Everest Industries Appoints Ashok Kumar Barat & Bijal Tushar Ajinkya as Independent Directors
The Board of Directors of Everest Industries Limited has approved the appointments of Ashok Kumar Barat and Bijal Tushar Ajinkya as Additional (Independent) Directors for five years with effect from March 19, 2024.
Ashok Kumar Barat is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). He is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and CPA Australia. He is a past president of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and of the Council of EU Chambers of Commerce in India. He was a trustee of the Mumbai Port Trust. Currently, he is a member of the Managing Committee of ASSOCHAM and a Special Invitee to the Managing Committee of Bengal Chambers and Industry. He is a Certified Mediator and Convenor of the Centre of Mediation and Conciliation of the Bombay Chamber and a mediator of commercial disputes for the Hon’ble High Court of Mumbai. He held executive leadership positions in various Indian and multinational organisations, both in India and overseas. Apart from HUL, he worked in positions of increasing responsibility with Exide, RPG Group, Saud Bahwan Group, Pepsi, Telstra, Electrolux, and Heinz. He concluded his executive career as the Managing Director and CEO of Forbes & Company Limited. He worked in diverse roles – operational, staff, and stewardship – in different industry sectors – FMCG, manufacturing, services, and technology. He mentors professionals and budding entrepreneurs and advises companies, businesses, and families on ‘Strategy’, ‘Succession’, ‘Performance Improvement’, ‘Governance’, and ‘Dispute Resolution’.
Bijal Tushar Ajinkya is a leading tax and private client legal practitioner with over 23 years of experience. Ajinkya is a partner at Khaitan & Co. in direct tax. She primarily focuses on international tax, structuring inbound and outbound investments, M&A tax negotiations, providing opinions on complex tax issues on international tax, etc. She is globally recognised for her expertise in tax and private client matters and has received many accolades from prestigious organisations, including Chambers & Partners, Who’s Who Legal, Legal 500, and so on. She is the first Indian-qualified lawyer to be admitted to the American College of Trust and Estate Practitioners, an elite fellowship of globally renowned professionals. She holds directorships in various listed and unlisted companies. She is regularly invited to speak at various forums globally on complex issues related to tax and succession planning. She has a number of publications to her credit and has led several landmark tax litigations in India. She has an LLB from Government Law College (GLC) and an LLM in International Law from the University of Mumbai.
