Narender “Naren” Rawat is the Director, Legal & Corporate Secretarial at The Asia Group (TAG), operating from the Mumbai office. In this capacity, he serves as a key global resource, working with the US-based General Counsel’s office to manage legal and compliance matters for TAG and its international entities.
Bringing nearly 20 years of extensive corporate experience, Naren is a seasoned legal and compliance professional with a background spanning MNCs, startups, mid-sized firms, and NASDAQ-listed companies. He is dedicated to partnering with business teams to navigate complex scenarios and ensure seamless business operations.
Before joining TAG, Naren was Vice President of Legal at Rebel Foods, a unicorn in the food tech and restaurant brand sector of India. In this capacity, he was responsible for leading its legal and compliance functions across both Indian and international markets. His notable achievements include overseeing legal due diligence and contracts for major equity and debt fundraising, managing relationships with 35 investors, and handling corporate restructuring for its UAE operations. He also created standard global contracts, managed multiple Mergers & Acquisitions, registered IP in India and abroad, handled the issuance and annual buy-back of ESOPs for employees worldwide, and led legal preparations for the company’s IPO.
Prior to his role at Rebel Foods, Naren spent approximately eight years as Head of Legal & Compliance at the startup Komli Media. He was instrumental in building its legal and compliance framework from the ground up, establishing operations in India and numerous international locations including in the US, UK, UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and NZ. Following a key leadership exit, he worked closely with investors to sell the business and repatriate the proceeds, ultimately closing the entity.
Naren began his legal career at Star India, a Newscorp entity, where he oversaw corporate compliance for its Indian and foreign subsidiaries.
Naren holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Commerce, and law degree from the University of Mumbai. He is also a Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Outside of work, he resides in Mumbai with his family and enjoys hiking and exploring new trails. He visits his native home, Uttarakhand, once a year.