum. Among the inducted directors were Mr.Anil Singhvi, Mr. Berjis Desai and Mr. Prashant Desai. The former MD and CEO of Ambuja Cement, Anil Singhvi will be part of the Board of Directors along with the founder of the law firm – J Sagar Associates, Mr. Berjis Desai, as non-independent and non-executive directors. The investor relation expert, Mr. Prashant Desai will be on FTIL Board as an executive director.  

Empowering the board with more able hands to ripple FTIL’s progression was, evidently, the core objective. All three of them have hailed as exceedingly successful leaders in their fields of functionality. Their credentials have led numerous organisations to the pinnacle of accomplishments.

Bergis Desai – a law graduate from the Mumbai University and a post-graduate in law from Cambridge University, UK, was the managing partner of J. Sagar Associates, a national law firm, with the strength of over 300 lawyers, since April 2003. He specializes in financial and international business laws and international commercial arbitration. He is also a director of leading companies including The Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd., Praj Industries Ltd., Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. and Adani Enterprises Ltd.

Mr. Anil Singhvi, a chartered accountant, is the Chairman of Ican Investments Advisors Pvt. Ltd., with over 30 years of experience in corporate sector, which constitutes 22 years of extensive experience having worked with Ambuja Cements Ltd. where he excelled to the high echelon of MD & CEO. By worthy organic and inorganic strategies, the company grew from less than one million to 20 million tonnes, wherein he played a crucial role in the sale of Ambuja & ACC to Holcim, with a transaction value of over $ 2 billion. His approach was multidimensional, having conceptualised and advised merger of Enam with Axis, a deal that involved about US $ 500 million, and having founded IIAS (Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Ltd.), proxy advisory company for Institutional Investors.

It was a ground-breaking determination for refining corporate governance and accountability of the corporates. IIAS covers over 300 large Indian corporates and advises Investors on the issues of corporate governance and voting. Apart from being Corporate & PE Advisor, he is also on the board of various companies viz. Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd., Capital First Ltd., Subex Ltd, Greatship (India) Ltd., Lavasa Corporation Ltd.

Mr. Prashant Desai commands 20 years of valuable experience, which constitutes 10 years in investor’s relation. He is an associate chartered accountant and ranked 4^th, whilst graduating in cost & work accountant. He founded Seagull IR Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which happens to be one of India’s leading investor relations companies. It has represented numerous companies viz. Financial Technologies (India) Ltd. (FTIL), Pipavav Defense, Phoenix Mills, Talwalkars. Provogue, Prozone CSC, Everstone, Dhunseri Petrochem, DQ Entertainment, Supreme Infrastructure and many more. Before this stint, he headed IR

& Investments at Future Group (Pantaloons Retail, Future Capital Holdings & Future Ventures, Mumbai). He was also head of research at Rare Enterprises, a Rakesh Jhunjhunwala partnership firm, in Mumbai. He was also a board member in Pantaloons, Talwalkars, Future Staples, Future E-Commerce, Pan-India Foods and Industree Crafts. He was President, Mergers & Acquisition and investor Relations at FTIL, since December 2012. He also represents FTIL on the boards of Dubai Gold & Commodity Exchange, Bourse Africa Ltd., Mauritius and Bahrain Financial Exchange, Bahrain.

The new inclusions to the FTIL Board were welcomed by all in FTIL, particularly, by the founder and MD of FTIL – Mr. Jignesh Shah and Mr. Venkat Chary, IAS (Retd), ex-Chairman FMC and Chairman FTIL.