Zia Mody Wiki, Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography & More

Zia Mody is an Indian corporate lawyer and businesswoman who is famous for being one of the powerful women entrepreneurs in India, listed by Fortune India in 2018 and 2019. She is the daughter of the former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee.

Wiki/Biography

Zia Mody was born on Thursday, 19 July 1956 (age 67 Years; as of 2023) in Mumbai. Her zodiac sign is Cancer. Zia Mody did her initial education at Elphinstone College, Mumbai, Maharashtra. She studied Law at Selwyn College, Cambridge, England, and earned an LLM degree from Harvard Law School, Massachusetts in 1978.

In 1979, Zia passed the New York State Bar examination, soon after completing her college degree in the US, following which she was qualified as an attorney in the State of New York. She is the founder and partner of a legal business enterprise, AZB & Partners.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 4″

Hair Colour: Salt and pepper

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Religion & Caste

Zia Mody follows the Bahá’í Faith. In an interview, while telling about her religious beliefs, she said,
“I follow the Baha’i Faith (a monotheistic religion emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind), a religion founded by our Prophet Baha’u’llah over 150 years ago. Apart from the faith having an irrefutable principle of men and women being absolutely equal in the eyes of God (which made it very attractive for me!), it is a religion of choice.”

However, Zia’s father is a Zoroastrian, while her husband is a Hindu.

Parents & Siblings

Zia’s father is Soli Sorabjee (a former Attorney General of India), and her mother’s name is Zena.

She has three brothers.

Husband & Children

Zia Mody’s husband is Jaydev Mody who is the chairman of Delta Corporation Limited. She has three daughters- Aditi Mody who is a Furniture designer in Mumbai, Aarti Mody who is a Lawyer in Mumbai, and Anjali Mody who works with Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Career

Founder & Managing Partner

Zia Mody is the founder of AZB & Partners, Mumbai.

Practice Area

Arbitration Law

Member

Organizations

• Standing Committee on Mutual Funds in Securities and Exchange Board of India

• Capital Market Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

• Deputy Chairman and as Director of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong

• The Governing Board of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA)

• Reserve Bank of India Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households, 2013

• The Godrej Committee on Corporate Governance set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (2012)

• The World Bank Administrative Tribunal, Washington D.C. (2008-2013)

• The Vice President and Member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) (2010 -2013)

• The Deputy Chairman and Non-executive Director of HSBC Asia-Pacific Board

• New Era High School, Panchgani, Maharashtra

Panel Head

Zia was on the panel of the expert committee initiated by the Law Commission of India on ‘Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.’ This panel was set up to review the provisions of the Act due to the several inadequacies founded in the functioning of the Act (2014).

Legal Advisor

Zia started working with Baker & McKenzie in New York City after completing her studies in 1979. She worked with Baker & McKenzie for three years and returned to India in 1982. In India, Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, the Vedanta Group, and General Electric are some of the top Indian organizations to which Zia has given her contribution as a lawyer. Giant private equity firms including Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and Warburg Pincus have also taken advice from Zia Mody. Zia has provided legal services to both national as well as international clients.

Founder of AZB & Partners, Mumbai

After returning to India in 1984, Zia Mody initiated her own sole-proprietorship law firm ‘Chambers of Zia Mody.’ She practised law in Mumbai. She merged her law firm with other renowned legal firms to form AZB & Partners. Ajay Bahl and Bahram Vakil are the partners in AZB& partners along with Zia Mody. In 2004, AZB & Partners was started with 12 lawyers. It is regarded as one of the biggest law firms in India with 400 legal professionals and many offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Banglore, and Pune.