Like everyone with a nodding acquaintance of the history of that time, Sanjiv Mehta assumed that The East India Company had ceased to exist until he was contacted by the group of English businessmen who had quietly resurrected its name. With appropriate approvals from the British Treasury and the Royal School of Arms, they secured the rights to assets like the coat of arms that Queen Elizabeth I issued the Company in 1600, and the Merchant’s Mark—probably the world’s first trademark. They recruited historians, built relationships with museums and started with distributing tea and coffee and publishing books. And as they looked to streamline their distribution network, they got in touch with Mehta.

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