About

Rajendra Misra commenced his legal career as a counsel at the Calcutta High Court in 1991 but soon moved in-house. Ever since, he has worked for some of the leading and iconic companies in the country, acquiring experience across several industries. He assumed his current role as the executive vice president and general counsel and member of the executive committee of The Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) in December 2015 and is now also a director on the board of TajGVK Hotels & Resorts, a listed company which is a joint venture between IHCL and the GVK Group. As the general counsel, Misra is responsible for advising senior management on the legal aspects of business issues and decisions, formulating legal strategy for the organisation, managing strategic legal issues, identifying and mitigating legal risks and providing strategic guidance to his team in managing legal issues. One of Misra’s greatest successes is the successful battle to trade mark the image of the Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai, the iconic flagship of IHCL and a defining structure of Mumbai’s skyline. After getting the trademark applications filed, they were pursued on top priority, and his team was able to secure the registration in seven months becoming the first Indian building to have secured image trademark registration. Only a few iconic buildings across the world have been able to secure such registration – the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the Sydney Opera House to name some. In addition to trade mark protection, Misra and his legal department have been involved in a number of legal challenges to benefit the company and the hospitality industry as a whole. The team successfully led the legal challenge to establish the legal position in the Supreme Court that packaged commodities could be sold in luxury hotels at prices above the market rate price printed on the product. Misra says that, ‘this was a huge relief for the industry, which was otherwise constantly under scrutiny from authorities on this count’. Misra also led the legal challenge against the restriction imposed on the sale of liquor at hotels located within 500 metres of highways. After a prolonged battle in court and many representations with several state governments, the legal team was able to obtain clarification and establish the position that liquor could be sold in hotels and restaurants which were located within 500 meters of highways passing through municipal areas, which came as a big relief to the entire industry. Within the company he has transformed its in-house operational style by introducing digital efficiency measures, automation and standardisation. Additionally, he has developed e-learning modules for employees on five crucial subjects – data privacy and protection, Posh, competition law, insider trading, and related party transactions. These are interactive e-learning modules which explain legal topics in very simple terms and with examples for the non-legal employees.