Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC) Announces Appointment of Mr. Deepak Premnarayen as President

Mr. Premnarayen succeeds Mr. Dilip G Piramal in the role and has earlier been associated with IMC as its Vice President.

With a four decade old career, he is the Executive Chairman and Founder of ICS Group, an asset management, real estate, retail, hospitality and financial services company, which operates in the Indian sub-continent, South-East Asia and Africa. The group is headquartered in Mumbai with offices in Delhi, Bangalore and Johannesburg.

He is on the board of FirstRand Bank Limited, Africa’s No.1 financial services group, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. He is also a member of FirstRand’s Directors’ Affairs and Governance Committee and the Chairman of FirstRand Bank India Advisory Board. His other Directorships include Triangle Real Estate India Fund LLC, a FDI compliant fund for India raised in conjunction with Old Mutual Property in South Africa (listed on the Mauritius Stock Exchange) and Noida Toll Bridge Co. Ltd. (listed in India & AIMS in UK).

In June 2014, Mr. Premnarayen was conferred the ‘Indian Business Leader of the Year’ award by ‘Horasis Global India Business Meet’ at Liverpool, UK.

Speaking about the announcement, Mr. Premnarayen said, “I am privileged to be elected as President, IMC for the year 2016-17 and would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the chamber for reposing confidence in me and honouring me with this responsibility. ‘Enhancing India’s Competitiveness’ is the theme that IMC has chosen for the year 2016-17. This year’s theme enables us to provide our membership – quality externalities, which shape our business ecosystem. In this task, I look forward to working closely with all the members and taking our interactions with the Government, at the State and Central level to new heights.”

“Our vision is to make Maharashtra the digital capital and start-up capital of India, working in partnership with businesses and the Government. We will also work towards making Mumbai the financial hub for Asia, and actively wish to participate in skill development programs in the state,” he added.

IMC’s expert committees are led by highly qualified and experienced thought leaders across several sectors and industries, which form the backbone of its policy advocacy agenda.

This year, IMC will also host several programs, events and other initiatives which will help businesses thrive and prosper through global exposure and synergies.