Kalpen Parekh takes over as Presidentof DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd.

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S Naganath leaving the firm; Anup Maheshwari appointed CIO – Equity; Pankaj Sharma appointed CIO – Fixed Income

Pune, May 26, 2017: DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd.,one of India’s premier asset management companies, today announced that S Naganath, President and CIO has decided to leave the firm to pursue other opportunities. Kalpen Parekh, Joint President, takes over as President with immediate effect. Anup Maheshwari, Head – Equities, takes over as Chief Investment Officer – Equities and Pankaj Sharma, Head – Fixed Income, takes over as Chief Investment Officer – Fixed Income.

Meanwhile, Ramamoorthy Raja gopal, Chief Administrative Officer has taken over as Chief Operating Officer. Aditi Kothari Desai continues to head Sales, Marketing and e-Business.
Kalpen holds more than 19 years of experience in various asset management firms across different roles in Sales, Distribution, Marketing & International Business. He was previously Managing Director and Head of Sales & Marketing at IDFC Mutual Fund. He has also served Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Limited and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited after beginning his career with L&T Finance Ltd.
Anup Maheshwari has been working for DSP BlackRock since July 1997, and managed domestic funds from May 2001 to June 30, 2012. Anup was CIO at HSBC Asset Management before returning to DSP BlackRock. Prior to joining DSP BlackRock, he worked with Chescor, a British fund management firm that managed three offshore funds investing in Indian equities.

Pankaj Sharma, heads Fixed Income and was instrumental in establishing, nurturing and growing DSP BlackRock’s Risk and Quantitative Analysis and product development capabilities. Pankaj joined the firm in 2003 and holds more than 23 years of global and regional experience in asset management, investment banking and retail banking businesses. Before joining DSP BlackRock, Pankaj worked for Citigroup for almost 10 years, taking on assignments covering India, Singapore and the United States. He was also responsible for risk-taking activities and balance sheet management for three Latin American countries.

Ramamoorthy Rajagopal joined the Finance & Operations team at DSP Merrill Lynch and was part of a core team responsible for setting up systems and processes for equity broking operations. In 2000, he started overseeing DSP Merrill Lynch’s Distribution back office operations. In March 2002, he was moved to DSP BlackRock Investment Managers (previously called DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers) as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He is currently Chief Operating Officer (COO) overseeing critical support functions such as Fund Administration, Client Response and Operations, Finance, Technology, Legal & Compliance and Corporate Services.

Aditi Kothari Desai is the head of Sales, Marketing and e-Business at DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt Ltd. She is Executive Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee. She joined Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group in New York in 1998, primarily working on M&A activities in the Financial Institutions Group. Subsequently Aditi worked in DSP Merrill Lynch as part of the fixed income sales team and later joined DSP BlackRock in 2002 (then DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers), working on various initiatives, including establishing an offshore fund for foreign investors.

S Naganath, President and CIO, DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd said, “I have been privileged to lead a talented and experienced team of professionals at DSP BlackRock and am immensely proud of what we have achieved together. DSP BlackRock has a strong brand profile in the industry and the team has contributed enormously to building a solid foundation for the firm. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future.”

Hemendra Kothari, Chairman, DSP BlackRock Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd., said “I have known and worked closely with Naganath over the past two decades and will miss his inimitable humble and understated style. As head of DSP BlackRock, he helped build a unifying culture that set the foundations of our success today. Looking ahead, I am confident that Kalpen, Anup, Pankaj, Aditi and Ram will continue to add impetus to the pace of growth enjoyed by our business and assets.”