Minhaz Merchant, 43, is the author of a critically acclaimed biography of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and editor-in-chief and publisher of Business Barons and India Leaders Worldwide magazines, aimed respectively at Indian CEOs and international policy makers.

He was born in an industrialist's family in Gujarat, studied at Cathedral School, Mumbai, and West Buckland School, England, and majored in Physics and Mathematics from Bombay University. He lives in Mumbai and is married to Kahini, a well-known artist, and has two children, Suhail, 13 and Tehzeeb, 12.