Investment Bankers’ Body Appoints Mahavir Lunawat As Chairman

Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI) appointed Mahavir Lunawat as its chairman for two years, starting September 2023.

Lunawat, the founder and group managing director of Pantomath Capital Advisors Private Ltd., is an industry veteran with over two decades of experience across the country’s business houses, AIBI said in a statement.

He has led some of the key M&As, corporate restructuring projects and lead managed more than 100 initial public offerings (IPOs), it added.

Lunawat, the director of AIBI, is succeeding Anay Khare of Axis Capital.

“In this rapidly evolving industry, it is imperative that we continue to advocate the orderly growth of capital market, keep interest of investment bankers aligned and promote best practices via strategic measures,” Lunawat said. “This position gives me an opportunity to foster an ecosystem of building innovation via growth achieved within the AIBI framework.”

AIBI is the investment banking industry's sole representative to all statutory authorities, particularly the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The chairperson of AIBI represents investment bankers on the Primary Market Advisory Committee of SEBI, as well as the members’ views on various regulatory reforms pertaining to the capital markets.

The investment banker’s body also appointed J.M. Financial’s Managing Director Arjun Mehra and Prem D’Cunha, senior vice president and head – ECM Execution at ICICI Securities, as its vice chairmen.

Mehra has over 15 years’ experience in the investment banking industry with expertise in execution in capital markets, M&A, restructuring, public issues, rights issues, de-listings, and buybacks, AIBI said.

He holds Master in Business Administration and Master of Science in International Finance, it added.

D’Cunha, a commerce graduate and Master of Financial Management from the Mumbai University, has over two decades’ experience in investment banking and capital markets in India, according to the statement.

D’Cunha has been involved in various consultations with the regulators on offers for sale, stock exchange mechanism, framing public offer guidelines for non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), as well as introduction of stock exchange mechanism for settlement of open offers and buybacks, it said.

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