India's Embassy REIT names Ritwik Bhattacharjee as interim CEO after regulatory action
07/11/2024 15:04
Nov 7 (Reuters) - Embassy Office Parks EMBA.NS ,
India's largest real estate investment trust (REIT), on Thursday
named Ritwik Bhattacharjee as interim CEO with immediate effect,
days after the country's markets regulator directed to suspend
its former chief.
On Tuesday, the trust announced that its then CEO Aravind
Maiya would step down, following the Securities and Exchange
Board of India's (SEBI) decision that he was unfit for the role.
The regulator had also asked Embassy to appoint an interim
CEO.
SEBI's action followed a National Financial Reporting
Authority (NFRA) order in August, which investigated the
statutory auditors of Coffee Day Enterprises, where Maiya was an
engagement partner, for alleged financial irregularities at the
company in 2018-19.
The NFRA, a quasi-regulator overseeing the conduct of
auditors, said it found serious lapses on the part of the
auditor, Maiya and others.
Bhattacharjee has been associated with the REIT since its
listing, and last held the position of Chief Investment Officer
at Embassy. Before joining the REIT, he spent over 12 years as
an investment banker at firms such as Nomura, Citi, UBS and
JPMorgan.
Embassy REIT is India's first publicly listed REIT and owns
and operates a 51.1-million-square-foot portfolio.
(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay
Kishore)
((Nishit.Navin@thomsonreuters.com;))