My contribution to a board
I would contribute an operator's view of the commitments hidden inside a retail recommendation. A proposed shop creates obligations beyond its opening cost; a seasonal range requires cash before all buyers decide; an appealing contribution figure may coexist with suppliers waiting for settlement. I have had to connect those accounts as CEO and explain them as an executive director. On an outside board I would use that experience to ask management for a complete recommendation, including the opportunity it proposes to decline. I would not select the assortment or negotiate the lease from the boardroom. The value would be in recognising where a promising proposition leaves another part of the company carrying a consequence that has not yet entered the discussion. I would also bring the willingness to examine my own incentives and mistakes. The supplier review challenged a story I had been telling, which is a more useful preparation for oversight than a record containing only decisions I describe as correct.
Judgement in practice
01Keeping the unchosen expansion opportunity visible
The eight-shop refurbishment recommendation displaced a twelve-opening proposal, rather than delivering the same expansion for less money. I would bring that distinction to a board reviewing capital options. Directors should understand what management gives up as well as what it chooses, including possible loss of properties and management attention. Our ₹18.6 crore programme later had encouraging trading figures in the same eight shops, but those figures did not establish a causal return or the outcome of the unbuilt alternative. In oversight I would ask whether the chosen programme remained within its purpose, what experience changed the assumptions and how the rejected route should be reconsidered. Finance and operating specialists should retain their detailed analyses. My contribution would be to prevent a smaller cheque or a positive sales movement from ending a decision discussion that still contains strategic consequences. I have made such a recommendation myself and know the temptation to describe its result more conclusively than the evidence allows.
02Making a connected property proposal answer the commercial question
The founder-connected three-site offer required disclosure, independent valuation and legal review, not an automatic yes or no based on the relationship. I also disclosed that shop growth affected part of my executive reward. The proposal moved from nine-year terms at ₹4.6 crore aggregate annual rent to a three-year counterproposal at ₹4.9 crore, before two sites were accepted for ₹3.1 crore and one rejected. Those are different scopes and commitments, not a single rent-saving story. On a board I would ask whether the connection, incentives, alternatives and required approvals were explicit before enthusiasm for the sites settled the discussion. Qualified advisers must address the actual legal arrangements. I would want directors to have room to reject the proposal, request a different structure or accept a higher annual price for a reason they can defend. The ₹44 lakh review expense and future renewal uncertainty would remain part of that judgement, rather than disappearing once an acceptable transaction emerged.
My first year on a board
I would begin by understanding how the board receives an enterprise recommendation and how it follows the commitments after approval. With the chair's agreement I would read a recent estate decision, a seasonal trading proposal and the subsequent cash account, then visit selected operations with management. The purpose would be to learn how the business works and where directors' questions can help, not to inspect managers as though they reported to me. I would spend time on financial statements, collective responsibilities and the company's actual ownership relationships, because operating familiarity does not replace governance preparation. In committee I would contribute where my experience fits and listen closely when colleagues bring legal, financial or specialist knowledge I lack. After the first year I would ask the chair whether my questions had clarified choices without drawing the board into execution. That distinction would be especially important for someone who still spends most working days as a CEO.
Conflicts and their management
My employment, executive directorship and 2.2% holding in Qeraveli require disclosure. The retailer's suppliers, landlords, corporate buyers and capital partners could also create relevant connections to a proposed outside company. I would review those relationships before receiving confidential commercial material and seek advice about management of any conflict. A declaration is not enough if repeated exclusions would prevent useful participation. I would not carry unpublished assortment plans, property negotiations or supplier terms into another board's discussion, even to illustrate a useful method. Time also creates a practical conflict: seasonal retail demands and unexpected problems at Qeraveli could compete with an outside board's calendar. Eighteen days is an initial planning allowance, not evidence that every appointment would fit. Employer consent, the actual meeting pattern and contingency expectations need to be settled. If the role required availability or freedom from competing interests I could not provide, I would decline it rather than let the appeal of a seat override the obligation.
My independence statement
I am an executive director and a 2.2% shareholder of Qeraveli, so I am not independent of that company. For any proposed outside role, the company and its advisers must review my employment, holdings, business connections and other circumstances against applicable Companies Act independence conditions, SEBI LODR requirements where relevant, committee responsibilities and directorship limits. A different company's appointment cannot be inferred from my current title or this fictional profile.
Board and committee exposure
Served as a director
Qeraveli Home Linen
Executive director participating in the full board; no committee chairmanship claimed
March 2019–Present
Concurrent CEO and statutory executive-director appointment, including participation in capital, property and enterprise funding decisions; one current directorship.
Governance learning and readiness
IICA Independent Directors’ Databank: Not yet registered
This fictional leader has not yet entered the IICA independent directors databank. Registration, assessment obligations or any applicable exemption would need to be established through the proper process; no completed pass or exemption is claimed.
- Executive-director experience at Qeraveli from March 2019, alongside CEO duties
- Further preparation planned on the distinction between executive accountability and outside non-executive oversight
- Company-specific induction and applicable databank obligations remain to be completed before an external appointment
Committee contribution
Chair and member readiness| Capacity | Committees |
|---|
| Ready to join | Strategy or investment committee, where constituted and after induction |
|---|
Capacity and preferences
- Time available
- 18 days per year
- Current directorships
- 1
- Sectors
- Regional consumer retail · Home and lifestyle distribution · Businesses reconsidering their property and supplier commitments
- Company type
- A consumer business seeking operating judgement alongside complementary finance and governance experience
- Company stage
- Reconsidering estate investment, ownership relationships or seasonal funding
The seat I am pursuing
I am seeking one first external non-executive role in a consumer or distribution company whose board is making choices about capital, property or the supplier account. A strategy or investment committee could be an appropriate contribution where the company has one and after proper induction. I am not offering to chair an audit committee or presenting executive experience as a substitute for specialist qualifications. The board should have complementary directors who can challenge the financial, legal and other dimensions of the same decisions. I have not yet registered in the IICA independent directors databank; the applicable preparation and obligations remain ahead of me. My current executive directorship is a relevant experience, but it is not an independent appointment and does not predetermine suitability elsewhere. I would welcome a chair who wants a candid operating perspective, including a clear explanation of its limits, and who expects me to support collective judgement rather than bring another company's management habits into the room.