Anand Desai, Managing Partner, DSK Legal

(Anand is the Managing Partner of DSK Legal, one of India's leading law firms. Anand is listed in Who's Who Legal, PLC Which Lawyer, Asia-Pacific Legal 500, and Chambers Global as one of India's leading lawyers in several practice areas. He has been invited to speak at various fora in India and internationally on a variety of legal topics, including M&A, intellectual property and data protection. Besides being the President of the Indo American Chamber of Commerce (WIC), he is the Chairman of Transparency in Governance Committee and Co-Chairman of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee at the Indian Merchants' Chamber.

Sandeep Bhargava, CEO, The Indian Film Company

Mr Bhargava has over eighteen years’ experience in advertising and film production & distribution. He started Studio 18 in June 2006 for the Network 18 Group. A year later he was instrumental in lisitng The Indian Film Company for the same Group on the AIM Exchange in London and sucessfully raising £55 million. Under his leadership the company has released several bockbusters such as Jab We Met, Welcome, Singh is Kingg, Golmaal Returns, Ghajni among others. Prior to joining The Indian Film Company & Studio 18 as CEO, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Sahara One Motion Pictures, where he was involved in the release of over 28 films in India, with a total investment of approximately £22 million.

The portfolio of movies produced under his supervision included both commercially and critically successful movies which have won five national awards. Some of the movies released during his tenure at Sahara One include, Page 3, Hanuman, Malamaal Weeky, Sarkar, No Entry, Corporate, Door and Bose The Forgotten Hero. Prior to joining Sahara One, Mr Bhargava was the Chief Operating Officer of UTV, during which time he led multiple strategic business units such as Airtime Sales & Syndication, Advertisement Film Production, Dubbing and Post Production. Mr Bhargava started his career in leading advertising agencies and handled top multinational and Indian brands such as 555, Benson & Hedges, Coca-Cola, Lafarge Cement, Unilever, Hutch, Reliance Infocom and Tata Steel. Mr Bhargava has an MBA in Marketing & International Business from the University of Akron, USA.

Aslesha A Gowariker, Partner, Desai & Diwanji

Aslesha A Gowariker has been with the firm for over 14 years and is based in the Mumbai offices of the firm. She is focused on corporate practice and advises on mergers and acquisitions, project finance and outsourcing related transactions/projects. She has substantial experience in advising foreign investors, investment banks and Indian promoters on transactions across various industry sectors such as healthcare, hotels and hospitality, auto and auto ancillary, FMCG, real estate, pharmaceuticals, media & entertainment and oil/telecom/power/gas/roads/ports within the infrastructure segment.

She has substantial experience in advising on various issues related to the above referred sectors, involving interpretation of and providing opinions on legislation related to the concerned sectors, liaising with the governmental departments and authorities regulating such sectors and advising on legislation/regulations pertaining to Ministry of Finance, FIPB, RBI and SEBI and liaising with them. She also specializes in legislation/regulations commonly relevant to all such transactions, covering subjects such as environment, labour, IPR, SEZ/EOU/EHTP. She participates in activities of trade bodies and speaks at various industry events.

Rajesh Jain, Executive Director, Corporate Finance division and Head of Information Communication & Entertainment (ICE), KPMG

Rajesh Jain is the Executive Director, Corporate Finance division and Head of Information Communication & Entertainment (ICE) Line of Business at KPMG in India. A chartered accountant by qualification, Rajesh has over 23 yrs of experience and his areas of expertise include Media & Entertainment, Telecom & IT.

His rich experience in advising clients on Mergers & Acquisitions and Fund Raising (equity and debt) has helped him closed deals with an engagement value of over USD 2 billion. He has also advised an array of domestic and international companies on valuations, financial restructuring, and taxation.

Rajesh has also engaged with clients across the ICE spectrum on strategy for growth and systems. His communications and media clients include BBC, Newscorp, ADAG, Zee, Adlabs, Bennett & Coleman Group, Blackstone, Indian Express, Mid-Day, Tata Sky, Cellebrum, Spice, Indiagames and Zoom Entertainment Network.

Rajesh has successfully led thought leaderships on the Media & Entertainment industry along with FICCI (In the interval … But ready for the next act - Frames 2009) and CII (Focus 2010: Dreams to Reality - 2005). He is an active member at Industry associations such as FICCI, CASBAA and CII and regularly contributes to press articles. He is frequently sought by the media to providing subject matter expertise with respect to developments in media and telecom sector in India

Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures

After a B.Com. from Sydenham College and a Masters in Management Studies from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Siddharth began his career with the Procter & Gamble Company in Mumbai. At P&G, Siddharth worked in the brand management team on the Vicks and Ariel brands. He led the successful relaunch of a key Vicks variant, driving the entire marketing effort including new pricing and packaging, a refreshing advertising campaign and on-ground promotions. This initiative led the brand to a strong growth in volume, share and image ratings.

From P&G, Siddharth moved to STAR TV in the strategic planning division, focusing on Star Plus and the National Geographic Channel. After a brief stint in Hong Kong as part of the Newscorp Executive Development Program, he moved back to Mumbai to work on the marketing of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'. In recognition for the success of the ground-breaking marketing efforts behind the show, he was nominated for the Team Newscorp Global Excellence Awards.

Siddharth then moved to the STAR TV Middle East operations, based in Dubai, where he was Regional Marketing Manager for the network, responsible for AdSales, Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications for the region. In this role, he led the marketing drive to support the migration of STAR channels across satellite platforms and was instrumental in retaining the majority of subscribers through the change-over process. He also launched a subscription generation drive across the Middle East, with a multimedia marketing campaign which galvanized subscription numbers to achieve a growth of 25% in a single month.

In 2002, Siddharth moved back to the STAR headquarters in Hong Kong, as Director (Marketing) and was promoted to Vice President in 2003. At STAR Hong Kong, he led the central Marketing & Creative Services team, which developed and rolled out marketing campaigns for STAR channels in India, Mainland China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, the U.K. and the U.S.

Siddharth has been with UTV since 2005. In his first role with the company, he was heading the Marketing & Communications division across Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, Television, Animation and Corporate. In this role, he led the marketing efforts responsible for taking Hungama TV to a leadership position in the competitive kids broadcasting space, earlier dominated by multinational channels like Cartoon Network, POGO, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. He led the marketing efforts behind the cult classic Rang De Basanti, which started a new trend in the way movies are marketed. He also led the marketing efforts on many successful projects such as Parineeta, Taxi 9211 and Bluffmaster. In his next role, he took over the Revenues function at UTV Motion Pictures, and was responsible for Distribution & Syndication worldwide, in addition to his Marketing responsibilities. In January 2008 he took over as CEO of UTV Motion Pictures, responsible for all aspects of Development, Production, Marketing, Distribution and Syndication. In this role, he has led the studio to its most successful year ever, with the release of an unparalleled slate of movies such as Jodhaa Akbar, Race, Kismet Konnection, Fashion, Aamir, A Wednesday!, Welcome to Sajjanpur, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Taare Zameen Par, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Kaminey and Wake up Sid to name a few.

Mr. Lalit Bhasin, Managing Partner, Bhasin & Co., Advocates, Delhi – Mumbai, India

President, Society of Indian Law Firms
Hony. General Secretary, The Bar Association of India
Executive President, India Law Foundation
Chairman - Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (India Chapter)
Chairman – Services Export Promotion
Council – Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India
Honorary Life Member, International Bar Association

Lalit Bhasin started his law practice in 1962 and has developed Bhasin & Co. as one of the largest law firms in North India. Mr. Bhasin’s areas of specialization in dispute resolution practice include Employment & Labour Laws, Corporate Law (Formation of Joint Venture Companies, Foreign Collaborations, Amalgamations, Mergers, Acquisitions, Disinvestment); Laws relating to Information Technology; Contract and Conveyancing; Constitutional Law; Banking and Finance; Consumer Protection Laws; Disputes relating to foreign Investment e.g. Shareholders Agreements, Collaboration Agreements, Agency and Distribution Agreements, Technology Transfer Agreements.