Space Matrix appoints Akshay Lakhanpal as the new Joint Managing Director of India

New Delhi, November 09, 2016: Space Matrix, Asia’s second largest interior design firm, has appointed Akshay Lakhanpal as the new Joint Managing Director in India, amongst a slew of senior hires. Akshay will join Jaiprakash Aildasani, a 6-year veteran of the company, to drive growth in India and strengthen the company’s competitiveness, builton a strong foundation over the last 15 years.The Indian portfolio of Space Matrix has been consistently growing at 25 % with over 400 completed projects and 40 currently under progress.Several global accounts of Space Matrix, including LinkedIn, PayPal, Akamai technologies, Rolls Royce and the World Bank are also engaged with the Indian arm of the company. Leading Indian companies that Space Matrix has partnered with, include Axis Bank, DHFL, Piramal Realty, Hero Motorcorp etc.

The strategic appointments come in the wake of Space Matrix’s concerted initiatives to tap the burgeoning domestic market and support the global client network with a strong domain presence. Since the beginning of 2016, Space Matrix has increased the headcount in India by 20%. Recent large project wins include the 1.1 billion square feet office space for ITC Limited in Bangalore, the Abbott office in Mumbai, of 400,000 square feet and the Astra Zeneca office space of 160,000 square feet in Chennai.

Backed by over 12 years of experience in the real estate sector, Akshay, a project management expert, held the position of Director at Cushman & Wakefield and looked over the company’s business in North India. He comes with a wealth of experience, being a trusted advisor to various corporate, retail, development and institutional clients and having delivered over 20 million square feet of projects in 40 cities in India. Space Matrix has also made significant investments in strengthening the core leadership team to strengthen its domestic portfolio.

Barnali Sarkar, former Head of Procurement for Larsen & Toubro Limited (Construction) will lead the new pan-India procurement team in improving processes, while Sachin Boradia, who left Space Matrix in 2010 to focus on his entrepreneurial venture, Transcend, has been appointed as Director to drive operations in West India, along with the entire Transcend team. Adding to the company’s design expertise, Space Matrix has also brought on board International Designer, Carlito Sosito, who has over 30 years of global experience as an Architect and Interior designer. In his previous roles at RSP India and more recently DP Architects, Singapore, Carlito’s notable projects included the New Singapore Parliament House and the Microsoft campus in Hyderabad, the biggest MS campus outside of the USA.

Akshay Lakhanpal says, “I am excited to join the Space Matrix team with its clear focus on being an unrivalled player in the workplace design build industry. I look forward to strengthening our platform in India with an exceptional leadership team that combines infectious spirit and passion with incomparable drive to achieve success for our clients.”

Commenting on Akshay Lakhanpal’s appointment, Arsh Chaudhry, CEO Space Matrix International, based in Singapore, said, “I am delighted to have Akshay on board jointly running our India business with Jai. Our client base in India, both multinationals and Indian corporations, are seeking workplace strategies and innovative solutions to increase employee retention, engagement and productivity. With the collaborative DNA of our teams across a global network of offices, the India team is ideally placed to bring our cutting-edge workplace solutions to our clients. With over 30 million square feet of Grade A office space being leased and occupied across India on an annual basis, the Indian real estate markets present a massive growth opportunity for us.“

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)