Kaveri & Rao Advisory · Mumbai · Chennai

Practices

Five practices, each led by a partner who has done the work inside a company.

How we staff

A partner leads every engagement and is in the room for every family and board meeting. Teams are small, usually one partner and two consultants, and we take on no more than nine clients at a time.

Practice · Mumbai and Chennai

Succession & governance

For promoter families moving from one decision-maker to many. We work with the family first and the board second, because that is the order in which the problems arrive.

What we are asked

  • Who runs the company after my father steps back?
  • How do we buy out a cousin who wants to leave without straining the balance sheet?
  • Do we need independent directors before the law says so?

What we do

  • Family constitution and council charter
  • Shareholder agreements with exit and valuation clauses
  • Board composition and independent director search
  • CEO succession, family or professional
  • Holding company and family office structure, with tax counsel

What you have at the end

  • A signed constitution and a council that meets without us
  • A 24-month board calendar with committee charters
  • A named successor and a dated hand-over plan
Typical length 9–14 monthsLead partner Anjali KaveriRead our succession notes →

Practice · Mumbai

Growth strategy

For companies that lead in their region and need to decide where the next ₹500 crore comes from. We test every option against the distributor network you already have.

What we are asked

  • We lead in three states. Do we go national or go deeper?
  • Is the adjacent category worth more than the export market?
  • Which acquisition targets are actually for sale?

What we do

  • Category sizing from primary research in tier-2 and tier-3 towns
  • Channel and distributor economics, state by state
  • Export entry for the Gulf, East Africa and the US
  • Acquisition screens and promoter-to-promoter introductions

What you have at the end

  • Three ranked moves, each with a payback in ₹ crore
  • A pilot designed for one state or one category
  • A three-year plan the board can test quarterly
Typical length 12–20 weeksLead partners Farhan Contractor, Siddharth MenonRead our growth notes →

Practice · Mumbai

PE & IPO readiness

For promoter-run companies preparing for a fund, a strategic buyer or a listing. We start eighteen months before anyone opens a data room, which is when the fixes are still cheap.

What we are asked

  • What will a fund find in diligence that we have not seen?
  • SME platform or main board?
  • How do we unwind related-party transactions without a family row?

What we do

  • Pre-diligence across finance, legal and tax
  • Ind AS restatement, coordinated with your auditors
  • Group restructuring and related-party clean-up
  • Equity story, business plan and data room
  • Banker and fund selection, term-sheet review

What you have at the end

  • A data room ready in 16 weeks
  • Three years of restated financials
  • A board and committees that meet SEBI LODR
  • A shortlist of six to eight investors who fit
Typical length 6–18 monthsLead partner Vikram RaoRead our capital notes →

Practice · Chennai and Mumbai

Operations & margin

For companies whose revenue grew and whose profit did not. We measure the work in crore of cash released, tracked weekly with your finance team.

What we are asked

  • Revenue grew 30% and profit did not move. Where did it go?
  • How many SKUs do we actually need?
  • Why are receivables at 110 days?

What we do

  • SKU and price-pack rationalisation
  • Procurement and vendor consolidation
  • Working capital: receivables, inventory, payables
  • Plant OEE and line balancing
  • A monthly MIS the promoter actually reads

What you have at the end

  • Cash released in ₹ crore, tracked weekly
  • A month-by-month margin bridge
  • A named owner for every line of the plan
Typical length 6–9 monthsLead partner Meera IyengarRead our operations notes →

Practice · Chennai

GCC set-up for foreign firms entering India

For European, Japanese and American companies opening a global capability centre. We handle the decisions head office cannot make from a distance, with legal and tax partners for the filings.

What we are asked

  • Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad or Bengaluru?
  • Our own entity from day one, or build-operate-transfer?
  • How do we hire the first fifty without a recruiter fee on each?

What we do

  • City and site selection with talent supply data
  • Entity set-up, FEMA, transfer pricing and STPI or SEZ registration
  • Centre head and first-line manager search
  • Compensation benchmarks and a first-100 hiring plan
  • A charter, KPIs and cost allocation agreed with the parent

What you have at the end

  • An operating centre in six to nine months
  • The first 120 people hired and onboarded
  • Cost per FTE reported against plan, monthly
Typical length 12–18 monthsLead partner Lakshmi SundaramRead our GCC notes →
Two consultants reviewing papers at a long table in a high-ceilinged Chennai office
The Chennai office on Khader Nawaz Khan Road, where the GCC and operations teams sit.Chennai 600 006

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