Zia Mody

Zia Mody
Born	(1956-07-19) 19 July 1956 Mumbai, India
Ethnicity	Parsi
Alma mater	Cambridge University Harvard University
Occupation	Managing Partner of AZB & Partners

Zia Mody (born 19 July 1956) is an Indian legal consultant. She is considered an authority on corporate merger and acquisition law, securities law, private equity and project finance. Born in a Parsi family to Soli Sorabjee, a former Attorney General of India, she is an active member in the Bahá'í community.

Biography

Mody's initial education was at Elphinstone College, Mumbai. She went on to study law at Selwyn College, Cambridge, followed by a master's degree from Harvard Law School in 1979. She passed the New York State Bar examination, and qualified as an attorney in the State of New York. She worked for five years with Baker & McKenzie in New York City, before returning to India in harmony with the request of her husband.

She started her own practice in Mumbai in 1984, which she merged twice with other firms to form AZB & Partners, one of India's largest law firms, where she is the managing partner. The firm maintains a make-up nearly 40 percent of her legal staff. She is also a member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's Standing Committee on Mutual Funds, and of the Capital Market Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Mody is the daughter of Indian jurist Soli Sorabjee and despite being a Parsi, is an active member of the Bahá'í Faith and a Board Member of the New Era High School. Mody is a mother of three daughters and is married to business tycoon Jaydev Mody. They live in Mumbai, India.

Achievements

Business Today listed Mody as one of the 25 most powerful business women in India several times from September 2004 through 2011. She is a recipient of the Financial Express Knowledge Professional of the Year Award. She was also named one of India's 100 Most Powerful CEOs by The Economic Times in 2004 and 2006.

She is also the recipient of the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence as the Businesswoman of the Year, 2010. The awards are given out every year and are seen as the foremost authority in recognizing excellence in the Indian corporate market.