Management

Dr. Rakesh Kumar Kakkar is a Ph.D in Law. He was awarded Akrekar Gold Medal by National Academy of Direct taxes, Nagpur, for standing first in Law (Income-tax, General laws & Estate duty). He presented a paper in Biennial Conference (International) of the India Society of Victimology in the year 1994 in Chennai. His thesis for Ph.D was ‘An Evaluation of Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion Techniques Adopted in Direct Taxes and Study of Remedies against such Techniques’.

He started his career as a Probationary Officer in a Nationalized Bank and worked there for around a year before getting selected in Civil Services Examination. He worked as a Customs Appraiser for around 4 ½ years looking after Import and Export Policy Evasions and Customs Duty Violations. Later, he joined in Income Tax Department as an IRS Officer of 1982 Batch. He has a rich & varied experience of working in various capacities in Income Tax Department including Assessment, Investigation, Appropriate Authority, Commissioner of Income Tax and Principal Commissioner of Income Tax. He had a brilliant career in the Income-Tax Department and superseded many colleagues at the time of promotion. He had been on deputation to SEBI as Chief General Manager for six years. He also represented SEBI at length before JPC on half a dozen occasions. He was also been involved in drafting various SEBI Regulations and amendments to the SEBI Act. He has around 39 years of e xperience in detecting Financial Frauds/Tax Evasions/Securities and Capital Market Violations etc. Recently, He retired from the Income-tax Department as Principal Commissioner of Income Tax.

Dr. Ramabhadran S. Thirumalai is an associate professor (practice) in the Finance area at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He is also the Deputy Dean of Programmes and Deputy Dean of the Mohali campus. He has been with the ISB since August 2006. He has also held visiting faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Indiana University, Bloomington. His research interests are broadly in the area of empirical asset pricing with a specific focus on market microstructure. His research has been published in top academic journals like the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Journal of Futures Markets and the Journal of Banking and Finance. He is currently working on papers that examine the impact of a number of regulatory changes in India on security market liquidity and efficiency. He has been awarded research grants from the NSE-NYU Stern Initiative on the Study of Indian Capital Markets multiple times.

He has refereed papers for a number of top academic journals like the Journal of Banking and Finance and the International Review of Finance. He has also been a consulting associate editor for a special issue of Decision Sciences. He is currently an external expert on BSE Ltd’s Risk Management Committee. He has been on the board of directors of the Indian Clearing Corporation Limited for six years and a member of the BSE’s Price Setting Committee. He has also been a member of the BSE’s Trading and Surveillance Oversight Committee, a member of the BSE’s Governing Council of Derivatives Segment, a member of the BSE’s and MCX-SX’s Investor Grievance Redressal Council as well as a member of the Common Pool of Arbitrators of all stock exchanges for the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions. He has a PhD in Finance from Indiana University, Bloomington, an MS in Statistics from the University of South Carolina, Columbia and a BE (Honours) in Chemical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.

Dr. Meshram is former professor and Head, Department of Computer Technology Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Matunga.

Dr. Meshram is PhD (Computer Engineering), B.E. (Computer Engineering), ME (Electronics) and LLM

Dr. Meshram has published 475 Research papers, produced 10 PhDs, Guided more than 100 Mtec (Computer Engineering Projects). He has published 7 Books, filed 11 Patents, delivered many lectures- technical and social.

Teaching subjects of Dr. Meshram are Information Security, Object Oriented Software Engineering, Research Methodology, Digital Forensic, Cloud Forensic, Data bases, C++ Programming and the like other 30 subjects.

Shri Nilesh Lodaya holds a bachelor’s degree in science and master’s degree in management with specialization in Finance. Prior to joining CDSL, Shri Lodaya was employed with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. India for 17 years and his last role at JP Morgan was Head of Direct Custody & Clearing, India. Shri Lodaya has also worked with Citigroup, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Share Registry

Shri Swaroopkumar Gothi is a seasoned finance professional with extensive experience in financial reporting, direct and indirect tax compliance, internal control review, budgeting, and team building. With a strong background in finance and a proven track record of leading finance departments, Swaroop brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the company.

He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over thirteen years of experience. He is member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Currently, he works as Senior Vice President at Central Depository Services India Limited (CDSL), where he serves as Financial Controller, member of the Arbitration Committee, and Committee of HOD. He has worked with various esteemed organisations like City and Industrial Development Corporation of India Limited, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited and Kotak Mahindra Investments Limited.

Shri. Sunil Alvares is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CDSL Ventures Limited (CVL), a position he has held since 2020. Since November 2017, Shri Alvares has led the operational functions of CDSL Ventures Limited in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer, driving efficiency and strategic growth across the organization. With a career spanning almost four decades in the financial services and securities market infrastructure, Shri Alvares brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to the organization. His journey with the CDSL group began in July 1998, where he initially led the Business Development division. Over the years, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the group’s growth, having overseen a wide range of departments including New Projects, Depository Participant and Issuer Admissions, Investor Grievance Redressal, and receivables. As EVP-Business Development, he played a major role in steering CDSL as the largest depository in terms of demat accounts.

Before joining CDSL, Shri Alvares held key positions at Datamatics Limited, PCS Data Products Limited, and Karvy Consultants between 1990 and 1998. These roles helped him to build a strong foundation in technology-driven financial services and client operations, which later proved instrumental in his leadership at CDSL and CVL.

In the ever-evolving landscape of India’s financial services, few leaders have shaped the investor experience as profoundly as Shri Sunil Alvares who stands at the helm of one of the country’s most trusted and largest KYC Registration Agencies, steering its growth has rare blend of strategic vision and operational depth. Over the past two decades, he has become synonymous with innovation, integrity, and investor-centric service delivery.

Academically, Shri. Alvares holds a Master of Science degree in Physics with a specialization in Electronics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He further enhanced his professional credentials with a Master’s in Marketing Management from the Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai. His unique blend of technical expertise and marketing acumen has enabled him to lead CVL with a vision that balances innovation, regulatory compliance, and investor-centric service delivery.

Shri Alvares is highly regarded for his strategic foresight, operational excellence, relationship building and commitment to building robust infrastructure for investor services. Under his leadership, CVL has strengthened its position as a trusted KYC Registration Agency and continues to play a critical role in India’s securities ecosystem.

Shri. Sunil Alvares is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CDSL Ventures Limited (CVL), a position he has held since 2020. Since November 2017, Shri Alvares has led the operational functions of CDSL Ventures Limited in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer, driving efficiency and strategic growth across the organization. With a career spanning almost four decades in the financial services and securities market infrastructure, Shri Alvares brings a wealth of experience and strategic insight to the organization. His journey with the CDSL group began in July 1998, where he initially led the Business Development division. Over the years, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the group’s growth, having overseen a wide range of departments including New Projects, Depository Participant and Issuer Admissions, Investor Grievance Redressal, and receivables. As EVP-Business Development, he played a major role in steering CDSL as the largest depository in terms of demat accounts.

Before joining CDSL, Shri Alvares held key positions at Datamatics Limited, PCS Data Products Limited, and Karvy Consultants between 1990 and 1998. These roles helped him to build a strong foundation in technology-driven financial services and client operations, which later proved instrumental in his leadership at CDSL and CVL.

In the ever-evolving landscape of India’s financial services, few leaders have shaped the investor experience as profoundly as Shri Sunil Alvares who stands at the helm of one of the country’s most trusted and largest KYC Registration Agencies, steering its growth has rare blend of strategic vision and operational depth. Over the past two decades, he has become synonymous with innovation, integrity, and investor-centric service delivery.

Academically, Shri. Alvares holds a Master of Science degree in Physics with a specialization in Electronics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He further enhanced his professional credentials with a Master’s in Marketing Management from the Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai. His unique blend of technical expertise and marketing acumen has enabled him to lead CVL with a vision that balances innovation, regulatory compliance, and investor-centric service delivery.

Shri Alvares is highly regarded for his strategic foresight, operational excellence, relationship building and commitment to building robust infrastructure for investor services. Under his leadership, CVL has strengthened its position as a trusted KYC Registration Agency and continues to play a critical role in India’s securities ecosystem.

Experience with a demonstrated 23+ years of working history in Banking, Insurance and Financial Services.

Being associated with the financial service domain throughout my career, having stints with sales, support, training, content building, product development functions and end to end IT Transformations.

Gaining experience with a good mix of customer relations, information technology and project management exposure. I have successfully implemented business initiatives working as both a financial service provider and a software vendor. With a quality-conscious approach, I have successfully implemented quality processes and managed external audits.

Current areas of expertise include AIML, Project Management, Vendor Management, Service Quality, Risk Management and leading teams towards delivering service level metrics.

Smt. Mohini Kharpude is a qualified Company Secretary and currently heads the Secretarial and Compliance functions at CSDL Ventures Limited (CVL). She brings with her over 21 years of extensive experience in the areas of Corporate Governance, Regulatory Compliance, Corporate Secretarial Affairs, Arbitration, Insurance (Non-Life), Administration, and Liability Policy Management. Ms. Mohini began her professional career in the Banking Sector.

Throughout her professional journey, Ms. Mohini has played a pivotal role in ensuring adherence to statutory and regulatory frameworks under the Companies Act, SEBI Regulations, and other applicable corporate laws. She has been actively involved in IPO of Central Depository Services (India) Limited. She has been instrumental in driving good governance practices, managing Board and Committee processes, and implementing effective compliance mechanisms within the organization including Capital Market, Property and real Estate.

Her expertise also extends to Arbitration and Legal Administration, where she has successfully managed corporate arbitration cases and ensured smooth coordination between internal teams and external legal counsels. In addition, she has significant exposure to Non-Life Insurance operations, including Liability Policy administration, risk assessment, and claims management.

Ms. Mohini is known for her meticulous approach, strong leadership, and commitment to maintaining the highest standards of corporate ethics and transparency.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Mumbai and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).

Smt. Preeti Gogate is a qualified Chartered Accountant and heads the Finance and Accounts function of the CVL. She brings her 8 years of experience to in financial advisory, statutory audits, costing, budgeting, compliance, risk assessment & mitigation to fore ground in all finance matters. She started her journey with Deloitte and later, was associated with a financial advisory firm as a partner for 5 years. She also holds a Commerce Degree from IGNOU.

Shri. Umashankar Prajapati is Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at CDSL Venture Limited.

Shri. Prajapati is responsible for developing and implementing the information and cyber security strategy of the CDSL venture limited and integrating cybersecurity into the enterprise strategy. At the CDSL Venture limited, he has been able to effectively build a cyber security conscious culture across all the business departments and employees.

An industry experience of 22 years in information & cyber security, OT/ICS Security, Governance, Risk Management, and Security Operations within large enterprise in manufacturing, Credit Information Company (CIC) ,Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) environments.

Shri. Prajapati holds an MBA degree in “Master’s in Information Management” (MIM) from Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (WeSchool) at Mumbai University.