Dr Akhil Prasad

Dr Akhil Prasad is Director, Country Counsel India and Company Secretary with Boeing India and is based in New Delhi. In past, he has held offices as Head of Legal and Company Secretary with Fidelity Worldwide Investment (2007 to 2013); Director India Legal Affairs & Company Secretary of The Walt Disney Company India (2005 to 2007); as Senior Attorney & Company Secretary of General Motors India (2003 to 2005); and as Assistant General Manager Legal with Electrolux Kelvinator (2000 to 2002). Prior to these assignments, he has also worked with the legal teams in Modicorp Group (including Modi Xerox and Graphtech India from 1995 to 2000). Akhil has about over 27 years of experience as a house Counsel and has worked with legal teams spread across different countries.

Akhil is currently a member of the board of directors of entities in the Boeing group (Boeing India Defense Private Limited and Boeing India Private Limited) and in the past has been on the board of directors of entities within the Fidelity group (Devonshire India Real Estate Holding, Eight Roads Investment Advisors, and FIL Research India). Akhil has worked across various industries in the area of legal, risk and compliance, taxation, regulatory and corporate affairs. He has worked for Steel, Office Automation, White Goods, Computer Hardware, Media & Entertainment, IT/ITES, Private Equity, Mutual Funds and now Aerospace and Defence. His areas of practice include Contracts (including International Contracts) & Litigation, Corporate Laws, Competition laws, Environmental Laws, Intellectual Property Laws, Industrial & Employment Laws, Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services, Private Equity, Risk Management, Oversight and Regulatory Compliance, Media Laws, Mergers Amalgamations & Restructuring, Real Estate / Property Laws, Tax Laws.

Akhil has been nominated among the Included among Top General Counsels in India by Forbes India and Top 100 India In-house Counsel by Business World for 2020, Team Power List 2019 India by Legal 500; GC Power List 2018 India, Team Power List 2017 India by Legal 500, GC Power List 2016 India by Legal 500; 100 Legal Luminaries of India by Lexis Nexis; and among the Finest India In-house Counsels by Indian Corporate Counsel Association. He has also been appointed as a member Editorial Board of Asia Business Law Journal www.vantageasia.com and International In-house Counsel Journal www.iicj.net/editorial-board both of which are international journals. Akhil has been nominated to the Corporate Law Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Nominated as a Jury Member for 30 under 30 by BW Legal World – 2021. Nominated as a Jury Member - ALB India Law Awards 2021.

Akhil is a visiting faculty with the National Law University – Delhi and Jodhpur (NLU), the Master of International Business program of the Delhi School of Economics (DSE), the Indian School of Business, Chandigarh (ISB); the Department of Management Studies of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi); the Management Development Institute, Gurugram (MDI – Gurugram); the Management Development Institute, Murshidabad (MDI – Murshidabad); OP Jindal Global University (OPJGU); the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the Indian Institute of Management Kashipur (IIM-K), the Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIM-I), the Indian Institute of Management Rohtak (IIM-RK), the Indian Institute of Management Raipur (IIM-RP); the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C); the Indian Institute of Management Shillong (IIM-S); the Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur (IIM-SR); the Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur (IIM-SiR) (IIM-S); Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law – IIT Kharagpur (IIT-Kharagpur); Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT); T. A. Pai Management Institute, Manipal (TAPMI); Jamia Millia Law School and Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University (FMS); the IILM University, Gurugram. Akhil has also judged international moot competitions at NLU Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, Army Institute of Law, Mohali and participated as a panellist at the i5-Summit on Start-ups organized by IIM Indore and IIT Indore. Addressed the national conference of Corporate Company Secretaries organized by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Recently addressed the LinkedIn Local Lucknow on Leadership during disruptions. Akhil participated as an industry expert at the International Legal and Policy Conference on “The Future of Transport: Opportunities and Challenges in Aviation and Space Industry” organized by NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

Akhil holds a Doctorate in Law (LL.D), Doctorate in Commerce (PhD); is a postgraduate in Law (LL.M); is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (FCS) and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, UK (FCIS); is a non-practising Solicitor of England & Wales; has done the Master of Laws (Honors) program in US laws (LL.M US) with the Northwestern University, Chicago and Certificate in Business Administration program from Instituto de Empressa, Madrid, Spain (IE); took leadership training under the program “Leaders Shaping Our Future”, conducted by Boeing Leadership Center, USA and most recently completed Wharton Advanced Management Program. Akhil, therefore, has legal expertise in India, the UK and the US. Akhil holds professional memberships with the Institute of Company Secretaries of India; the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, UK; the Law Society, UK; Indian Council of Arbitration, India; FACT Panel of Arbitrators & Conciliators, India.

Akhil has been nominated as a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the year 2020 of the widely acclaimed monthly journal “Chartered Secretary” of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Akhil is the Vice – Chairman and an Advisory Board member of the Corporate Counsel Committee and a member of the India Working Group of the International Bar Association. He has also been nominated as an India Representative to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee of the International Bar Association. Akhil has also been nominated as a member of the Advisory Board of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) to develop a “Guide for Corporate Counsel on Corporate Sustainability”, a joint initiative by Linklaters