Former Dalmia Bharat general counsel, Sanjeev Gemawat, has joined Vedanta as group general counsel this month. He had worked at Dalmia Bharat for over six years, serving as the group’s GC and company secretary.
With nearly three decades of experience across a variety of industries such as automobiles, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing etc., Gemawat has been associated with numerous Indian and multinational corporations including Dalmia Bharat, DLF and JCB, to name a few.
“I am attracted by the idea of the (Vedanta) Chairman where he is creating an institution, which would run for next 500 years. I feel it will be great to be a part of such a vision and contribute to the growth of the nation. The thought that it would be a company run by the people, for the people, for the country gives a feeling of belongingness, which is very important when one works for an organisation,” Gemawat told India Business Law Journal.
Gemawat is a co-founder of the General Counsels’ Association of India, and has been advocating the statutory recognition of the role of general counsels and aims to work towards achieving this objective.
Speaking on his new role, he said, “considering the scale and diversity of operations, I feel the (new) position has larger responsibilities and greater scope for performance.
“I have been group general counsel before as well, but I feel that this position would provide me with a bigger canvas to deal with complex issues. Also, I hope to work in synergy with the business to provide legal support, so that the legal team is seen as a facilitator of business.”
Gemawat is a chartered secretary from India and the United Kingdom, chartered accountant, and a cost and management accountant. He also has a postgraduate law degree and a doctorate in insider trading.
In his last assignment at Dalmia Bharat, he handled many complex and multifaceted issues in the field of law and order.
“I cherished the time I spent at Dalmia as it gave me the opportunity to handle complex and multifaceted issues. Some of the complex acquisitions, corporate structuring as well as critical litigations and regulatory issues would always be memorable for me,” he said, while speaking of his achievements at his former workplace.
“I successfully handled some of the issues, which were of reputational as well as operational importance. I would say that I have been successful in legal solutions, which were commercially viable.”
