Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI), a division of Blackstone, has announced the appointment of Apurva Shah as its first managing director in India.
Shah will be responsible for establishing and leading BXCI’s private credit origination business in the country. He will report to Mark Glengarry, who oversees private credit strategies for the Asia-Pacific region at BXCI.
Shah’s career spans more than 26 years, with experience in leveraged finance, securitizations, capital markets, M&A advisory, and structuring. His previous roles include senior positions at Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, DSP Merrill Lynch, and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson.
This appointment signals BXCI’s intent to build a dedicated team for private credit in India, a market where Blackstone has been active for two decades through its real estate and private equity investments.
Glengarry described the move as a logical step for BXCI, noting that the firm’s longstanding involvement with Indian companies positions it well to support the next stage of their growth.
“We have two decades of experience partnering with leading Indian businesses and supporting their growth, and now there’s an opportunity to help finance their next phase of expansion and parts of the economy more broadly. We are thrilled to bring on board Apurva and believe his wealth of expertise will be instrumental as we establish our credit & insurance team in the market,” he said.
BXCI’s expansion in India is part of a broader regional strategy. The firm’s APAC private credit team has doubled in size over the past three years, with operations in Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, and Singapore.
Recent hires include professionals focused on asset-based finance, insurance client solutions, and private credit origination across several Asia-Pacific markets.
A notable addition to the team is Kimberly Kim, who has been named senior managing director and head of APAC insurance institutional client solutions.
Kim, who previously led APAC financial institutions coverage at BlackRock, brings over two decades of experience in the insurance sector.
Her new role is designed to enhance BXCI’s relationships with insurance clients and expand its offerings for insurers in the region.
Currently, BXCI manages more than US$250 billion in insurance client capital, covering both private and liquid credit strategies. The firm’s total assets under management in corporate and real estate credit stand at US$484 billion.
BXCI reports a 20% year-on-year increase in insurance capital managed and continues to grow its presence in Asia-Pacific through new transactions and talent acquisition.
In the last three years, BXCI has executed over 20 transactions in the region and expanded its workforce in cities such as Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The company’s investment activities span asset-based lending, infrastructure debt, and direct lending. BXCI also provides investment management services to insurance companies, aiming to support their policyholder obligations through investment grade private credit.
