Ashwani Dhanawata: Leader, Motivator, And Strategist With The Ability To Forge Strategic Alliances
Ashwani Dhanawat
CIO
Beyond investment and fund management, Ashwani is an expert in business development, due diligence, corporate laws and compliance, systems improvements, risk management, project management, capital transactions, growth strategies, negotiations, market research & analysis, and quality assurance. Featuring him as one of the most influential Investment Officers, CEOInsights had an exclusive conversation with him.
Take us through your educational and professional background
I have completed my graduation from Rajasthan University, a Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and also a Certified Treasury Manager.
Out of 20 plus years of professional
experience, I have been a Chief Investment Officer for 14+ years. As a CIO, I am capable of analyzing all areas of investment operations, identifying potential opportunities, and over-seeing due diligence(DD) processes. In the rewarding journey so far, I could also gain proficiency in Corporate Secretarial & regulatory compliance functions and corporate legal matters.
Leveraging my skills & potential, I could acquire international exposure by restructuring a nonlife insurance business in the Philippines while managing its investment assets.
Define Shriram General Insurance as an organization and its current position in the industry
Shriram General Insurance is an IRDAI licensed Non-life insurer that started its commercial operations in July 2008. Jaipur based SGI is one of the most profitable non-life insurers, generating profits from the first full year of its operations. It offers general insurance products ranging from Motor, Travel, Home, and Personal accidents in the retail space to customized products such as fire, engineering, and marine insurance for corporate customers. It earns 95% of its revenue from Motor insurance.
Could you tell us about the unique services that are provided by Shriram General Insurance that make it stand out from the rest in the market?
Shriram General Insurance's focus is to provide quality services to the retail customer, especially in the Motor Segment. SGI's focus is on costs and settling claims aggressively. SGI never sacrifices the bottom line for topline growth. A conservative investment approach has always enabled us to be among the top three performers in investment ever since we started our operations.
What has been the success mantra
Leveraging my skills & potential, I could acquire international exposure by restructuring a nonlife insurance business in the Philippines while managing its investment assets.
Define Shriram General Insurance as an organization and its current position in the industry
Shriram General Insurance is an IRDAI licensed Non-life insurer that started its commercial operations in July 2008. Jaipur based SGI is one of the most profitable non-life insurers, generating profits from the first full year of its operations. It offers general insurance products ranging from Motor, Travel, Home, and Personal accidents in the retail space to customized products such as fire, engineering, and marine insurance for corporate customers. It earns 95% of its revenue from Motor insurance.
Could you tell us about the unique services that are provided by Shriram General Insurance that make it stand out from the rest in the market?
Shriram General Insurance's focus is to provide quality services to the retail customer, especially in the Motor Segment. SGI's focus is on costs and settling claims aggressively. SGI never sacrifices the bottom line for topline growth. A conservative investment approach has always enabled us to be among the top three performers in investment ever since we started our operations.
What has been the success mantra
that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
The success mantra that constantly helped us to arrive at positive outcomes is the confidence and faith reposed on us by the management, no pressure for generating higher returns by taking higher risks. The result of the same was that SGI has NIL NPA (Non Performing Assets) so far, and none of its investments has either defaulted or delayed in paying its dues on time.
Being the CIO, how do you plan to apply your exceptional understanding of this domain to SGI and take it to the next level?
I am with SGI right from its inception and handled the investment portfolio of the Company right from its inception. Thirteen years back when the journey with SGI started, the total investment assets were around Rs. 90 Cr., which has grown to Rs. 10,828 Cr. as of 31 March 2022. One of the best performing funds in the general insurance industry with an average gross yield of 9.25 percent during the past 14 years and NIL NPA.
FY 21-22 has been another good year for SGI wherein Profit After Tax has grown 12 percent to Rs. 663 Cr. from Rs. 592 Cr. in FY 20-21. Incurred claim ratio improved to 72 percent in FY 21-22 from 79 percent in FY 20-21. Investment Income has gone up by 15 percent from Rs. 839 Cr. in FY 20-21 to Rs. 964 Cr. in FY 21-22.
Ashwani Dhanawat, CIO, Shriram General Insurance
The industry veteran with more than 2 decades of experience in finance, investment, corporate secretarial, management, consulting, and entrepre neurship, has played a significant role in the evolution of SGI as a global insurance company from India.
•Favorite Cuisine: Rajasthani Laal Maas
•Favourite Travel Destination: Goa
•Awards & Recognition: Break through strategic treasury award of the year by Kamikaze
Hobbies: Reading
The success mantra that constantly helped us to arrive at positive outcomes is the confidence and faith reposed on us by the management, no pressure for generating higher returns by taking higher risks. The result of the same was that SGI has NIL NPA (Non Performing Assets) so far, and none of its investments has either defaulted or delayed in paying its dues on time.
Being the CIO, how do you plan to apply your exceptional understanding of this domain to SGI and take it to the next level?
I am with SGI right from its inception and handled the investment portfolio of the Company right from its inception. Thirteen years back when the journey with SGI started, the total investment assets were around Rs. 90 Cr., which has grown to Rs. 10,828 Cr. as of 31 March 2022. One of the best performing funds in the general insurance industry with an average gross yield of 9.25 percent during the past 14 years and NIL NPA.
FY 21-22 has been another good year for SGI wherein Profit After Tax has grown 12 percent to Rs. 663 Cr. from Rs. 592 Cr. in FY 20-21. Incurred claim ratio improved to 72 percent in FY 21-22 from 79 percent in FY 20-21. Investment Income has gone up by 15 percent from Rs. 839 Cr. in FY 20-21 to Rs. 964 Cr. in FY 21-22.
Ashwani Dhanawat, CIO, Shriram General Insurance
The industry veteran with more than 2 decades of experience in finance, investment, corporate secretarial, management, consulting, and entrepre neurship, has played a significant role in the evolution of SGI as a global insurance company from India.
•Favorite Cuisine: Rajasthani Laal Maas
•Favourite Travel Destination: Goa
•Awards & Recognition: Break through strategic treasury award of the year by Kamikaze
Hobbies: Reading