A top executive at Indian conglomerate Tata Sons Group has been confirmed as keynote speaker at next month’s prestigious Gulf Industry Forum in Bahrain.

Praveen Kadle, managing director, Tata Capital, a finance company headquartered in Mumbai, India, will address delegates on the subject of ‘Financing of Industry’ at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on 12 January 2010.

Other financiers on the speakers panel include Saad Al Qahtani, CEO, Arbah Capital, the first Islamic Wealth Management firm in Saudi Arabia, and Nicholas Moy, chairman, Gryphon Investment Bank, an M&A and capital raising adviser to private sector entrepreneurs and companies in emerging markets in Europe and the Middle East.

Tata Capital is a subsidiary of Tata Sons, one of India’s largest industrial conglomerates with more than 350,000 employees globally.

Kadle has been with Tata Group for 16 years, and previously served as chief financial officer, executive director (finance and corporate affairs) and board member of Tata Motors. He was voted ‘Best CFO of the Year 2005’ in India by Business Today magazine and ‘CFO of the Year 2004’ by IMA (formerly Economist Intelligence Unit).

Ahmed Suleiman, managing director, North Star Associates, which is organising Gulf Industry Forum in partnership with Hilal Conferences & Exhibitions (HCE), said: “This is Tata’s first high level visit to Bahrain, which will be used to explore business potential in the Kingdom for both Tata Capital and the Group, as well as among other forum participants.”

Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director, HCE, which is also organising Gulf Industry Fair to run at the BIEC from January 12 to 14, said: “The fair is now established as a major event in the regional business calendar. Tata’s participation brings global brands to the fair, including Jaguar Land Rover Cars, Tetley Tea, Taj Hotels and British Steel.”

The forum will be held under the patronage of Dr Hassan Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Kingdom of Bahrain. – TradeArabia News Service