Dhruv Chhatralia, a principal associate at international law firm Gowling WLG, was presented with the Medal of the Order of the British Empire after being included in Her Majesty the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2020.
Dhruv has been recognised for his voluntary service to Hinduism and charities and developing young people. He is a regular speaker on the benefits of Yoga and the importance of mental wellness to manage the challenges of the modern world, and has written 21 books on the topics, which have been shared with leading corporations and politicians across the UK and overseas including the Prime Ministers of the UK and India, a former president of the USA and the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Minister, Business Secretary, Environmental Secretary and several other UK ministers of state.
Following the ceremony, Dhruv said "It is humbling to receive this recognition alongside so many people who have attained great accomplishments in public life and demonstrated their commitment to serving society. My goal was to make these enriching and scientific teachings of inner well-being through Yoga available to everyone free of cost and regardless of geography. I am very grateful to all of my family, friends and colleagues for their kindness, support and guidance throughout this journey. This achievement would not have been possible without the contributions of countless teachers, volunteers and supporters and I would like to recognise their dedicated service in the fields of education and social outreach".
A corporate lawyer, Dhruv has over 10 years' experience advising on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions (M&A), private equity and corporate finance transactions for clients in the technology, media and telecommunications, financial services, energy and electric vehicles sectors, amongst others. Dhruv's practice is both domestic and international in nature and the transactions he advises on include a variety of complex and high value transactions across diverse industries.
Dhruv has been rated as a Rising Star in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and business affairs by the Super Lawyers publication, and as a Key Lawyer in venture capital by the Legal 500 directory.
He has worked on several high-profile transactions including advising a consortium of international investors on the development of and €750 million equity investments in a wind farm in Kenya, acting for a US metals company in their €277 million share acquisition of a global manufacturer and provider of alloy-based critical wear solutions from a private equity firm and advising a US pharmaceutical company on their £180 million share purchase of a UK manufacturer of oral liquid medicines from a private equity firm.
Gowling WLG offers a range of resources to support its people's wellbeing; including mindfulness and yoga sessions, on-site massage sessions, online wellbeing resources plus a number of employee benefits with a wellbeing focus.
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