Nishith Desai is the founder of the research & strategy driven international law firm, Nishith Desai Associates (www.nishithdesai.com) ranked amongst the Asia-Pacific’s Most Innovative Law Firms by Financial Times.

Nishith’s interest span a wide spectrum of law, society and ethics. He is a renowned International lawyer, author, lecturer, researcher and a thought leader. Nishith himself is regarded as the ‘Father of International Tax’ in India and is a ‘true pioneer’ in the field of International Tax Law. He was also a director on the board of Singapore International Arbitration Centre (2011-2019).

Soon after India opened its economy to the outside world in 1991, Nishith pioneered the roots of asset management industry in India. He has assisted the Governments of Mauritius and India in launching their offshore financial centers.

Funds
He established the first five India Focused Funds He played a seminal role in structuring several private equity funds in addition to structuring several domestic venture capital funds. The firm has now worked for over 1400 funds across all asset classes.

Technology
With a keen interest in technology, Nishith ensured that NDA remains ahead of the curve by actively driving legal and ethical research into emerging areas such as blockchain, autonomous vehicles, flying cars, IoT, AI & Robotics, medical devices, genetic engineering amongst others.

Research
Combining his love for research with his inherent trait of innovative thinking, Nishith has driven the conceptualization and creation of Imaginarium AliGunjan a state-of-the-art research facility that stands as an ode to ‘Blue Sky Thinking,’ near Mumbai.

Society
Nishith is also passionate about supporting social good, and under his guidance NDA has remained at the forefront of social sector in India. NDA has won ASIAN Law firm of the year (Pro-bono) from IFLR in 2001. NDA is one of the founding members of Impact Investment Council in India.

He has worked closely with Nobel Laureate Prof Yunus on social issues and personally received the Prof. Mohd. Yunus ‘Social Business Pioneer of India’ in 2010.