Amarchand Mangaldas' Gunjan Shah is a whiz at cross-border deals

GUNJAN SHAH
Partner, Amarchand Mangaldas
AGE: 39
GOAL IN LIFE: Wants to take part in the development of law and policy in India.
BEST LEADERSHIP LESSON: When your team members are working round-the-clock, you need to be in the trenches with them too.

She is a virtuoso of the fine print that goes into corporate legal documents. Gunjan Shah, Partner at law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co, is a whiz at mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment, corporate restructuring, securities and takeover regulations, debt restructuring and debt capital markets and, most of all, complex cross-border deals. Global PE heavyweights routinely turn to her while making investments in India.

In 2012/13, she was ChrysCapital's Indian legal counsel as it invested in AU Financiers, Eris Lifesciences, KPIT Cummins Infosystems and Mankind Pharma. In 2013, she handled Apollo Global's $350 million investment in steel pipes maker Welspun Corp and the group company Welspun Maxsteel. Last year, she oversaw AION Investments Singapore and Apollo Asia Pvt. Credit Master Fund's $1.5-billion investment in Avantha Holdings' debentures.

Shah studied at National Law School of India, Bangalore, after which, in 1998, she joined Amarchand & Mangaldas as Partner. "Cross-border transactions are relatively new in India and it is the fresh approach to manage legal risks in these that provide me a lot of satisfaction," she says.

She credits Shardul Shroff, the driving force behind Amarchand & Mangaldas, for much of her success. "Shah has evolved into an astute and commercially sound lawyer," says Pallavi Shroff, Senior Partner at the law firm and Shardul's wife. Apart from her legal accomplishments, Shah is also a trained Odissi dancer.