My contribution to a board
I would bring a way of examining growth that connects the physical use of assets with distribution, service capacity and financial commitments. An investment paper can be internally consistent while depending on a buyer, partner or level of utilisation the company has not yet established. I can help a board identify that dependency and ask management to present a meaningful alternative. My experience is especially relevant where equipment, regional relationships and continuing service obligations shape the economics. I would also ask how the original reasoning will be reviewed after approval, so a later result is not judged against assumptions invented retrospectively. I have not served as a director and would need to learn the proposed company's context beyond the questions familiar from equipment finance. I would not offer individual asset valuations, credit decisions or engineering assurance as a board contribution. The value would lie in helping the board understand which commitments the company is making and what evidence supports the scale and timing of those commitments.
Judgement in practice
01Making exclusivity visible as an investment choice
The dealer proposal promised ₹180 crore of annual business but would have lifted the consortium's share of projected new originations from 15% to 44%. I asked management to consider the restriction on future relationships alongside the acquisition economics. We accepted a smaller non-exclusive pilot, giving up some volume and promotional certainty. In a board role, I would ask what the company becomes dependent on when it accepts a commercially attractive agreement. I would want the paper to explain alternatives and the consequences of renegotiation or exit. That is a strategic question, not an invitation for directors to conduct the negotiation. Management should remain responsible for the relationship and the authorised control functions for their reviews. My contribution would be to ensure that a commitment affecting future choices is not hidden inside a forecast that makes the decision appear to concern volume alone.
02Revising the model before reducing the experiment
The trailer programme's planning contribution changed from ₹9.4 crore to ₹3.1 crore when the net resale assumption was rebuilt. I supported a 24-vehicle pilot instead of the proposed 240-vehicle rollout. The decision preserved an opportunity to learn while acknowledging that a short trial could not establish mature resale performance. For directors, I would distinguish questions a pilot can answer from questions that require a longer period or a different source of evidence. I would ask management to state those limits when requesting approval, rather than announce that any pilot success justifies full expansion. The board should also understand the opportunity cost of waiting and the expense of the experiment. A smaller programme is not automatically a sound decision; it is useful when its scale, purpose and review conditions correspond to the uncertainty the company is trying to resolve.
My first year on a board
I would begin with the company's operating model, ownership expectations and the major commitments already approved. With the chair's agreement, I would review a selection of investment papers and the subsequent reports, looking for how management explains differences between assumptions and outcomes. I would meet the leaders responsible for operations, finance, commercial relationships and risk to understand where a decision changes hands. Site visits would help me learn the business rather than provide an occasion to issue instructions to staff. I would study the committee remit and the company's risks outside my own experience before proposing new reporting. During the first annual cycle I would aim to ask a small number of useful questions about dependence, utilisation and the cost of alternatives. I would seek feedback from the chair on whether those questions improved collective judgement. My executive habit of developing the answer myself would need to give way to a director's discipline of examining the answer management is accountable for producing.
Conflicts and their management
Kavreni's borrowers, dealers, service providers and shareholders create a broad field of potential relationships. An industrial company outside financial services could still be a customer, supplier or investment interest connected with my employer. I would disclose those links and seek written employer consent before accepting a role. I would not use confidential lending or partner information in another board's discussion, and I would not offer access to credit decisions as a benefit of appointment. The proposed company's advisers would need to review independence, directorship limits and committee requirements under the applicable rules. Where a relationship would exclude me from repeated central decisions, a plan for occasional recusal would be insufficient. Twenty days is a provisional annual allowance including preparation and travel, not a promise that every board calendar fits. I would examine the likely demands and discuss any additional requirement before making a commitment that could conflict with my executive responsibilities.
My independence statement
I would submit my employment, ownership interests and relevant business relationships for review before discussing an independent appointment. The company must assess the proposed capacity under section 149(6) and applicable requirements, including SEBI LODR where relevant. My experience presenting strategy papers does not itself resolve that assessment.
Committee contribution
Chair and member readiness| Capacity | Committees |
|---|
| Ready to join | Strategy or investment committee where established and appropriate · Risk committee where asset and distribution experience fits its remit |
|---|
Board and committee exposure
Presented to the Board or a committee
Kavreni Equipment Finance
Board strategy and investment discussions; executive presenter
2021–present
Presented alliance, segment and capability alternatives with their assumptions; no director or committee-member appointment.
Capacity and preferences
- Time available
- 20 days per year
- Current directorships
- 0
- Sectors
- Industrial services · Equipment-related business services · Regional asset-intensive enterprises
- Company type
- Privately held or listed industrial company with an active board and distinct executive accountabilities
- Company stage
- Considering a new distribution model or a material capability investment
The seat I am pursuing
My strongest fit would be an industrial service or equipment-related business considering a material change in distribution or capability. A company choosing between a partner network and owned facilities, or entering an unfamiliar asset segment, could use the perspective I have developed. I would consider a strategy, investment or risk committee where its actual remit fits that experience and the appointment requirements are met. I am not seeking to chair a committee immediately. The board should have an accountable management team and a reason to add this perspective beyond the signalling value of a finance-sector title. I would welcome a company whose directors are willing to examine an attractive plan while keeping the cost of delay in view. The aim would be a decision the board can explain and review, including circumstances under which it would ask management to revise the course rather than defend the original forecast indefinitely.
Governance learning and readiness
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Registered
Registered with the IICA independent directors databank in July 2026. I have not yet passed the proficiency assessment and am not claiming an exemption. Preparation and company-specific eligibility would need to be addressed before an appointment.
- Studying director duties and board financial reporting alongside databank preparation
- Reviewing how an investment committee challenges assumptions without taking over project management
- Seeking a structured induction for any first appointment outside my executive company