Partner / Director - Investment Banking - Defence & Aerospace

We are seeking an experienced Partner / Director to lead our Defence & Aerospace practice, covering defence manufacturing and land systems, aerospace and aerostructures, MRO, avionics and defence electronics, naval systems and shipbuilding, space and satellite technology, drones and unmanned systems, and homeland security. This is a P&L-owning role. You will carry the revenue budget for the sector, build and convert your own origination pipeline, price and win mandates, and be accountable for the profitability, resourcing, and growth of the practice.

You will own the defence and aerospace franchise end to end: cultivating relationships with promoters, boards, and financial sponsors; converting them into signed mandates on commercially attractive terms; overseeing delivery of fund-raising and M&A transactions through your team; and managing the revenue, cost, and margin outcomes of the vertical.

Key Responsibilities

1. P&L Ownership & Business Development

· Revenue & P&L Ownership: Own the defence and aerospace sector P&L — set and deliver the annual fee-revenue budget, manage the team cost base and deal expenses, and report performance and forecasts to the firm's leadership.

· Origination & Pipeline: Build and own a proprietary pipeline of promoters, corporates, DPSUs and their vendor ecosystems, MSME defence suppliers, family offices, and financial sponsors across the defence and aerospace space, supplemented by the firm's central network and balance sheet.

· Pitch to Win: Lead pitches and bake-offs, presenting deep defence and aerospace sector insight and bespoke transaction strategies that convert prospects into signed clients.

· Mandate Structuring: Draft, negotiate, and finalize Mandate Letters, Engagement Agreements, and fee structures, pricing mandates to protect the practice's margin and the commercial interests of the firm.

2. Transaction Oversight & Delivery

· Transaction Management: Hold delivery accountability across the entire lifecycle of capital raising and M&A (buy-side, sell-side, joint ventures, and foreign OEM partnerships, technology-transfer and offset tie-ups) transactions.

· Financial Modeling & Valuation: Supervise the creation of complex financial models, valuation analyses (DCF, comparable companies, precedent transactions), and investment thesis formulations.

· Collateral Preparation: Ensure the highest quality production of pitch books, Confidential Information Memorandums, Teasers, and Management Presentations.

3. Due Diligence & Deal Closing

· Data Room Management: Oversee Virtual Data Rooms (VDR), managing the flow of information between clients, investors, and buyers.

· Due Diligence Coordination: Lead the financial, legal, tax, and commercial due diligence processes, actively resolving deal-breakers and bottlenecks.

· Definitive Documentation: Collaborate with legal counsels to negotiate and finalize Share Purchase Agreements (SPA), Share Subscription Agreements (SSA), Shareholders' Agreements (SHA), and other definitive transaction documents.

4. Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management

· Team Building & Leadership: Hire, manage, mentor, and maximize the utilization and productivity of a dedicated team of Vice Presidents, Associates, and Analysts within the Defence & Aerospace practice.

· Client Management: Act as the primary, trusted advisor to C-suite executives, boards, and promoters across the full relationship lifecycle, deepening wallet share and building a durable, repeat client base.

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

· Education: MBA from a Tier-1 business school, Chartered Accountant (CA), or CFA charterholder.

· Experience: 15+ years of core investment banking experience within a reputed IB firm, institutional platform, or boutique advisory house, including substantial coverage of defence, aerospace, and allied engineering clients.

· Track Record: A proven history of successfully closing mid-to-large cap M&A and fundraising transactions. Must be able to demonstrate an extensive list of closed deals, together with evidence of personally originated revenue and, ideally, prior ownership of a revenue budget or practice P&L.

· Sector Expertise: Deep domain knowledge of defence and aerospace value chains (platforms and systems integration, aerostructures and precision components, avionics and defence electronics, MRO, space and unmanned systems), working familiarity with MoD procurement and the DAP framework, offsets, indigenization and licensing requirements, FDI norms in defence, and export-control regimes, and active networks among Indian and global OEMs, DPSUs, strategic acquirers, PE and defence-focused funds, and promoter groups in the sector.

· Skills: Proven business-development and client-origination ability, commercial and P&L management judgment (pricing, resourcing, cost control), master-level negotiation skills, strong understanding of legal documentation/deal structures, and sharp analytical acumen.