Economic Laws Practice has appointed Khaitan & Co, Director – Business Strategy & Business Development Ashutosh Gupta as Director – Strategy and Planning. The firm has also hired Karishma Maniar as Associate Director for their Defense & Aerospace practice.

Ashutosh has nearly 12 years of business development and strategy consulting experience across diverse markets and industry sectors.

He has earlier worked with KPMG and Aon Hewitt in different capacities. He studied law at Delhi University and also holds an LL.M. Columbia University as well as an MBA degree from the University of Oxford.

Karishma has over 11 years of experience in the defence sector. She has been the lead on many large deals with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and/or clients as well as foreign OEMs and brings to the table an in-depth understanding of the issues faced by all the stakeholders in the defence sector.

Prior to joining ELP, Karishma has worked with Tata Power’s Strategic Engineering Division as Principal-Corporate Strategy and Legal & Contracts.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Electronics) from Sardar Patel College of Engineering and is a Post Graduate in Executive Management Programme from SP Jain Institute of Management Research, Mumbai.

Speaking on the new appointments, Suhail Nathani, Managing Partner commented

“At ELP we always endeavour to remain relevant to our clients’ business and legal needs as they keep changing.  While we are strengthening the defense and aerospace portfolio with the appointment of Karishma, the plethora of new laws and regulations today provide an opportunity for ELP to work closely with clients to evolve legal thought leadership efficiently and relevant to their businesses. 

To demonstrate our commitment to this space we have Ashutosh, who has joined us as a partner to lead that effort.  I look forward to working closely with Ashutosh and Karishma as we embark on this exciting new phase of ELP’s journey.”