About Antar
Antar has been founded to address the identified and self-experienced need for a firm that,
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has consultants from inside the industry who are able to deliver practical solutions from recommendation to execution;
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is cost-effective;
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provides a personalised and flexible service specific to needs of your Company.
​I, Simran Sethi, am the lead consultant. I have over 20 years of hands-on Finance experience the UK, Singapore, and India including 10 years as CFO with Tata, NYK and Maersk groups. Over the years, I have developed deep expertise in raising debt from banks and markets, enhancing business performance through robust cost and revenue frameworks, establishing cycle-resistant internal processes and executing effective corporate strategy. I am a Chartered Accountant from India, MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics and CPDW Distribution and Warehousing from the American Purchasing Society.
I have further tie ups with operations experts, marketing experts and insurance providers to provide a full suite of solutions. Antar has all support staff based in India to provide lower cost services to our clients without compromising on quality.​​
Testimonials
Simran and I worked together in Tata NYK Shipping for five years. She served as the CFO at Tata NYK Shipping, and I was the CEO. She demonstrated exceptional financial expertise and business awareness while the shipping industry, in general and the company in particular, was going through extremely challenging times. With her able support and guidance, the company successfully turned around, returning to profitability after several years of losses. ​ Simran took full responsibility for the statutory financial portfolio, treasury, and IT across our officesin Singapore and India. She first strengthened the foundation of the Company by developing standard operating procedures, which enhanced accountability and operational efficiency. She collaborated closely with business teams and ensured that these changes were adopted smoothly and quickly. Her efforts led to significant improvements in costs, pricing, and working capital. Additionally, through her strategic insights, she supported the business in establishing a new revenue stream by using freight-forward hedges, effectively reducing volatility in the otherwise unpredictable shipping industry. ​ One of Simran's exceptional qualities was her ability to understand and unite two distinct shareholder groups and cultures, aligning them around common goals that fostered effective collaboration. She also leveraged existing relationships and built new ones with banks, auditors, and government agencies. ​ Her combination of financial expertise, strategic vision, and the ability to simplifying complex challenges makes her an invaluable asset to any organization. Simran would be an excellent consulting partner for any organization seeking financial insight, problem-solving skills, and a clear vision for the future.
Dinesh Shastri
MD TMILL (a Tata group company)
Nowadays, CFO is required to be more strategically to support CEO, Directors and Shareholders based of data and the facts of internal and the external environments, and to understand the strength and weakness of the company compared with the competitors to let them make the best decisions from short / mid / long term perspectives. To be such strategic CFO, it is required not only to have the knowhow and knowledge through the case studies, but also the one has to be experienced through navigating the real tough situations. I am sure that Simran Sethi is one of the best professional CFOs as she has strong passion to learn something new and solved variety of challenges in her professional career such as turnaround, financing from banks even under challenging BS and PL. Further, she is very honest and trustworthy. I will choose Simran as CFO in 1 minute if I can choose anyone in the world as CFO. I strongly believe similar skill set is required as strategic consultant - I am sure she will help many CEOs and CFOs to solve various challenges and issues as strong partner consultant. I worked with Simran from 2016 to 2018 when I was in TATANYK Shipping as Executive Director.
Ryota Takenaka
President and CEO
MCP Finance, MCP Insurance Management and Agency, MCP Innovations
(NYK group of companies)
I have known Simran since 2010, when she assumed the position of Head of Financing Strategy at Tata Steel Limited, initially in Mumbai and later in Singapore. Her role encompassed securing multi-billion-dollar external debt across capital markets and banks. Structuring financial solutions for our European operations, all while navigating complex accounting and legal requirements. I was consistently impressed by her unwavering "get it done" mentality, regardless of the timeline pressures, as well as her ability to find simple but out of box solutions to complex situations. Her background as a structured finance trader in London further bolstered her expertise. She seamlessly adapted across cultures and bridged gaps between our Asian and European divisions. After her relocation to Singapore, Simran expanded her role as South-East Asia Treasurer, where she cultivated strong relationships with governmental bodies and established tax incentives for our operations in Singapore. Subsequently, she took on the role of CFO of our joint venture with NYK Shipping, where she played a pivotal role in turning the company around. She played a pivotal role in improving financial performance but also boosting employee morale. She achieved this by implementing robust control frameworks, including a comprehensive freight hedging strategy, all while maintaining a collaborative approach with the business. Her leadership, sound judgment and stakeholder management capabilities earned the trust and respect of our JV partner. Presently, Simran is advising us on our freight operations, where she has already made an impact in a short period. She has been the perfect advisor for our freight business, offering tailored, expert advice based on deep industry experience—something large consulting firms are too big to address effectively. She has quickly identified gaps and areas for improvement getting us ready for more intricate improvements, whilst managing complex situations with grace and professionalism. Furthermore, she has fostered strong relationships with my team, who regard her as a trusted advisor.