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MINAL VAZIRANI
Co-Founder and President
Minal founded Saffronart in 2000, and has been instrumental in growing its operations from startup to its current position. She has provided leadership in every area of the company, ranging from strategy and business development to technology and finance. She was instrumental in establishing and expanding Saffronart's presence in Mumbai, New York and London, and has driven the company's foray into new businesses, including jewellery, textiles and other collectibles. In addition, Minal has curated, planned and organised exhibitions of Indian art in India and internationally.
Minal is a regular panelist and guest speaker at Indian contemporary art events as an industry expert, and has served several industry organisations. She has been on the board of advisors to the Friends of Sir JJ School of Art Trust and Time Out magazine India, and has co-chaired the FICCI committee on Arts and Business. Minal has been featured in Art + Auction magazine's global power issue, and been a fellow at the Aspen Institute's India leadership programme. She was also invited to contribute to the 2009 Art Asia Pacific Almanac to represent the trajectory of Indian art over the year. In 2005, Minal led a review of Saffronart’s business when the Harvard Business School published a case study on the company. It continues to be studied by MBA students across business schools.
Prior to founding Saffronart, Minal was a management consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton in Mumbai where she worked across several industries in the US, South East Asia and India. Minal received her MBA from INSEAD in France, where she received the Sasakawa Fellowship, and a BS in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering with a minor in Art History and Indian History from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Minal has been an active collector of Indian contemporary art over the last twenty years.
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DINESH VAZIRANI
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dinesh joined Minal in developing Saffronart in 2000, after taking a sabbatical from his family businesses, WMI cranes and WMI power. Since then, he has led the organisation in providing access and information to seasoned collectors, institutions and a new community of art enthusiasts. Saffronart has become a leading global corporation committed to the arts and a proponent of Indian art internationally by developing a series of critically-acclaimed exhibitions, events and auctions, that provide buyers with a transparent, professional environment in which to transact. Dinesh's alma mater, the Harvard Business School, published a case study on the company that continues to be studied by MBA students there today.
Dinesh completed his Bachelor's degree in Fine Art and his Master's in Industrial Engineering, both at Stanford University. In 1994, he received an MBA degree with Honours from the Harvard Business School and returned to India to participate in his family businesses, WMI cranes and WMI power. He was instrumental in growing these businesses and leading M&A efforts with WMI's German partners.
Dinesh has held several leadership positions in the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), where he has led award-winning positions, and serves on the boards of several companies in India. He has been collecting and promoting Indian art for the last twenty years, and is a frequent speaker and leading industry expert.
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CLIENT RELATIONS TEAM
MUMBAI
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PUNYA NAGPAL
Senior Vice President, Client Relations
Punya Nagpal is the global head of client relations at Saffronart, and has been with the company since its inception in 2000. During her tenure, she has undertaken several roles, from business development and marketing to event management and operations. Specialising in valuating, appraising and advising on modern and contemporary Indian art, she has also been an auctioneer since 2013. Her first solo auction in 2019 was a white glove sale and she has conducted live, online and charity auctions with the government of India. Punya manages auctions at Saffronart and on StoryLTD, and annually leads the company’s two flagship auctions in March and September. In 2012, she introduced the concept of Absolute Auctions on the platform, designed to make Indian art more accessible to young collectors. Punya has a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a master's degree in Applied Operations Research from Delhi University.
Other members of our client relations team in India include Dhanashree Waikar, Shaheen Virani, Aashish Dubey, Deepika Shah and Amit Kapoor
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NEW YORK
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ANU NANAVATI
Vice President, International
Anu Nanavati is a specialist in modern and contemporary Indian art and jewellery. In 2004, she established Saffronart's New York office, and has headed it since. Anu has led Saffronart's expansion and consolidation in the United States, and has been instrumental in developing Saffronart's jewellery auctions, launched in 2008. Prior to this, Anu was the production manager for Mimi So, Inc., a designer of fine jewellery. She worked as a jewellery designer for a private label in Mumbai from 1990 – 1991. Anu has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Richmond College, UK, where she majored in Marketing with a minor in English Literature, as well as a certification from the Gemological Institute of America.
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LONDON
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ABHA HOUSEGO
Senior Vice President, International
Abha Housego is the Head of Saffronart in the UK. She joined the company in 2007 and was responsible for opening their gallery in London in 2008 and expanding their presence in Europe and the Middle East. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary Indian art and has spearheaded many of Saffronart's most successful sales including the flagship annual Summer Online Auction.
Abha combines her specialist roles with business development. Besides authoring numerous articles on Indian art, she has sat on a variety of panels revolving around Indian art and the art market. She has also pioneered the inclusion of art from Pakistan and other South Asian countries in the Saffronart auction calendar.
Prior to joining Saffronart, Abha worked at the Prints, Drawings and Photographs section of the British Library and at Indar Pasricha Fine Art Gallery, London, where she was responsible for launching their contemporary Indian art programme. Abha has a B.A. (Hons.) in History from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, and a Master's degree in History of Art from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
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