Dhruv Pandit – Get to know our VAB member

It is our pleasure to introduce you to our member Dhruv Pandit who joined VAB from Nairobi, Kenya earlier this year. He currently serves as a non-executive director (NED) on the board of directors for the business payment platform Pesawise. He also holds the position of CEO at the real estate development company, Fedha Group, which he has been involved with for 30 years. He also acted as an NED for their board, advising on corporate governance issues for over 10 of their portfolio companies. Dhruv is a YPO member and a partner at the real estate group, African Roots Partners. Feel free to contact him to learn more about his board and NED experience and his plans for his continuing board journey. 

What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?

Having interacted with a few members, I saw the common values of sharing experiences and supporting each other in the NED and Advisory journey. This is exactly what I need in this stage of my business life.

In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?

Sharing their experiences; especially, in cases where things went wrong - even with the best execution team there will be potholes in the road and navigating around a few can save an organisation a lot of money, time and trouble.

What would be your dream company/organisation to work with as a board advisor/NED?

A family business in transition. Family businesses have complexity in terms of many stakeholders. In times of transition, careful thought and communication is needed to balance the everyone’s needs. An experienced outsider can be a great sounding board to give objective perspective.

What book or podcast would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?

I would recommend Radical Candor by Kim Scott, which is a favourite of mine. Awareness of the power of candour from a place of care is extremely powerful.