Aura provides its clients value added and innovative solutions by drawing on the expertise of its seasoned professionals and advisers.
Mahinder (MP) Chugh – Partner & Co-Founder
Newport Beach, California
Mahinder is a Partner at Aura and has over 25 years experience in financial services in India and 10 years as CEO of operating companies in North America. He has served on the Board of Directors of 15 companies (11 in India, 3 in the US, and 1 in Mexico) and has well established relationships with business owners and CEOs of various companies. Prior to co-founding Aura, he was the Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, of Valiant International, USA where he established Valiant’s operations in India & Thailand. Prior to that, he was the CEO of TATA Auto Components, USA. Prior to moving to the USA, Mahinder was Partner and Head of Corporate Finance at Ernst & Young, India, and Director, Mergers & Acquisitions at Lazard, India. Mahinder started his career at ICICI (now ICICI Bank) and as Head of Project Advisory and M&A at ICICI and ISEC (JV between ICICI and JP Morgan), he advised many mid market and large corporations, as well as governments & international bodies including The World Bank and United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD).
He has addressed audiences on Globalization, Innovation, Product Development and Productivity at various global forums including US Board on Science and Technology, Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Society of Automotive Analysts (SAA), Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) in the USA, Confederation Of Indian Industry (CII), Auto Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), and Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) in India. He has also been quoted extensively in the business media. Mahinder graduated with a Bachelor of Science with Honors, and an MBA from The University of Pune, along with PGD (International Trade) from the Indian Institute Of Foreign Trade (IIFT). Selected directorships include Tata Johnson Controls-India, TATA Exports-India, ATX Group-USA, Freedom Group-USA.
Dr. Jean Chugh – Partner & Co-Founder
Newport Beach, California
Jean is a Partner at Aura and has over 25 years experience in financial services. She has served on the Board of Directors of 6 companies in India. Prior to moving to the US, Dr. Chugh was Director and India Country Head of Asian Capital Partners, a Hong Kong based Asia focused Investment Bank (formerly a JV with Dresdner Kleinwort Benson). Prior to that, she was Head of Securities Research at ISEC, a JV between JPMorgan and ICICI. Jean initiated, set up, and managed India’s first securities research group consisting of Debt Research, Equity Research and Economic Research. Prior to that, she was Head of Western region operations of ICICI Venture, India’s first venture capital company. She also managed and supervised a credit portfolio of companies in ICICI’s Project Finance division. Dr. Chugh graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors, Masters of Arts and Phd from University of Mumbai, India.
Suresh Chugh – Advisor
New Jersey
Suresh has 33 years of global finance and investment banking experience and 15 years of experience in petroleum industry. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer and President of IFM Resources. His assignments have been in the Former Soviet Union where served as an advisor to Smith Barney, AIG, Russian American Investment Bank, Forex Bank and AIG Private Bank. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the AIG Silk Road Fund. He also served on the Investment Committees of AIG Millennium Fund and Silk Road Fund. Prior to that, Suresh was JP Morgan’s Managing Director of investment banking business in the former Soviet Union, where he arranged billions of dollars financing for companies in Norway, Denmark, U. K. Sweden, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, USA, Africa, FSU and Latin America. He also worked in various Engineering and Managerial capacities with Texaco in the Permian Basin in USA and with Oil and Natural Gas Commission in India. Suresh graduated with a Masters Degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelors Degree with Honors in Petroleum Engineering from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, India.
