Aditya Desai

As the Chief Financial Officer at Chemco, I have been instrumental in accelerating the Company's top-line growth and expansion strategies, marked by significant improvements in profitability, liquidity, and coverage metrics. My initiatives have also led to a substantial reduction in borrowing and procurement costs. With a nuanced understanding of business fundamentals, I have built expertise from the ground up, focusing on operational efficiencies that translate into strategic commercial inputs, optimization of underutilized capacities and revenue enhancement. Implementation of state-of-art automation tools and SAP have bolstered these initiatives, transforming Chemco's Governance and Internal Controls, fostering greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability across the Organization. Beyond finance, I have played a pivotal role in cultivating functional and cross-functional synergies across various BUs, driving collaboration and alignment throughout the Organization. Onboarding right talent has been a key driver of Chemco’s success, reinforcing our ability to scale and sustain growth. Within the financial domain, my leadership has strengthened Chemco’s core functions of fund-raising, reporting, and regulatory compliances, with a sharp focus on treasury management in an evolving geo-economic landscape. Additionally, I have led strategic initiatives in procurement, optimizing key raw material sourcing and cost structures. Building strong relationships and taking people along is a cornerstone to my approach. This includes colleagues, counsels, bankers, investors, and customers. These partnerships have been instrumental in Chemco’s all-round growth, fortifying its position in the industry and ensuring long-term success.

Key Job Achievements: 1. Led the transition from SME to main board listing, designed a comprehensive investor relations strategy that enhanced market visibility and doubled market capitalization. 2. Drove new business acquisition initiatives, including negotiation of transaction terms, legal documentation, and seamless execution of shareholder agreements. 3. Built a robust MIS and reporting framework, enabling sharper forecasting, divisional performance monitoring, and improved engagement with investors, lenders, and rating agencies. 4. Strengthened the Balance Sheet by replacing high yield debt with low coupon borrowings, optimized treasury operations, halving working capital days to strengthen core businesses and create room for acquisitions. 5. Leveraged legal acumen and IBC exposure to mitigate insolvency risk and secured favourable settlement with GE T&D India Ltd. 6. Successfully navigated complex partner dynamics with GE Power amidst contractual challenges, ensuring timely completion of critical projects.

Key Job Achievements: 1. Led & successfully secured bailout finance through structured instruments > US$60mn 2. Assisted in securing vital equity through Institutional placements & Sovereign Funds exceeding US$ 35mn 3. Detected frauds, lead forensic audits, appeals, injunctions, awards & enforcements in India & Singapore 4. Strategized and executed turnaround and divestment of private businesses 5. Strategized divestment of onshore E&P assets, alleviating approximately 10% of Group debt

At Pipavav, I was part of the Strategy team, focusing on commercial bidding, pricing strategies, budgeting, and preparedness for strategic investments and financing through structured instruments. I played a key role in bottom-up budgeting exercises and represented commercial interests in major defence and non-defence projects, accounting for a significant portion of the company's operating and capital expenditures. I was involved in critical contract negotiations, restructuring agreements to address delays and cost considerations. I also worked on alternative financing strategies, including asset divestments and overseas refinancing, successfully executing a US$100 million ECB refinancing that reduced annual borrowing costs. For my contributions, I was recognized as the inaugural ‘Gem of the Organisation’ under the CEO's recognition policy.

I began my career as a Tax Intern at D.B. Desai & Co., gaining hands-on experience in corporate income tax advisory, litigation support, and tax planning, particularly in the Cement and Sugar industries. My role involved conducting operational due diligence for entities in tax-favorable jurisdictions and developing techno-economic models to substantiate tax exemption claims, requiring a deep understanding of both industry operations and tax laws. As I progressed to Assistant Manager, Taxation, my responsibilities expanded to include advisory on Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax, and Income Tax across diverse industries. I worked closely with Senior Counsels on complex tax litigations across various judicial forums, including Tribunals, High Courts, and the Supreme Court of India. Additionally, I led the establishment of a tax and regulatory research unit, ensuring organizations remained informed of legal and regulatory developments through structured insights and periodic updates.

Cohort of 2025