Team size: Seven

What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

Over the past year, our Legal & Compliance team has been deeply engaged in a range of high-impact and transformative projects both within India and in collaboration with our global colleagues across Daimler Truck.

One of our major focus areas has been supporting Daimler Truck’s strategic portfolio realignment in Asia, including a proposed India-based joint venture in the defence and specialty vehicle segment. These are complex, multi-jurisdictional projects that involve negotiating governance structures, export control safeguards, and IP ownership frameworks, while ensuring compliance with both Indian regulations and Daimler Truck’s global reputation board guardrails.

On the corporate side, we’ve led several board-level initiatives including capital restructuring, dematerialisation of shares, and onboarding of new directors to the DICV Board ensuring full compliance with the Companies Act and evolving MCA norms. These projects demanded close coordination across HQ, statutory authorities, and external advisors to align governance processes with our global standards.

We’ve also made strong progress in streamlining litigation management, particularly in cases involving complex contractual disputes and logistics claims. A few matters have reached the Supreme Court, where we’re working with some of India’s leading senior counsels to establish strong jurisdictional and contractual precedents that could have wider industry relevance.

With India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act now in force, our team has launched a comprehensive DPDPA Gap Assessment across business functions. This involves mapping data flows, updating consent frameworks, and building awareness so that compliance is embedded early in our digital transformation journey.

We’ve also played a key role in redefining DICV’s CSR and ESG governance model from establishing static health clinics for truckers to partnering with academic and social incubation institutions. These programs reflect our commitment to driving social impact through structured governance and cross-functional accountability.

Across all these areas, what I’m most proud of is how the team has evolved from being a support function to a strategic partner helping the business navigate regulatory complexity, build resilience, and strengthen trust with our stakeholders.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

The real test of a Legal function’s value often comes during periods of instability or crisis. Whether it’s a regulatory change, a supply chain disruption, a litigation challenge, or a reputational event, how we respond determines the organisation’s credibility and resilience. My approach has always been rooted in three principles: calm, clarity, and coordination.

First, calm – crises can generate noise, speculation, and pressure. The legal team’s job is to be the steady hand. We focus on facts, not assumptions, and ensure that leadership decisions are guided by verified information and risk analysis rather than emotion or urgency.

Second, clarity — during uncertain times, ambiguity is the enemy. We map the legal landscape quickl as to what are our immediate obligations, what’s negotiable, and where do we have leverage? This involves assessing contractual, regulatory, and reputational exposure so that management has a clear picture of risk versus response options.

And third, coordination — resilience isn’t built in isolation. We work closely with cross-functional teams — finance, operations, communications, HR to align actions and messaging. Legal has a unique vantage point that connects compliance, ethics, and reputation, and in a crisis that integrator role becomes vital.

At DICV, we’ve institutionalized this approach through risk playbooks, scenario-based simulations, and clear escalation protocols so that even under stress, decisions are structured and defensible. We also ensure early engagement with stakeholders i.e., regulators, partners, and employees because transparency builds trust faster than any post-event explanation can.

Ultimately, resilience is not about avoiding disruption, it’s about absorbing shock and adapting faster than the environment changes. The Legal & Compliance team’s role is to make sure the company not only survives uncertainty, but emerges stronger, with its integrity intact.

Given the current geopolitical shifts and growing uncertainties around international free trade, has your company’s risk profile evolved, and are you taking measures to address these challenges?

Yes, absolutely. Our risk profile has evolved, and I’d say quite significantly over the last few years. The geopolitical and trade environment today is far more unpredictable than it used to be. Whether it’s supply chain disruptions, sanctions regimes, export control sensitivities, or shifting data and ESG regulations, the range of factors that can influence a company like ours has expanded dramatically.

At DICV, we’ve moved from a mindset of compliance as control to compliance as foresight. We now look at risk in a much more integrated way, not just what’s happening within India, but how global developments could ripple through our ecosystem.

For instance, we work very closely with our global counterparts in Daimler Truck on geopolitical and reputational risk assessments, ensuring that any business decision we make locally is aligned with our global guardrails. We’ve also strengthened our due diligence processes particularly for cross-border engagements and partnerships to stay ahead of potential regulatory or reputational exposures.

Another big shift is how we approach regulatory agility. India itself is evolving fast, from data protection laws to ESG reporting and sustainability mandates and we see that as both a challenge and an opportunity. Our approach has been to embed compliance intelligence directly into the way business teams plan and operate, so it’s not a back-end check but a built-in capability.

And finally, what’s changed most is culture. Risk awareness today sits much closer to the front line, it’s part of business conversations, not just a Legal & Compliance discussion. That’s really the foundation of resilience.

So yes, the world around us has become more complex but I think our response has been to become more connected, proactive, and forward-looking in how we manage it.

How can general counsel foster a corporate culture that supports ESG principles and compliance across all levels of the organisation?

I think the role of the General Counsel has evolved quite a bit in this space. It’s no longer just about ensuring legal compliance or managing risks; it’s about shaping the organization’s moral compass. ESG and compliance are really two sides of the same coin, both are about doing the right thing, consistently and transparently.

In my view, the starting point is tone from the top. If leadership genuinely believes that ethics and sustainability are value drivers, not cost centers, that conviction naturally permeates the organisation. As GC, I see myself as a bridge translating those principles into systems, behaviours, and everyday decisions that people can relate to.

Second, you need to make ESG and compliance relatable. It can’t just live in policies and training modules.

For example, at DICV, we link ESG and compliance to our business realities from supply-chain due diligence and responsible sourcing to CSR projects on education and environment, to the way we measure integrity in our leadership behaviours. When people see the practical connection between their role and the company’s impact, engagement becomes real.

Third, it’s about empowering the middle layer. Compliance and ESG can’t succeed as “head office” initiatives, they have to be co-owned by managers, engineers, procurement leads, and plant teams. So, we invest a lot in cross-functional dialogues, compliance champions, and open forums where employees can raise questions and even challenge decisions.

And finally, you have to lead by example. Whether it’s how contracts are negotiated, how suppliers are evaluated, or how we respond when things go wrong. People watch how the Legal & Compliance function behaves. Credibility is built not by slogans, but by consistency.

So, to me, fostering a culture around ESG and compliance is not about policing behaviour, it’s about inspiring trust and building a shared belief that integrity and sustainability are competitive advantages. When that belief becomes part of the organisation’s DNA, you don’t have to enforce culture, it lives and breathes on its own.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

At DICV, our starting point is simple, we try to keep as much legal and compliance work as possible within the organisation, because that’s where contextual understanding, speed, and alignment with business priorities are the strongest. The in-house team knows the culture, the decision logic, and the sensitivities that an external counsel may take time to build.That said, we rely on external counsel strategically, not reactively. There are a few key factors that guide that choice.

Complexity and specialisation: if the matter involves areas that demand deep technical or niche expertise say, Court litigation, cross-border M&A, export control, or antitrust — we engage external experts who bring that depth and credibility.

Bandwidth and business criticality: when timelines are intense or the stakes are particularly high, external firms become an extension of our team, helping us scale without compromising quality.

Jurisdictional or regulatory interface: for issues involving multiple jurisdictions or matters where local filings and regulatory appearances are required, we depend on local counsel to ensure procedural compliance and credibility with authorities.

As for evaluating their performance, we’re very clear, it’s not just about technical accuracy. We assess them on various criteria. Firstly, responsiveness and pragmatism: how quickly and constructively they engage with the business challenge. Commercial understanding is key, so we assess whether their advice is solution-oriented or purely legalistic. Another elements is consistency and integrity: we value partners who are transparent on billing, clear in communication, and aligned with our Daimler Truck Code of Conduct and ethical expectations.Value creation is crucial – ultimately, the best counsel help us prevent disputes, not just fight them. Over time, we’ve built long-term relationships with firms that share our philosophy, that legal advice must enable business decisions while protecting the company’s reputation. So, for me, it’s less about “outsourcing work” and more about co-creating trust and competence wherever we need it most.