Price Waterhouse (PW) India has set up an advisory board and has named former cabinet secretary, Naresh Chandra as its chairman. Chandra, former cabinet secretary to the government of India, has also served as an ambassador to the USA. The advisory board will induct the opinions and views of the external shareholders and hence enable PW to reflect those matters in its decision making.
The advisory board is not a statutory body and will not have any executive powers but will advise PW so that it can meet the expectations of its external stakeholders, it said in a statement. The advice provided by the Advisory Board will focus on quality, business strategy, governance & ethics and leadership development & mentoring.
The advisory board, which is expected to hold its first meeting soon, will also comprise of three members and a senior representative from a PwC network firm outside India. While V.K. Shunglu and B.B. Tandon have been named as two of the members of the Advisory Board, the third member is yet to be announced.
V.K. Shunglu is a former comptroller and auditor general of India, India’s apex Constitutional audit authority. Shunglu has also held the position of chairman of the United Nations Board of Auditors General and was a member of the UN Panel of External Auditors.
B.B. Tandon is a former chief election commissioner. He has also been the secretary of the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Personnel. He was the additional secretary heading the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and was also a member of the SEBI board.
Gautam Banerjee, the senior partner of PwC’s Singapore firm will also join the Advisory Board to provide a perspective from outside India. Banerjee was a member of the PwC Network’s Global Leadership Team and is currently a nominated member of the Singapore Parliament.