Goldman Sachs' India-origin fund manager one of UK's top 20

LONDON: Likes of Lakshmi Mittal and Arun Sarin are not the only people of India origin making it big in the British business world a senior executive with global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs, Sanjay Patel, has been named among the UK's 20 most powerful fund managers.

Patel has been ranked 19th in the list of top 100 people in the hedge funds, private equity and fund management industry, compiled by the Daily Telegraph here.

Currently in his second spell at Goldman Sachs, after leaving it for an alternative asset management fund house GSC Partners, Patel is co-head of Goldman Sachs' European PE and Indian capital equity businesses.

Patel returned to Goldman Sachs in February 2006. He and was appointed alongside Hughes Lepic to run the European PE business after its former Chairman Richard Sharp departed in November 2006, the daily said.

The list has been topped by Damon Buffini, Chairman of Permira, one of the country's top PE groups.

The Telegraph is highlighting UK's 1,000 most powerful in business and has divided it into 10 sectors. Lists of top 100 people from each sector is being published, in a span of two weeks.

So far, lists have been published for retail and food industries, energy and utilities, banking and insurance, media and entertainment, technology and telecoms, fund management and property, while those for the industry, pharma and healthcare and public sector would be released later.

Last week, British mobile giant Vodafone's India-born CEO Arun Sarin was named at the top in the list of most powerful businesspersons for the technology and telecom industry.

Besides, Nikesh Arora, internet search giant Google's Indian-origin President for Europe, Mid-East and Africa, was ranked fourth in the same list.

The tech and telecom list also included at least two other persons of Indian origin BT Group's Group Finance Director Hanif Lalani, ranked 22, and Colt Telecom CEO Rakesh Bhasin at 75th position.

Also, Anshu Jain has been named UK's third most powerful person in the banking and insurance sector. An economics graduate from Sri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University, Jain heads German banking giant Deutsche Bank's global markets division.

Noting he does not even speak German, the daily said India-born Jain "has helped transform Deutsche Bank into a bond market powerhouse, generating more revenue from trading fixed income than any competitor except Goldman Sachs."

The list of 100 most powerful bankers also included Viswas Raghvan, investment banking major JPMorgan's head of capital markets at 49th rank.

Terming Vodafone's Sarin as most powerful in tech and telecom sector, it said, "Indian-born Sarin survived a boardroom rumpus and a slew of shareholder dissent in 2006, but he made 2007 his year."

"Vodafone's move into India in February 2007, is starting to look like a masterstroke as rivals seek to emulate Sarin's emerging markets strategy to offset slowing growth in western Europe," it noted about the 53-year old telecom titan.

About Google's 40-year old Arora, the daily stated, "he is one of the US firm's most senior executives outside Silicon valley and is responsible for Google's business across 28 offices with a team of more than 2,500 people.
"There is no objective way to compile such a broad-based list, so it is unashamedly subjective. This is not a rich list, nor one confined to British nationals, though in the majority of cases those on it spend most of their time in the UK," the daily said.