Sridhar C. Nivarthi, FCA · MBA (ISB)
Founder & Principal Advisor — Sthira Advisory
Four decades in corporate finance — beginning in audit in 1985, seventeen of those years in practice as a Chartered Accountant and Partner, followed by Big Four advisory, a CFO chair through one of India’s landmark debt restructurings, and CEO and board roles across Singapore and the Gulf.
The through-line is not the scale of the transactions. It is a single conviction, tested across forty years and stated plainly in his writing: taking risk is not a sin — hiding the truth is a crime.
As Director Finance of a private-equity backed infrastructure company, he led a ₹5,000 crore Corporate Debt Restructuring across a forty-lender consortium. The CDR, CCPS conversion and SDR structuring frameworks he developed for that resolution were subsequently adopted by banks and institutions as a template for other companies’ restructurings under the IBC process.
Today, through Sthira Advisory, he brings that experience to boards, promoters and business families — not as an external consultant, but as someone who has sat in the chair they occupy, on the days it was hardest to occupy.
FCA
Fellow Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 029513
MBA
Indian School of Business · PGPMAX 2016–17
40 Years
Corporate Finance Leadership since 1985
Independent Director
IICA Databank · IDDB-DI-202601- 2027456
Author
Two books on finance, governance & enterprise
| Period | Role | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1985–1991 |
Audit ManagerChaturvedi & Partners |
Joined on completion of articleship. Statutory audit and assurance across corporates – the grounding in precision that defines his advisory work four decades later. |
| 1991–2002 |
PartnerChaturvedi & Partners |
Admitted to partnership in 1991. Headed the firm's Hyderabad practice from 1992, building and leading a branch practice for a decade across audit, assurance and advisory mandates. |
| 2002–2004 |
ManagerPKF International – Muscat |
Based in the Muscat office, supporting the Dubai practice as required. Worked on international reporting standards, cross-border compliance and Gulf-market corporate governance. |
| 2004–2005 |
ManagerPwC India |
Provided assurance and advisory services for large corporate clients, applying Big Four discipline to complex financial reporting environments. |
| 2006–2012 |
Senior ManagerDeloitte India |
Delivered advisory, consulting and transaction support across sectors. Conducted client workshops on accounting standards, financial reporting and emerging developments in finance and economics. |
| 2012–2017 |
Director Finance & CFOPE-backed Infrastructure Company |
Chief Financial Officer of a Sequoia Capital and BPEA EQT-backed infrastructure company. Led the ₹5,000 crore Corporate Debt Restructuring (2013–14). |
| 2016–2017 |
Executive MBAIndian School of Business |
Completed the PGP MAX Executive MBA in strategic management, leadership and corporate governance while serving as CFO. |
| 2017–2021 |
CEO & DirectorIntra Asia Trading Pte Ltd,Singapore |
Led a Singapore-based commodity trading business. P&L ownership, APAC market expansion, cross-border transactions and regulatory compliance. |
| 2018–2021 |
DirectorArthit Capital Management,Singapore |
Parallel directorship in the investment entity. Capital allocation, portfolio oversight, investor relations and cross-border deal execution across APAC. |
| 2021–2022 |
Strategic AdvisorKashvi Group |
Financial restructuring, M&A advisory and capital raising. Raised capital from domestic and international investors; transaction and merger planning across mandates. |
| 2022–Present |
Independent Advisor &
Own Practice
|
Established an independent advisory and mentorship practice post-pandemic—board advisory, restructuring counsel and mentoring of young finance professionals. |
| 2025–Present |
Founder & PrincipalSthira Advisory |
Formalised the practice as Sthira Advisory in late 2025; launched in early 2026. Board and CFO advisory rooted in four decades of Big Four, C-suite and cross-border experience. |
LANDMARK MANDATE · 2013–14
₹5,000 Crore Corporate Debt Restructuring
A forty-lender consortium · Public sector banks, private banks and NBFCs
As Director Finance, Sridhar led the end-to-end orchestration of one of India’s landmark corporate debt restructurings — aligning a consortium of approximately forty lenders spanning public sector banks, private sector banks and NBFCs, restructuring the capital stack, and preserving operational continuity through the process.
The outcome:
Following implementation, the account was reclassified as a Standard, performing asset. Approximately 5,000 to 6,000 employees — directly and indirectly dependent on the company — were given breathing room. An independent Special Investigative Audit conducted at the point of restructuring returned no significant adverse findings.
The lasting contribution:
The CDR, CCPS-conversion and SDR structuring frameworks developed for this resolution were subsequently adopted by banks and institutions as a template for other companies' restructurings under the IBC process — outliving the mandate that produced them.
Sectors Served
- Infrastructure — roads, dams, tunnelling, structural
- Real Estate & Urban Development
- Energy — hydro, wind, solar
- Pharmaceuticals & Hospitals
- Logistics (road) & Hospitality
- Education
- FMCG
- IT & ITES
Geographies
- India — pan-India mandates (Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi)
- Middle East — Oman (Muscat) and Dubai
- Singapore — CEO, Director and investment roles
- Hong Kong — cross-border transactions
- APAC — capital raising and international investor relations
Beyond client advisory, Sridhar is committed to developing the next generation of finance professionals and to setting down, in writing, what four decades of practice has taught.
Beyond the Service Mind
How India’s Next Generation Can Dare the Unthinkable and Reclaim Its Greatness
Written for India’s Millennial and Gen Z readers — on how inherited conditioning suppresses entrepreneurial originality, and what it takes to move beyond it.
Karma of the Balance Sheet
Find the Way Out — Abhimanyu Syndrome
On why businesses conceal bad news inside a balance sheet, what happens while the concealment continues, and what honest correction actually looks like.
“Taking risk is not a sin. Hiding the truth is a crime.”
— Sridhar C. Nivarthi, Karma of the Balance Sheet
Sthira — stability in Sanskrit — reflects a conviction shaped by four decades of working through crises, transitions and transformations. Businesses that endure are not those that avoid adversity, but those that have built the structural and strategic foundations to absorb it.
Three convictions shape every engagement:
• Name the risk before it names you — every mandate begins with honest diagnosis, not prescription.
• Disclosure early is cheaper than disclosure forced — the hardest conversation is always cheapest today.
• An advisor present only in distress is not an advisor — counsel must be available through the goodyears, the bad and the difficult alike.
Mentorship & Speaking
• Career mentorship for young Chartered Accountants and MBAs — on specialisation, corporate financepathways and early career decisions
• Client workshops during his Deloitte years on accounting standards, financial reporting anddevelopments in finance and economics
• Available for panel discussions, webinars and workshops on restructuring, family business successionand board governance