In his new role, Shishir Baijal will be responsible for the UK and global Knight Frank business
Mumbai: Global property consultancy Knight Frank has appointed Shishir Baijal to its Group Executive Board, the company said in a release. The board oversees Knight Frank’s global network and over-arching strategy. He will be responsible for the UK and global Knight Frank business.
Baijal joins the Board to add international experience and wide-ranging corporate acumen after his 45-year-plus career across a range of sectors including hotels, leisure, and real estate. He joined Knight Frank in 2012, building the team in India to 1,500 professionals in eight cities, servicing over 100 locations in the subcontinent, as the chairman and managing director of the company.
“Our regions are at varied stages of development, and a truly comprehensive view for the company is imperative, given the new era of post-pandemic global business. I view joining the Group Executive Board as an enriching move to create a more global orientation to our overall approach,” commented Baijal.
With a career spanning nearly four and a half decades across Australia, New Zealand, and Seychelles, Baijal has held numerous positions at India’s finest hospitality centres. Besides marque projects with the ITC Welcomgroup, he joined forces with the Inox Group, India’s largest and world’s fifth-largest chain of multiplexes. Later, as founder and managing partner for Everstone Capital Advisors Group (ECAPL), a Mumbai based premier Asset Management Company, Baijal founded India’s first Retail Real Estate Fund as well as set up a Logistics Real Estate Fund.
William Beardmore-Gray, senior partner and group chair, Knight Frank, commented, “With India now the fastest-growing economy in the world, Shishir will give us an invaluable insight into business and real estate dynamics across Asia and other emerging markets, as well as his wider non-real estate expertise.”
Apart from Baijal, Karen Bowes has joined from the consumer banking and payments division of Barclays Bank, in the newly created role of group chief people officer and will also become a proprietary partner at Knight Frank.
