Kunal Bahl
About Kunal Bahl
Kunal Bahl, age 41, is an independent director of Investcorp AI Acquisition Corp (IVCA) and a director nominee; he has served on the Board since May 2022 . He is the CEO and Co‑founder of Snapdeal.com and an active early‑stage investor through Titan Capital, with investments across consumer internet, fintech, D2C brands, AI and deep‑tech; he holds an engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a business degree from The Wharton School’s Management & Technology program . He serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Piramal Enterprises Limited, is on the Board of Governors of ICRIER (since 2015), is on the NASSCOM Executive Committee (since 2019), is the current Chairman of the CII National Committee, and is a member of the National Startup Advisory Council . The Board has determined Mr. Bahl is independent under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snapdeal.com | CEO & Co‑founder | Not disclosed | Grew India’s value e‑commerce marketplace; raised capital from global investors |
| Titan Capital | Early‑stage investor | Not disclosed | Invested in 150+ technology companies across India, US, SE Asia |
| Deloitte Consulting | Professional role (prior) | Not disclosed | Prior experience in consulting (U.S.) |
| Microsoft | Professional role (prior) | Not disclosed | Prior experience in technology (U.S.) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Since | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piramal Enterprises Limited | Independent Director | Not disclosed | Publicly listed India pharma and financial services conglomerate |
| ICRIER | Board of Governors | 2015 | Leading economic think‑tank; governance role |
| NASSCOM | Executive Committee | 2019 | Industry body; executive committee member |
| CII National Committee | Chairman | Current | National industry committee chair |
| National Startup Advisory Council | Member | Not disclosed | Government‑constituted group advising on startup ecosystem |
Board Governance
- Committee leadership: Chair, Compensation Committee; members include Mr. Bahl, Ms. Asokan and Mr. Singh; charter covers CEO pay goals and evaluation, officer compensation plans, incentive/equity plan administration, perquisites approvals, and producing the proxy compensation report .
- Committee leadership: Chair, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee; members include Mr. Bahl, Ms. Asokan and Mr. Singh; charter covers director candidate screening, governance guidelines, annual Board/committee self‑evaluation coordination, and ongoing governance reviews .
- Audit Committee: Mr. Bahl is not on the Audit Committee; members are Mr. Vanvari, Ms. Asokan and Mr. Singh (chair); Mr. Singh is designated an “audit committee financial expert” .
- Independence: The Board determined that Mr. Bahl is independent under SEC/Nasdaq rules; IVCA has four independent directors (Bahl, Singh, Vanvari, Asokan) .
- Ethics and trading policies: IVCA adopted a Code of Ethics and prohibits directors and certain employees from hedging transactions (options, warrants, puts, calls, short sales) in company securities .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Terms | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (non‑employee directors) | $0 pre‑business combination | “None of our officers or directors have received or, prior to our initial business combination, will receive any cash compensation” |
| Meeting fees | $0 | No cash fees disclosed pre‑business combination |
| Committee chair/member fees | $0 | No cash fees disclosed pre‑business combination |
| Reimbursements | Out‑of‑pocket expenses reimbursed; Sponsor reimbursed $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial/admin services | Audit Committee reviews payments quarterly; office/admin reimbursement is to the Sponsor, not director‑specific |
Performance Compensation
| Metric/Instrument | Terms | Vesting/Triggers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance metrics tied to director pay | Not applicable pre‑business combination | Not applicable | No director performance‑based compensation disclosed pre‑business combination |
| Equity awards (directors) | None disclosed pre‑business combination | Not applicable | Post‑combination, certain directors may receive additional compensation in the form of equity interests of the Sponsor; amounts not determinable at this time |
| Hedging/pledging policy | Hedging prohibited; short sales prohibited | Ongoing | Insider trading policy prohibits hedging and short selling by directors |
| Change‑of‑control / severance / clawback | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | No director‑specific provisions disclosed in proxy |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Organization | Role | Committee Roles | Potential Interlock/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piramal Enterprises Limited | Independent Director | Not disclosed | Public company role in India; no IVCA transactional interlock disclosed |
| ICRIER | Board of Governors | Not disclosed | External policy/think‑tank governance |
| NASSCOM | Executive Committee | Not disclosed | Industry body role |
| CII National Committee | Chairman | Not disclosed | National industry committee leadership |
| National Startup Advisory Council | Member | Not disclosed | Government advisory role |
- SPAC‑specific director interests: IVCA notes that its Sponsor, directors and officers may have interests in proposals different from public shareholders, including direct or indirect ownership of founder shares and warrants, advances that may not be repaid upon winding up, and potential future compensatory arrangements; this can present alignment risks typical of SPACs .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Technology and entrepreneurship: CEO/Co‑founder of a leading Indian e‑commerce marketplace; extensive tech industry experience .
- Investment acumen: Early‑stage investor across consumer internet, fintech, D2C, AI and deep‑tech with 150+ investments through Titan Capital .
- Governance experience: Independent director of a large Indian public company (Piramal Enterprises) and leadership roles in national industry bodies (ICRIER, NASSCOM, CII) .
- Education: Engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and business degree from Wharton’s M&T program .
- Awards/recognition: EY Entrepreneur of the Year (Startup, 2014), Fortune Global 40 under 40 (2014), ET Entrepreneur of the Year (2015), Joseph Wharton Young Leadership (2018), ET Comeback Award (2019) .
Equity Ownership
| As‑of Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 26, 2024 | Not attributed to Mr. Bahl in IVCA beneficial ownership table | Not applicable | Beneficial ownership table listed Sponsor and 5% holders; individual director entries (including Kunal Bahl) showed no share counts |
| September 27, 2024 | Not attributed to Mr. Bahl in IVCA beneficial ownership table | Not applicable | Table listed Sponsor and 5% holders; directors (including Kunal Bahl) not assigned share counts |
- Policy signals: Directors are prohibited from hedging or short selling IVCA securities, supporting alignment with shareholder interests .
Governance Assessment
- Positives: Independent status; chairs both Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees, indicating high engagement in pay oversight, board effectiveness, and governance framework; brings deep technology and investment experience relevant to IVCA’s AI and tech focus .
- Risks/RED FLAGS: SPAC structure disclosures note director/sponsor interests (founder shares/warrants and potential future compensation post‑combination), which can create incentives misaligned with public shareholders during deal evaluation; clarity on individual founder share holdings for Mr. Bahl is not provided in the beneficial ownership tables, warranting monitoring post‑combination .
- Engagement/attendance: The proxy describes committee responsibilities and board processes (e.g., annual self‑evaluations) but does not disclose individual director meeting attendance rates; no attendance data for Mr. Bahl was found in the cited proxy materials .