The Klay Edge

Kalpesh Khakhria is the Chairman & Managing Director of Klay Group based in Dubai. He chairs the Klay Board and oversees Klay’s global strategy and development.

Kalpesh is a seasoned banker with over 25 years of experience. He joined Klay in 2013 with a vision to create a boutique financial services firm to meet private clients’ increasingly complex wealth and business needs.

Prior to Klay, Kalpesh spent over 13 years at leading financial services firms across India and the UAE, including Citibank, HSBC and Reliance Capital Asset Management. In addition to chairing the Board, Kalpesh sits on the compliance and investment committees. 

Kalpesh graduated with a Master in Business in Marketing from Pune University.

Anirudh Sisodia is responsible for driving strategic initiatives and overseeing governance risk and compliance for the Klay Group, as well as for running the Dubai office.

Anirudh joined Klay in 2013. He previously had over 17 years of experience at leading financial institutions including HDFC, Citibank, HSBC Middle East and Reliance Capital Asset Management.

He brings a breadth of experience to his role spanning consumer and corporate lending, banking, investment services and asset management.

Anirudh has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from St. Stephen’s College, [Delhi] and a postgraduate qualification in Business Management with a specialisation in Finance from Mumbai University.

Amit Asnani is the Chief Operating Officer for Klay Group leading the global strategy, operations, and process transformation. 

Amit joined Klay in 2013 as the Head of Client Advisory, overseeing sales and investment operations. With more than two decades of experience in the financial services sector with companies like HSBC, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), and Reliance Capital Asset Management, he has a proven track record in designing and developing strategies that bring innovation, growth, and transformation. 

His energetic and charismatic personality inspires many and results in high performance teams delivering the highest customer satisfaction while his plethora of knowledge helps in successful operational transformation and overall organizational success. 

Born and raised in Dubai, Amit has completed his Masters of Business Administration from S P Jain School of Global Management, Dubai.

Shivkumar (Shiv) Rohira is the Head of Advisory EMEA responsible for overseeing Klay’s operations in the Middle East, UK & Europe.

Shiv has been part of Klay since it’s early days in 2013 and has grown to oversee the group’s interests in the Middle East Region. 

Prior to Klay, Shiv has undertaken assignments in the Central Team in HSBC India & the NRI business in HSBC UAE and has a cumulative industry experience of over 15 years in the banking and advisory business. 

Over the years at Klay, he has served as an Executive Director responsible for building Klay Group’s service offering and leading teams of client advisors and associated support functions. He has a proven track record in building Klay Group’s service offering, working with a diverse range of clients (UNHWs & FOs) across international markets and leading teams.

In his current role, Shiv carries the responsibility of fulfilling Klay’s growth ambitions in the region and expanding the coverage to newer markets in EMEA.

Shiv has an engineering degree in Information Technology and a Master of Business Administration with a major in finance from XLRI Jamshedpur.

Vipul Thakkar is the Head of Investments at Klay Capital, Dubai.

Vipul has over two decades of experience in the asset management industry, where he has helped companies build investment product platforms, distribution channels, and global footprints from the ground up.

Vipul joined Klay in July 2014 to develop the investment solutions offering for wealth management clients. He managed a team of investment professionals across the UAE, Singapore, and India. In 2021 he was appointed to oversee Klay’s foray into asset management capitalising on his understanding of the investment needs of high-net-worth, ultra-high-net-worth, and family office investors.

Prior to joining Klay, Vipul was head of investment advisory at Principal Retirement Advisors and previously held positions at Reliance Capital Asset Management. He has a Masters in Management Studies and holds a CFA Charter. 

Achal is the Head of Multi-Family Office, EMEA and brings over 24 years of experience & expertise in building & leading successful teams at leading banks such as Julius Baer, E S Bankers, Citibank. 
 
Prior to Klay, he was the Managing Director for the GSA business at Deutsche Bank, DIFC. He’s also held a number of key positions within the organisation - as a member of Deutsche Bank DIFC Branch Board & UAE Executive Council.
  
With a successful track record in leading high-performing teams, Achal has won several accolades for his contributions, both regionally and globally.  
  
He is responsible for building the Multi-Family Office vertical across EMEA as well leading strategic initiatives & partnerships to strengthen the Group's proposition and position internationally.  

Ali is the Co-CIO and is part of the Family Office advisory business at Klay Capital, offering a highly customized service to suit the risk profile of each family, and build a globally diversified portfolio across asset classes with a focus on wealth preservation and providing superior risk-adjusted returns to families. Over a 20 year period in financial markets, Ali has worked in various roles - Equity investment and research with Morgan Stanley and Enam Securities and Fixed Income Prop Trading and Fund Management with Mashreq Capital DIFC.

Prior to joining Klay Capital, Ali was the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Massar Investments, a Family Office for one of the wealthiest Emirati family in UAE. Over a 7 year period, he built the investment team and process, structured an institutional style Family Office with a globally diversified portfolio in Private Equity, Public Markets, Alternatives and Real Estate.

Ali has a Master of Science in Applied Economics with an emphasis on Financial Economics from Marquette University, Milwaukee WI, USA.

Vaibhav Loomba is the Group Head of FX and Rates business at Klay Group, based out of Dubai.

He has over 18 years of experience in trading various fixed-income assets and rates at a global level covering financial institutions and corporates. He has previously worked for large tier 1 banks, such as Citibank, JP Morgan and Credit Agricole, where he was responsible for market making in the local market currencies for various products such as Interest Rate Derivatives and FX swaps, as well as fulfilling balance sheet hedging and Asset Liability Management for Internal and External institutional clients.

At Klay, Vaibhav spearheads the FX and interest rates markets strategy to help clients gain an edge in optimizing their investments. 

Vaibhav has a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Punjab Engineering College in India , as well as a Master's degree in Finance from Cass Business School, London.

Vishal is the Director of Corporate Advisory at Klay Capital. A seasoned corporate banker  with over two decades of experience across Corporate Finance, Commercial Banking & Corporate Banking in India &  Middle East. 

Vishal started his career in financial services 2003 and has since worked with leading firms such as Citibank N.A., Tata Capital Limited, Reliance Capital Asset Management (UK) Plc,  National Bank of Umm Al Quwain, United Arab Bank & National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah  (P.S.C).

He has an extensive experience of banking across segments including Mid-market, Large Corporate & Government-related entities (GRE’s) segments and sectors which include Hospitality, Education, Real Estate, Contracting, Trading, Services & Manufacturing, across India & Middle East.

Vishal is a Bachelors in Commerce from Pune University & post graduate in Business  Management with specialization in Finance from Indian Institute of Modern Management,  Pune.

Kamal is the Director of Corporate Advisory at Klay Capital. A seasoned corporate banker  with experience in India and the Middle East, Kamal started his career in 2006 at State Bank  of India (SBI), the largest bank in India and among top 50 banks globally.

Prior to joining Klay Capital, Kamal spent 3.5 years at Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) looking at Project & Contracting Finance transactions. Kamal has financed over 40 projects during his career by providing debt finance in excess of USD 5 Billion.

During his career, Kamal has advised clients on financing multi-billion dollar projects in Oil & Gas, Energy and Infrastructure sectors in India and the Middle East. Due to his varied experience, Kamal is able to offer both conventional Banking as well as Islamic Banking solutions.

Kamal completed his MBA from SP Jain (India) in 2006 and his second MBA from INSEAD as  well as completed all levels of the CFA course.

Harini heads the compliance for Klay Capital, Dubai.

With over 15 years of distinguished experience in compliance across multiple jurisdictions such as UK, Middle East and Asia, Harini is a seasoned professional at the helm of regulatory excellence. Prior to joining Klay in 2020, she worked with Deloitte in their regulatory consultancy space, where she collaborated with global financial institutions, including private banks, corporate banks, and central banks in the region, where she has played a pivotal role in navigating complex compliance and AML challenges.

She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Klay to safeguard the interest of its clients and ensure their trust in the firm remains steadfast by fostering a culture of ethical conduct, transparency, and regulatory compliance of the highest standards.

Harini holds an MBA from Liverpool John Moores University and a Level 3 Diploma in Investment Compliance from CISI.

Deepti is a Director for Business Management in the Multi-Family Office vertical at Klay Capital.

With a Master's Degree in International Business specialising in Banking and Finance, Deepti has over 18 years of experience in financial services across leading banks such as Citibank, Emirates NBD, ES Bankers and Bank Julius Baer. Prior to Klay, she was working as a Director with Deutsche Bank, DIFC. 

At Klay, she leverages her considerable experience in client and business support services and provides strategic support to the Multi-Family Office vertical.

Nikitha Gangaramani is the Head of Service & Operations, based in Dubai. She has been a part of Klay for over 5 years and holds experience in Client servicing and operations. 

Nikitha is passionate about building a seamless customer experience for Klay clients. She has been a part of the financial industry for a decade and has worked for organizations such as Barclays and Rak Bank.

She has completed her Bachelor's degree in Commerce from HR College in Bombay India.

Kalpesh is seasoned finance professional with over 13 years of experience in financial management, regulatory reporting, Internal controls, IFRS implementation, Laws & Regulation, and has managed internal & external audit. He is a Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountant of India and Master of Commerce from Mumbai University, India with having experience predominantly in financial service such as Insurance and Banking. Prior to Klay, he has worked with Islamic bank and multinational insurance companies.

At Klay he is responsible for managing finance operations, business planning and budgeting cycle, Internal & External Audit, International business planning and expansion from finance perspective, Financial reporting, regulatory reporting as well as system controls ensuring compliance to International Standards.