Minal Vazirani

Minal Vazirani is co-founder of Saffronart, an international auction house, and has been instrumental in growing the company’s operations from a startup in 2000 to its current position. Saffronart is committed to serving the growing community of Indian collectors while also creating a cultural bridge to India for both the global Indian diaspora and the international community at large.

Vazirani helped establish and expand Saffronart’s presence in Mumbai, New York and London, and has driven the company’s forays into new businesses, including jewelry, textiles and other collectibles. Vazirani has curated, planned and organized exhibitions of Indian art both in India and abroad.

Prior to founding Saffronart, Vazirani was a management consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton in Mumbai, where she worked across several industries in the United States, Southeast Asia and India.

Vazirani is a regular panelist and guest speaker at Indian contemporary art events. She has been on the board of advisors to the Friends of Sir JJ School of Art Trust and Time Out India, and has co-chaired the Committee on Arts and Business for FICCI, India’s largest and oldest apex business organization.

Vazirani’s honors include being featured in Art & Auction magazine’s global power issue, being named a fellow at the India Leadership Initiative of the Aspen Institute and being a contributor to the 2009 ArtAsiaPacific Almanac. In 2005, Harvard Business School published a case study of Saffronart, for which Vazirani led a review. The company continues to be studied by business schools.

Vazirani received an MBA from INSEAD in France, where she received a Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship. She holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Vazirani has also studied art history and Indian history and has been an active collector of Indian contemporary art for more than two decades.