Obituary of J Curve board member, Mr. Kashi Nath Memani

When I set up my consulting and advisory firm, I went to Mr. Kashi Nath Memani for advice. I expected to hear about clients, fees and strategy. He gave me those too, in time. But the first thing he said was that I should conduct the business with the highest degree of integrity. He said it simply, as if it were the most practical advice available. I have come to think it was.

That was how he worked. He was Chairman and Country Managing Partner of Ernst & Young India from 1996 to 2004, years when liberalization was changing what companies wanted from their advisers. The world noticed him too: he chaired the IMF’s External Audit Committee for 1999–2000, the only Indian to serve on it; chaired the government’s Quality Review Board for auditors; co-chaired the committee that drafted the new Companies Act; and led the PHD Chamber of Commerce, as President, in its centenary year. After retirement he sat on the boards of DLF, HT Media, Emami and J.K. Lakshmi Cement, among others. Those who worked beside him mention something else just as often: he made time for young people and met everyone with humility.

I found that to be true. He gladly accepted my invitation to join the J Curve advisory board. After that, whenever I needed him, he was a phone call away or quick to meet in person. He never made me feel I was imposing.

He was just as generous in matters that had nothing to do with business. Years after his own presidency of the Rotary Club of Delhi Midtown, I was offered the chance to become its youngest president. I was daunted. Uncle Memani encouraged me wholeheartedly. He told me he had always treated service and social work as seriously as his professional duties. I took his advice and served a year. It taught me to manage my time, and to work alongside colleagues far more senior and distinguished than I was. I would not have said yes without him.

Much will be written about what he built. I will remember the person who told me, before anything else, how to build it honestly. We mourn him. I am grateful he was ours for as long as he was.