Making Family-Owned Businesses More Agile and Preparing for the Opportunities Ahead

Haanee is a Partner in the Corporate & Commercial Department. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. Haanee’s primary area of practice is Corporate & Commercial law and a niche focus in the Aviation industry. He has substantial experience in both Corporate M&A transactions and Aviation Finance & Regulatory work. In his capacity as a Corporate lawyer, he has been involved in a range of private equity matters, mergers and acquisitions cutting across a range of specialist sectors including healthcare, communications, aviation and banking. In his capacity as an Aviation lawyer, he has advised airlines, leasing companies and lenders on an array of matters and has regularly featured as a speaker at various key aviation events.

Dipesh is the Managing Partner at Grant Thornton Kenya. He is a qualified accountant and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya and Uganda (CPA) and a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) with 24 years of experience in audit, tax and advisory. Dipesh is involved in setting policies and long term strategies of the organisation and also responsible for overall management of operations and business development of the firm. Dipesh leads the Partner Board whose mandate is driving growth of the business through implementing Grant Thornton’s international strategy in Kenya. He is also in charge of risk management and quality. Dipesh has a widespread experience in professional services within the firm, he has been involved in Recoveries and Reorganisation as well as Feasibility Studies. He has also been involved in a key feasibility assignment for a large cement manufacturer in Tanzania.

Mr. Harshil Kotecha, is the Director – Projects for Pabari Group of Companies. The Group is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with commercial interests in the following sectors i.e. s FMCG, General Trading, Sugar Manufacturing, Renewable Power Production, Fresh Produce, IT, Real Estate, Hospitality, and Education. The Group has businesses spread across several countries i.e. Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, India, Dubai, UK and Australia. Harshil is a Sheffield University graduate where he pursued his undergraduate degree and masters in Oracle IT and Management. He has reputed professional experience garnered over the last 15 years majorly in business development, business turnaround and strategic deployment of resources. Being in a leadership and strategic role for the majority of his career, he has set up businesses from scratch and revived the fortunes of others.

Sailesh joined JTC in 2018 with its acquisition of Minerva, where he had worked since 2001, based in its Jersey office. He has wide-ranging experience of building client and professional relationships, and developing business across Africa and Europe. As a trusted advisor, Sailesh specialises in guiding successful families in their succession and private client strategies, also assisting corporate entities, impact investors and development finance institutions with aspects of their cross-border structuring. Sailesh has over 30 years’ experience working in fiduciary and banking settings. Most of his broad experience has been connected to large private families and corporates with links to Africa, where he has both lived and worked and in which he still travels extensively.

Grace is a Partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department of the firm. She is a qualified Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. She also holds qualifications as Certified Public Secretary (CPS) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Grace obtained her LLB (Hons.) from the University of Nairobi in 2008 and was admitted as an Advocate of Kenya in 2011. She joined the firm in 2014. Grace’s main areas of practice are Civil and Commercial litigation in Employment Law, Environmental Law and Debt recovery. Grace represents clients in all dispute resolution tribunals including the Court of Appeal, High Court and various quasi-judicial tribunals.

Lynette is the Associate Director of People & Culture at Grant Thornton. She is a strategic and innovative People & Culture Leader who translates business vision into HR initiatives that improve performance, profitability, growth, and employee engagement. Lynette has over 10 years experience as both a HR Generalist and HR Consultant. She is an empowering leader who supports companies and top executives with a unique perspective and appreciation that human capital is every organizations' greatest asset. She has demonstrated experience in salary and benefits surveys, job analysis, employee engagement survey, policy development, performance management, HR Audit, organization structure design , job evaluation, recruitment and selection. Lynette is a genuine influencer who thrives on tough challenges and translates visions and strategies into actionable value-added goals.