MUMBAI: Howden’s latest appointment is anything but business as usual, it’s business with intent. The global insurance and reinsurance broking giant has announced Mandira Gupta as its new managing director & head of M&A, IMEA, placing a seasoned dealmaker at the helm of its transactional risk and private equity solutions playbook.
Based out of Mumbai, Mandira joins at a time when India’s mergers and acquisitions landscape is on a blistering upswing. According to Grant Thornton Bharat, the first quarter of 2025 saw deals worth 5.3 billion dollars marking a 204 per cent jump in value and a 25 per cent rise in volume over Q1 last year. It’s a deal party, and Howden just handed the aux to one of the sharpest minds in the room.
Mandira’s reputation precedes her. She’s credited with building India’s Transaction Risk (TR) insurance practice from the ground up, and has over 20 years of experience across insurance broking and investment banking. Prior to this, she held senior leadership at Marsh India, where she steered the PEMA practice in India and led the TR vertical across India, the Middle East, and Africa.
From headline-grabbing mega deals to needle-threading cross-border transactions, Mandira’s portfolio is stacked with complexity, scale, and innovation making her a natural fit to drive Howden’s ambitions across the IMEA region.
IMEA managing director & head of M&A Mandira Gupta said, “I am delighted to join Howden, and look forward to contributing to its growth and business objectives. My main emphasis will be on creating customized solutions for high-profile transactions, leveraging my long-standing relationships within the industry.”
Howden India CEO & MD Amit Agarwal added, “We are proud to welcome Mandira to our team. Her appointment strengthens Howden India’s dynamic growth and firm dedication to enhancing its expertise in the PE and M&A sectors, as we continue to expand our capabilities and deliver exceptional value to our clients.”
With India fast becoming one of the most dynamic M&A markets in the world, and deal tables growing longer by the day, Howden’s latest hire isn’t just timely, it’s tactical. And with Mandira Gupta leading the charge, the message is clear: big deals need bigger vision and even sharper minds.
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