Trustees & Advisory Board
Mr. Hemendra Kothari (Chairman)
Hemendra Kothari, a fourth-generation member of a prominent stockbroking family, is the Founder, Chairman, and Trustee of both the Hemendra Kothari Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Formerly the President of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mr. Kothari established DSP Financial Consultants Limited, which later became DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd. He served as its Chairman until 2009 and currently is the Chairman of DSP Finance Private Limited.
Beyond his financial endeavours, Mr. Kothari is a board member of several industrial companies and is associated with the Confederation of Indian Industry. He is deeply committed to environmental, educational, health, and cultural initiatives. His significant roles in conservation include being a Member of the Rajasthan State Board for Wildlife (and formerly also the Maharashtra State Board), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), and the Advisory Council of the Global Tiger Forum (GTF). He also serves on the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Governing Council and is the India Chairman of The Nature Conservancy. Additionally, he is an Advisory Committee Member of the Army Group Insurance Fund (AGIF) and a Member of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP).
Mr. Bittu Sahgal
Founder-Editor of Sanctuary Asia, India’s first wildlife magazine, Bittu Sahgal has produced over 30 wildlife documentaries that have been aired on India’s national television network. His columns on environment and development feature in a number of English and regional language publications in India and overseas. He is involved with several global conservation campaigns and is an active member on a range of government and non-government organization boards and committees. His key involvements focus around campaigns to save tigers and to highlight the connection between human rights, biodiversity conservation, deforestation, ecosystem values and climate change.
Ms. Aditi Kothari Desai
Aditi Kothari Desai is the Chairperson of DSP Asset Managers Private Limited (DSPAM), a leading investment manager in India. She also serves as a Director of DSP Finance Private Limited, the DSP Group’s lending company, and is a co-founder and Chairperson of Compoundexpress, a platform for advisors and mutual fund distributors in India.
Aditi’s professional focus is on driving digital transformation in finance. She has been instrumental in developing DSP’s digital platforms for investments, education, corporate services, and distributor engagement. Additionally, she is on the Board of Tifin India, an AI company specialising in wealth and asset management.
At DSPAM, Aditi oversees financial wellness programmes, including Winvestor, which is designed to enhance financial knowledge and security for women. In her previous role, she was responsible for business development as the head of marketing, digital, and sales, and she also launched the group’s international business. Her career began at Merrill Lynch’s investment banking group in New York, where she worked on M&A activities within the Financial Institutions Group.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Aditi is a Trustee at the Hemendra Kothari Foundation and the Wildlife Conservation Trust. She also serves as an Independent Director at Godrej Agrovet and is a board member of DASRA, a prominent philanthropy foundation in India. Furthermore, she advises the British Asian Trust and the South Asia Advisory Board of Harvard Business School, and holds the position of Vice President of the Bombay Natural History Society.
Aditi holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Ms. Shuchi Kothari
Shuchi Kothari holds significant roles within the DSP Family Office, serving as a director at DSP HMK Holdings Pvt. Ltd. and DSP Investments Private Limited. She also holds an additional Executive Director position on the Board of DSP Asset Managers Private Limited.
She was also a director of Health & Glow Pvt. Ltd., a beauty retail chain with approximately 170 stores across India.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Shuchi represents Epic Foundation, a US-based social organisation, in India. Furthermore, she is a partner in Greenstone Fund Manager LLP, Greenstone Sponsor and Managers LLP, Greenstone Energy Advisors LLP, and Greenstone Advisors LLP.
Dedicated to philanthropy and conservation, Shuchi is a trustee of both the Hemendra Kothari Foundation (HKF) and the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT).
Academically, Shuchi holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (BSE) from the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mr. Anand Khatau
Anand Khatau is Managing Director-Senior Advisor at Julius Baer Wealth Advisor India Private Limited and has been part of the team that established Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management Practice in India. He has three decades of experience in acquiring and managing client’s portfolios, and closely works with leading fund managers, analysts, leading industry players to assess global situation and formulate the strategy for asset allocation in client’s portfolios. He is successfully managing relationship of few Large Listed Corporates, Trusts, Promoter Family & Family offices, CXO And CEO’s.
Anand is also president at Malabar Hill Club. Prior to joining the firm, Anand was a Senior Consultant with Ernst & Young, where he was advising Indian and multinational companies on their India strategy, and advised clients on their tax and business issues. Anand is a commerce graduate from University of Mumbai and is a Chartered Accountant.
Mr. Subramaniam Ramadorai
Mr S Ramadorai is a visionary leader, celebrated global technocrat, and a tireless advocate of education, skill development, and sustainable innovation. With over five decades of experience at the helm of technology and public service, he has made transformative contributions to the IT industry, academia, research, and nation-building. He currently chairs Mission Karmayogi Bharat, a transformative initiative that aims to revolutionise the training and capacity-building framework for civil servants in India. He also chairs the Advisory Board of Tata STRIVE, the Tata Group’s flagship CSR skill development initiative. Under his guidance, STRIVE has emerged as a model for integrating skilling with community impact, empowering marginalized youth and driving inclusivity.
As the former CEO and Vice Chairperson of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mr Ramadorai led the company through an unprecedented phase of growth, transforming it into a global IT powerhouse, taking TCS from a $155 million company in 1996 to a $6 billion global IT leader by 2009. Throughout his tenure at TCS, he led several digital transformation projects for India, namely, the Passport Seva Project, the Digitization of the State Bank of India and the National Stock Exchange, and many more. As the Chairperson of Tata Technologies (2001–2023), he contributed to the modernisation of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country enhancing their relevance in the modern economy.
A steadfast proponent of academia-industry collaboration, Mr Ramadorai has actively shaped institutions of learning and research. He is currently associated with the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Deakin University, Centre for Digital Public Goods IIMB, Public Health Foundation of India, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, Policy Research Studies, and The Nature Conservancy.
He has a long-standing relationship with the social sector and is deeply committed to harnessing technology and innovation for the greater good. He oversaw the establishment of the Society for Rehabilitation of Crippled Children, Mumbai, and presently holds leadership roles at the Axis Bank Foundation, British Asian Trust, Centre for Asian Philanthropy India, and Anwesha Trust.
He has also been a lifelong enthusiast of art and culture, with a deep personal interest in Indian classical music and photography. As the Chairperson of the Kalakshetra Foundation, he has worked to preserve and promote India’s rich cultural heritage. His association with Sahapedia, an open online resource on the arts, culture, and heritage of India, highlights his commitment to democratising access to knowledge about the country’s diverse history and traditions.
A recipient of the Padma Bhushan (2006) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2009), he has been honoured with numerous accolades, including the Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), the Sankara Ratna Award (2025), and the Assam Saurabh Award (2025). Mr Ramadorai holds degrees in Physics (Delhi University), Electronics and Telecommunications (IISc, Bengaluru), and Computer Science (UCLA), and has authored the book “The TCS Story…and beyond.”
Mr. Amit Chandra
Mr. Chandra joined Bain Capital as a Managing Director in early 2008, and is a part of the firm’s leadership team in Asia. He received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from VJTI, Bombay University, post which he worked at India’s leading engineering & construction firm, Larsen & Toubro. He then received his MBA from Boston College and was awarded the school’s Distinguished Alumni in 2007.
Prior to joining Bain Capital, Amit spent most of his professional career at DSP Merrill Lynch, a leading investment bank in India. At the firm, he had direct oversight of its Global Markets & Investment Banking business, which included the firm’s substantial principal investment businesses. He retired from DSP Merrill Lynch in 2007 as its Board Member & Managing Director, to move to Private Equity.
Mr. Chandra was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2007 and was named in Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list by Forbes in 2016. He is currently a Member of the Board of Directors of Tata Sons Limited, Genpact, L&T Finance, and Emcure Pharmaceuticals. He retired, in recent years, from the Boards of Piramal Enterprises, Tata Investment Corporation and The Akanksha Foundation. He is also active in India’s not for profit space, and serves as a Trustee of the Tata Trusts, Founder/Board Member of Ashoka University, and Board Member of Give India (India’s leading philanthropic exchange).
Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai
Naina Lal Kidwai is Chairman of Rothschild India, Senior Advisor at Advent Private Equity and TPG Rise Climate, Venture Advisor at Lightspeed Venture Partners India, and a non-executive Director on the boards of global and Indian companies. She is also a former President of FICCI. She previously retired as Executive Director on the board of HSBC Asia Pacific and Chairman of HSBC India.
An MBA from Harvard Business School, she has regularly featured in listings by Fortune since 2002, and in other international publications recognising women in business.
She has received numerous awards and honours in India, including the Padma Shri in 2007 from the Government of India, for her contributions to Trade & Industry. Her interest in water, the environment, and the empowerment of women is reflected in her board positions at not-for-profit institutions such as the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, The Energy Resources Institute, the International Advisory Council of the Inquiry of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and as a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Economy and Climate. She also chairs FICCI’s Water Mission, FICCI’s Inclusive Governance Council, and the India Sanitation Coalition.
Mr. Prashant Trivedi
Prashant Trivedi is the Founder & Executive Chairman of the Multi-Act Group, a global enterprise with operations in financial services, real estate, light engineering, and eco-conservation tourism. The group has a presence in Mauritius, India, and East & Southern Africa.
A summa cum laude graduate in Economics from the Wharton School and a CFA charterholder since 1997, he chairs Multi-Act Trade & Investments Pvt. Ltd. and Indian Card Clothing Co. Ltd. He also serves as a Director in several Great Plains Conservation SPV’s in Kenya and Zimbabwe.
Prashant is a passionate advocate for wildlife and natural habitats, especially for the conservation of big cats. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Mr. Dereck Joubert
Dereck Joubert is an award-winning filmmaker, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and a wildlife conservationist, who has been filming, researching and exploring in Africa for over 30 years. His mission is the conservation and understanding of the large predators and other key wildlife species that determine the course of all conservation in Africa. Along with Beverly Joubert, he is the founder of the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative and is the Chairman of the Initiative that has funded over 94 grants in 27 countries for the conservation of big cats. They have made 30 films for National Geographic, published 11 books, half a dozen scientific papers, and have written and photographed many articles for the National Geographic Magazine. Their films have received international recognition with major accolades including 9 Emmys, a Peabody, Wildscreen Panda Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Award at Jackson Hole the Japan Wildlife Film Festivals, to name but a few. Dereck is the recipient of a World Ecology Award and they have both been awarded the Presidential Order of Merit in their home country, Botswana.
Mr. Alok Kshirsagar
Alok Kshirsagar is a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company with broad experience in performance improvement and growth initiatives through his time in the firm’s London, New York and Mumbai offices. He leads McKinsey’s Asia Risk Management Practice to build resilient business models and increase returns in uncertain markets. He has also led the McKinsey Asia Centre – a special initiative to mobilize the best insights, capabilities and relationships to help leading Asian and western Multinational companies capture the full value of globalization. He also co-leads McKinsey’s relationship with the Government of India focused on Digital innovations, Infrastructure Finance and other national priorities. He is the Honorary President of the National Association for the Blind, Karnataka, serves on the Board of PRS Legislative Research and on the Next Gen Leaders Board of the Indian School of Business. The World Economic Forum named him a “Young Global Leader” in 2012. As an Inlaks scholar, he has received a postgraduate degree in Politics and Economics from Oxford University.
Your donations support our on-ground operations, helping us meet our conservation goals.