Board Of Directors

Renana Jhabvala

Chairperson

Renana Jhabvala is an Indian social worker, best known for her long association with SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association). She has been active for decades in organizing women into trade unions in India. She is currently the Chairperson of SEWA Bharat and the national coordinator of SEWA.

A Padma Shri awardee, she has represented SEWA at the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other international forums. She was also instrumental in forming HomeNet South Asia and has been one of the founders of WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing). She has been active in many Government committees and task forces in India which have formulated a wide range of policies, National Policy for Urban Street Vendors in India, being a key one.

Sanjay Kaul

Independent Director

A development policy analyst, author, and former IAS officer, Sanjay Kaul has over four decades of rich and professional experience in both the government and the private sectors. During his long tenure as a civil servant, Kaul worked at senior positions across several development sectors. Kaul worked in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for 28 years (1979-2007) before taking up a leadership position as MD & CEO of National Commodity Management Services Limited (NCML) (2008-19) and later as company Chairman (2019-21). Under Kaul’s stewardship, NCML, a part of the Canada-based Fairfax group, grew ten-fold to becoming a leading agri-business company.

In recent years Kaul’s interest has shifted to policy advocacy in public health, school education, food and nutrition, livelihoods, urban planning and housing. Kaul continues to support to several not for profit organizations and also supports government public policy initiatives as part of committees and advisory groups.

Kaul is chairperson of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Task Force set up by the Government of India. He is also a member of the Karnataka Government’s Education Commission. Kaul is also an Independent Director at SEWA GRIH RIN Ltd. (SGRL), an affordable housing finance company as well as an Independent Director at DIGIGRAIN SOLUTIONS an agri-business entity. Kaul serves as a Trustee of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) Trust in India and a Trustee of the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT). He also serves on the Managing Committee of several DPS schools. Kaul works actively with Mobile Creches, a leading child-rights NGO, on which he has served as its Chairperson (2014-17) and continues on its Governing Council and presently serves as its Treasurer.

During Kaul’s long tenure in the IAS, he led challenging assignments across development and social sectors, including working in the Prime Minister’s Office and serving in various capacities in the Karnataka Government including Chairman Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Commissioner (Health), and Secretary (School Education). Kaul’s last assignment with the government was as Joint Secretary, Government of India, where he headed the Food Policy and FCI division.

A post-graduate in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Kaul began his career as a college lecturer in Economics (1976-78) at the University of Delhi and has retained his interest in academics and writing. His book, “An Alternative Development Agenda for India”, has recently been by published by Routledge, the reputed UK publishing house. Kaul is a columnist in leading print and online publications on public policy issues.

Manjiree S. Jaitly

Nominee Director

Manjiree S Jaitly serves as Senior Vice President – Strategic Investments, HDFC bank. She has been instrumental in leading the HDFC’s investment in HDFC Credila, among other investments. In addition to working on the investment portfolio of HDFC, Manjiree has handled a few innovative fund-raising transactions at HDFC, including the first masala bond issue in the country and some hybrid structures.

Manjiree is a chartered accountant by profession, a certified public accountant and a chartered financial analyst.

Rajeev Gupta

Nominee Director

Rajeev chairs the Arpwood Partners Investment Committee. He has been with the Firm since its establishment in 2014.

Rajeev was the founding country head for The Carlyle Group’s India franchise between 2005 and 2015 and led their investment into HDFC. Between 1990 and 2005, Rajeev also set up and led the M&A franchise at DSP Merrill Lynch. Under his leadership, DSP Merrill Lynch was consistently ranked as the #1 M&A advisor in India.

Prior to joining DSP Merrill Lynch, Rajeev held senior leadership roles at the Indian subsidiary of St Gobain and Cosmo Ferrites, where he was Chief Executive Officer. Rajeev holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering from IIT-BHU and a graduate degree in Management from IIM Ahmedabad.

Amol Jain

Nominee Director

Amol is a Partner and member of the Arpwood Partners investment advisory team. He has been with the Firm since its establishment in 2014.

Amol was a Managing Director with the Texas Pacific Group between 2005 and 2014 and helped build the TPG India franchise. At TPG, he led investments into Shriram Transport, Shriram City Union Finance, and Vishal Retail, which was the first distressed buyout transaction executed by a financial sponsor in India.

Prior to joining TPG, Amol worked with Rajeev at DSP Merrill Lynch between 1999 and 2005, where he led the Financial Sponsors group and oversaw marquee private equity transactions including ICICI Ventures’ investment in Tata Infomedia and TPG’s investment in Matrix Labs. Amol began his career at IL&FS in 1996.

Amol holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay and a graduate degree in Management from IIM Ahmedabad.

Vishal Thakkar

Whole time Director & CFO

Vishal is a Director and member of the Arpwood Partners investment advisory team. He has been with the Firm since 2016. Vishal worked with the Boston Consulting Group between 2014 and 2016, where he advised clients in the financial services and IT services industries on growth strategy, performance improvement, and post-merger integration.

Prior to BCG, Vishal worked with Nomura Securities’ fixed income division between 2010 and 2012. Vishal holds an undergraduate degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from VESIT Mumbai, where he ranked first in his department, and a graduate degree in Management from IIM Calcutta, where he ranked fifth in his cohort.

Raj Vikash Verma

Independent Director

Mr. Raj Vikas Verma is a Housing / Mortgage Industry Professional with an experience of over 35 years in the mortgage/ financial sector.

He has held leadership positions- Chairman & CEO- at several national -level regulatory & financial institutions viz. Chairman of AU Small Finance Bank, Chairman and Managing Director of National Housing Bank, Member-cum-Chairman of pension fund regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) & Chairman & Managing Director of CERSAI and the Central Registrar.

He also served as a member on the Advisory Committee of the Insolvency and bankruptcy board of India (IBBI). He has also been instrumental in setting up the Asia Pacific Union for Housing Finance and served as its Chairman. He also led the initiative in setting up the first mortgage guaranty company in India & served as its first Chairman.

Mr. R.V.Verma has completed his MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University, MA ( Economics) from Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, and BA (Honors), Economics, from Delhi University . He is also a certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB).

Ajesh A

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer

Ajesh comes with over 24 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ajesh is responsible for driving the company’s strategic direction, growth, and transformation.
Before joining SEWA Grih Rin Limited, Ajesh had a distinguished 14-year tenure at Bajaj Finance Limited, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President, leading the SME vertical. During his tenure, he managed a portfolio of ₹57,000 crore across a diverse range of businesses, including business loans, affordable secured loans, Prime LAP, affordable housing loans, equipment finance, and professional loans. Ajesh was responsible for overseeing a team of more than 6,000 professionals across sales, underwriting, and collections, operating in over 2,500 locations across 24 states. Over the course of his career, Ajesh rose through the ranks from Regional Sales Manager to Executive Vice President, playing a pivotal role in building and scaling the SME vertical.
Earlier in his career, Ajesh gained valuable experience at leading financial institutions, including Standard Chartered Finance Limited, HDFC Bank, India Bulls Financial Services, and Reliance Consumer Finance, where he worked extensively across the business loan, personal loan, and consumer finance segments, laying a strong foundation in financial services.
Ajesh holds an MBA in Sales and Marketing from the Sriram Institute of Management, University of Madras.