With well over a decade of research experience across multiple industries, Kanaka Bhagwat, Retailer Vertical Leader at NielsenIQ India is a seasoned commercial lead driving engagement with online & offline retailer clients – helping in their strategy and growth. She is also a NielsenIQ certified Black Belt in Lean & Six Sigma. Kanaka is an avid runner and a fitness enthusiast and loves spending time with family and friends.
Pankaj is a senior investment banker with a rich experience in the fashion & retail sector, having advised large retail groups such as Aditya Birla, Arvind, Future, Landmark, Raheja, V-Mart as well as various apparel brands and other retailers for various strategic initiatives, fund raising and M&A. Pankaj is the Founder & CEO of Metta Capital Advisors LLP, which he set up in 2016 after a 23 year stint at Enam Securities and Axis, where he led the investment banking practice in the fashion & retail, real estate and materials sectors, amongst other things. In his last role at Axis Bank, he was part of the senior management team in the retail bank and led strategic partnerships. He built the bank’s relationships with large e-commerce companies and fintechs as part of its digital strategy. Metta Capital focuses on M&A and Private Equity advisory transactions and is recognised for its expertise in the fashion & retail sectors with 16 transactions in the sector over the last 6 years. It’s transactions include a Rs 740 cr equity raise by Arvind Fashions from Multiples PE in 2016, the sale of Hypercity by Shoppers Stop to Future Retail for Rs 911 cr in 2017, strategic investment of Rs 260 cr by Flipkart in the Flying Machine business in 2020, acquisition of Limeroad and Unlimited by V-Mart in 2021/2022 and equity raise by Nexon Omniverse in 2022, Metta also advised Future Group on their transactions with Amazon and Reliance, and the sale of their stake in the insurance JV to Generali. Pankaj is an MBA from RA Podar Institute of Management, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur and is also a core volunteer with iSPIRT, a think tank that has created and evangelized India Stack, the digital rails that are enabling financial inclusion in India.
