About

Indian multinational corporation Mahindra & Mahindra is a leading car manufacturer and is ranked in the top 20 list of Indian companies by Fortune. Providing legal advice to the company’s 20 key business verticals and corporate service teams as well as over 50 companies within the Mahindra Group, the legal team is led by general counsel and executive vice president for group legal services Naveen Raju. Following a rapid expansion in the last two years, the team has grown from 30 to 50 members. ‘The expansion is justifiable by the significant improvement in our efficiency. Outsourcing is minimised which has resulted in cutting down of business costs’, explains Raju. Elaborating on the inception of a new hybrid structure for the team, Raju says, ‘we are now equipped with business legal teams based on different business sectors as well as specialised teams bolstering functional competencies. The business legal teams work in integration with the specialised teams to offer legal solutions to diverse businesses and issues, akin to a full service law firm’. The legal department has also assimilated compliance and governance functions as a sub-function to give the Group a more thorough and comprehensive legal service, further reducing reliance on external counsel. Senior general manager and head of compliance and governance Santanu Sinha has been commended for the role played in the development of this compliance function. The team has also been a successful contributor to the business in terms of litigation. After achieving a final arbitration award in Mahindra’s favour on all issues against its US Distributor in 2012, the legal team successfully settled cases brought against Mahindra in US state and federal courts by 130 US dealerships over selling rights. ‘It eliminated the possibility of impediments to Mahindra’s future business prospects in the USA. This evidenced the capability of our team to take pragmatic steps in the best interests of our businesses’ says Raju. The team’s M&A record is also impressive; in the past 12 months alone it has handled 28 deals with no external support. The transactions include acquisitions of the “BSA Classic” motorcycle brand, a Turkish agri-machinery manufacturer and a strategic stake in a Finnish agri-machinery manufacturer in addition to transfer of Mahindra Retail’s business to FirstCry and a joint venture of Mahindra Intertrade with MSTC Limited. Senior general manager and head of M&A Christopher Krishnamoorthy is credited for his ‘hands-on approach’ and for taking a lead role in the negotiations for the transactions that earned the sub-team a prestigious award. Another key figure highlighted in the team is Farida G. Desai, senior general manager and head of group companies and IPR who, with a sub team, supports over 50 companies in the Mahindra Group located around the world and ensures that all Mahindra brands and copyrights are registered, protected and enforced. With such talented members able to achieve excellence it is no wonder that the company’s executive vice president – corporate finance and investor relations said, ‘the corporate legal department has broken barriers and the prompt interactions and advisories have enhanced the value proposition of the team to other functions’.