Ashutosh Maheshwari Appointed to IMAP Executive Board

IMAP is pleased to announce the appointment of Ashutosh Maheshwari, Managing Partner at IMAP India, to its Executive Board. This marks Ashutosh’s second term on the Board, having previously served as a member several years ago.

With deep experience advising owner-led businesses across Industrials, cross-border transactions, and financial sponsor activity, Ashutosh returns to the Board at a time when India and the wider Asia-Pacific region play an increasingly important role in global mid-market M&A. He brings both an established understanding of IMAP and the perspective of a high-growth, owner-driven M&A market.

Ashutosh succeeds Jeff Smith of Pinnacle - IMAP Japan, and IMAP extends its sincere thanks to Jeff for his contribution and commitment to the Executive Board, and for his valued support of the partnership throughout his term.

A Decade Building IMAP India

As Managing Partner at IMAP India, Ashutosh has helped build the firm over the past ten years, with a particular focus on the Industrials sector.

His work centers on advising owner-led businesses on sell-side, buy-side, and cross-border transactions, including succession, growth capital, and international partnerships.

Over the past three years, IMAP India has also developed an investment business focused on Industrials through fund management in India, broadening the team’s perspective beyond advisory and providing deeper insight into how investors assess, acquire, and create value in industrial businesses.

India and Asia-Pacific M&A: Cross-Border Growth and Financial Sponsors

Ashutosh sees four areas where he can contribute most strongly to IMAP’s leadership.

First is representing India and the broader Asia-Pacific region as an increasingly important growth corridor for IMAP - both for global strategic investors looking to enter India and for the increasing number of Indian industrial companies pursuing international expansion.

Second is strengthening cross-border collaboration across IMAP’s sector teams, particularly where supply-chain realignment and technology partnerships are increasingly driving transactions.

He also brings a growing financial sponsor perspective.

Through our fund experience, we now work closely with private equity investors and have developed a deeper understanding of how they underwrite industrial assets and drive value creation over a three- to five-year horizon.”

He believes this experience can help IMAP teams position businesses more effectively for sponsor investment, buyouts and exits.

Finally, Ashutosh brings the perspective of a high-growth, owner-driven market that complements the experience and strengths of IMAP firms across Europe and the United States.

Why Is Cross-Border Mid-Market M&A Becoming More Important?

For Ashutosh, the direction of travel for IMAP is clear: cross-border mid-market M&A will become even more important as businesses increasingly look beyond their domestic markets for growth, capital, and strategic partnerships.

"The mid-market is no longer local. My vision is for IMAP to become the go-to partnership for cross-border mid-market M&A.”

Achieving that, he believes, means continuing to deepen integration across the partnership through shared intellectual capital, joint coverage of global accounts, stronger sector collaboration and consistent execution standards across markets.

The opportunity is to combine the entrepreneurial strength of IMAP’s local firms with deeper collaboration around sectors, clients, and international opportunities.

How AI and Supply-Chain Realignment Are Changing Mid-Market M&A

Ashutosh identifies three shifts that are increasingly defining mid-market M&A.

The first is the growing role of AI and digital transformation in mainstream commercial and operational due diligence. These questions are no longer confined to Technology businesses.

Buyers are increasingly examining how traditional Manufacturing and Industrial companies use technology to improve yields, pricing, productivity, and supply-chain efficiency.

Second, geopolitical uncertainty has elevated supply-chain resilience into an investment thesis in its own right, creating opportunities for companies and investors positioned around changing global supply chains.

Third, increased volatility has made deal certainty and operational insight more valuable alongside valuation.

For IMAP, Ashutosh believes these trends reinforce the importance of combining deep sector knowledge with pragmatic execution and remaining close to business owners throughout different market cycles.

How Can Mid-Market M&A Advisors Differentiate?

Looking ahead, Ashutosh sees differentiation as one of the biggest challenges facing mid-market M&A advisors.

"Almost every investment bank today claims to be both mid-market and cross-border. The opportunity for IMAP is that very few have delivered consistently on both for decades.”

He believes IMAP’s differentiation lies in the combination of owner-led firms, independent advice, deep sector knowledge, and genuine cross-border collaboration.

To maintain that advantage, he sees further institutionalization of sector knowledge and continued collaboration between IMAP firms as priorities.

"If we continue to institutionalize our sector knowledge, collaborate across borders as true partners, and consistently put our clients’ interests first, I believe IMAP will continue to punch above its weight against much larger institutions.”

Strengthening IMAP’s Global Perspective

Ashutosh’s return to the Executive Board adds the perspective of a rapidly developing M&A market, a growing outbound buyer base, and increasing financial sponsor activity to IMAP’s global leadership.

His focus on India and Asia-Pacific M&A, sector-led collaboration, supply-chain transformation, and financial sponsor perspectiveswill contribute to IMAP’s continued development as a global partnership supporting mid-market business owners, buyers, and investors across borders.