New Ola GC, Sandeep Chowdhury, plans to grow legal team from 10 to 15

New Ola GC Sandeep Chowdhury
New Ola GC Sandeep Chowdhury

ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, the parent company of now multiple Ola-branded businesses, has hired Nuvoco Vistas Corp chief general counsel (GC) Sandeep Chowdhury as its new GC.

Chowhury, who had joined around a month ago, said: “We have around a 10 member team and I need to ramp up the team, given the business and the different things we’ve been planning to do.

“We need to be at least 15 member team in a short time.”

ANI and its legal team operate primarily along the three business lines dubbed mobility (its original cab aggregation / transportation business), financial services and food services.

Ola has previously used a number of Indian and foreign law firms but it might expand its roster.

Chowdhury said: “We are working with a variety of law firms and are also in the process, depending on the matters that we get, of working with new law firms.”

To date, we have reported Ola as having instructed Khaitan & Co and J Sagar Associates (JSA) on its corporate and M&A work.

The ANI in-house legal team had seen some churn in recent months.

Chowdhury follows former Vedanta group GC Nitin Banerjee in the role, who had joined Ola in September 2019 and is in the process of leaving (we have reached out to Banerjee for comment), and Ola head legal / senior director Lopamudra Rao had left in March 2021.

Sanjit Nagarkatti remains vice president legal at Ola Electric Mobility, having joined from Johnson & Johnson in November 2020.

Sandeep ChowdhuryWork historyFrom: Mar 2021: General Counsel, Ola (ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd)Full-time (Mumbai)Feb 2019Dec 2020: Chief General Counsel, Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd. (Mumbai Area)Apr 2017Feb 2019: Global Legal DirectorSr. Counsel, UPL (Mumbai Area)Sep 2014Feb 2019: Global Legal Director, Advanta Seeds – a group cmpany of UPL (Dubai)Apr 2013Aug 2014: Vice President – Legal, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd (Gurgaon)Dec 2010Apr 2013: Director Legal & Head of Compliance, Baxter India Pvt LtdMay 2008Dec 2010: General Manager Legal, Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd.Jan 1999Jul 2006: Legal Advisor, M/s Khaitan & Co.Education19931998: University of Calcutta, LLB, Law

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