Anand Unnikrishnan
Managing Partner- Private Markets,
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
Ankita Balotia
Vice President,
Fireside Ventures
Ankita Balotia
Vice President,Fireside Ventures
Ankita is a VP at Fireside, and works closely with six companies including Sweet Karam Coffee, Frubon, Pilgrim, and Kapiva. Given her tech investing and management consulting background, she also works with all the portfolio companies on their Tech Roadmap and heads the Technology Implementation and Ecosystem Connect charter at Fireside. Ankita has 10+ years of venture capital and management consulting experience focusing on technology transformation and Tech Product acquisitions. She previously invested in multiple consumer tech companies during her stint at Venture Highway (General catalyst India) including Meragi and Ripik.ai. Before embarking on her investing journey, Ankita spent 5+ years in consulting - helping clients in consumer tech, telecom, real-estate and healthcare space at Bain & Co and Strategy & (Erstwhile Booz&Co.). Ankita graduated from IIT Delhi, majoring in Computer Science and did her MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad.
Craig Gifford
Head of Private Equity Funds and Co-Investments,
British International Investment
Craig Gifford
Head of Private Equity Funds and Co-Investments,British International Investment
Craig joined BII in 2005 and spent his two years working in BII’s Finance team before joining the Asia Funds team in 2007.
Prior to joining BII, he was an accountant for Tyndall Meridian Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT) in Sydney, Australia. Craig has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Macquarie University and he is a member of CPA Australia
Ekta Gupta
Partner,
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Ekta Gupta
Partner,Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Ekta Gupta is a Corporate, M&A and PE Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and has been with the firm since 2007. Ekta regularly advises large private equity funds, public and private companies, sovereign wealth funds, MNCs, strategic corporate clients and Indian conglomerates on a wide variety of their complex cross-border PE and M&A transactions. Ekta’s diverse practice includes representing clients in acquisitions, dispositions, minority and strategic investments and advising on full range of their operations and activities across a range of sectors in India.
In the e-commerce and retail space, Ekta has formidable experience and is regarded a sectoral expert. In this space, she has led over 100 acquisitions and investments for marquee clients exceeding several billion dollars including Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart, which is largest e-commerce acquisition in the world.
Ekta has received multiple recognitions and accolades from several international legal publications for her stellar credentials displayed in the corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity domain.
She is one of the Top 40 Under 40 lawyers, recognised by BW Legal World. She is amongst the Top 100 Individual Lawyers of the Forbes, Legal Powerlist India, 2022. Ekta is amongst one of the four Indian lawyers to be ranked amongst Top 25 lawyers globally by Mergermarket Individual Global League Table, 2020. Ekta has been ‘Notable Practitioner’ for Corporate M&A, Private Equity by Asialaw Profiles consistently for the last 3 years.
Jeanette Rodrigues
Managing Editor South Asia,
Bloomberg
Jeanette Rodrigues
Managing Editor South Asia,Bloomberg
Jeanette is Bloomberg's Managing Editor for South Asia, overseeing coverage of one of the world's fastest-grow ingeconomies and a region that is home to about a fifth of the global population.
After graduating in Mass Media from Mumbai's St. Xavier's College, Jeanette earned her Master's degree in Political Economy from the London School of Economics. She was part of a team that won the 2017 Society of Publishers in Asia – SOPA – award for its coverage of India's demonetization.
Jeanette is based in Mumbai.
Karuna Jain
Co-Founder and Partner,
Enzia Ventures
Matangi Gowrishankar
Independent Director,
Strategic Advisor & Certified Coach
Matangi Gowrishankar
Independent Director,Strategic Advisor & Certified Coach
Ms. Matangi Gowrishankar brings more than three decades of experience as a business, Human Resources and Change Management specialist. Passionate about leadership and organization development she has a track record in organization transformation and talent management both in India and overseas.
She has worked with several large multinational organizations like Standard Chartered Bank, Reebok, GE, Cummins Inc and most recently, with the British Oil Major BP plc where her last assignment was Global Head of Capability Development and Director of the Leadership Academy. She has extensive, diverse experience having lived and worked in the UK and Singapore with a broad geographical remit across several countries.
Ms. Gowrishankar has a BA in Sociology and a Post Graduate qualification in Human Resources from XLRI, a premier educational institution in India. She is a certified coach from the Neuroleadership Group (previously Results Coaching) Australia. Ms. Gowrishankar also holds certifications from SHL (Saville & Holdsworth) for designing and conduct of Assessment Centres, Instructional Design and Facilitation Skills from Skill Base UK.
Today, with an independent organization development practice, Ms. Gowrishankar continues to work with BP and other organizations coaching, guiding and facilitating leaders to transform self and the organization to meet the challenges of doing business in a highly volatile and dynamic environment. She has experience in leading several D&I initiatives including highly successful development offers for women both in India and overseas. Her credo is to make a positive difference to individuals and organizations. She believes in enduring partnerships built on trust and mutual respect. She is committed to leveraging diversity of thought and the human spirit for achieving the best outcomes.
Ms. Gowrishankar also holds Non - Executive Independent Directorships with 8 companies in India across diverse industries.
She has been a regular speaker at Indian and global conferences and has contributed to several case study commentaries in Indian business magazines.
Ms. Gowrishankar and her mother live in Pune, India. Her son, an event management specialist lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Neha Grover
Regional Lead-IFC,
South Asia Funds Group,
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Neha Grover
Regional Lead-IFC,South Asia Funds Group,
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Neha Grover is currently Regional Lead of IFC’s South Asia Funds group where she is responsible for identifying and investing into Funds, managing the current PE portfolio and focusing on co-investments. She serves on Advisory Boards of 6 (six) PE Funds. Her professional and personal investing experience spans across private and public markets and across diverse industries with specific focus on Consumer, Healthcare, Financial services, Manufacturing and Education sectors. Neha features as one of the 40 under 40 list and the top 100 women in finance in India (AIWMI 2019 list). She is an all-India rank-holding Chartered Accountant, a Company Secretary, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow (Ranked top 5).
Nic Querolo
Reporter,
Bloomberg
Nic Querolo
Reporter,Bloomberg
Nic Querolo covers Asian credit markets out of Bloomberg's Mumbai bureau. He previously covered American municipal finance in New York City, where he wrote about municipal bonds with a focus on K12 and higher education debt.
Nita Shivdasani
Managing Director, Client Origination &
Coverage Head,
Waterfield Advisors
Nita Shivdasani
Managing Director, Client Origination &Coverage Head,
Waterfield Advisors
Nita Shivdasani leads the HERitage segment at Waterfield Advisors. As the Managing Director of Client Coverage and Origination, she is responsible for managing the development of global wealth clients as well as managing their portfolios. Along with that she is also in charge of spearheading the HERitage segment, a wealth advisory proposition exclusively for women which has helped her gain expertise in HNI/UHNI advisory services. Her experience in portfolio construction, offshore advisory services and relationship management has added tremendous value to Waterfield’s proposition and offerings.
Prior to Waterfield, she has worked in organizations such as ABN Amro and Barclays Wealth in Singapore, where she was a Vice President and Director respectively. She was also responsible for setting up the private wealth service at Ambit Capital. Nita holds a Masters in Business Administration Sydenham Institute of Management Studies. Additionally, she has also set up a franchise of Kumon Institute of Education in Bombay.
Paula Mariwala
Founding Partner, Aureolis Ventures
Co-Founder/President Emeritus, Stanford Angels India
Paula Mariwala
Founding Partner, Aureolis VenturesCo-Founder/President Emeritus, Stanford Angels India
Physicist, technologist, investor, and mentor, Paula Mariwala brings over 25 years of experience shaping India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. A Stanford alumna, she was at the forefront of Indian venture capital before startups became “cool,” leading early-stage investments in transformative sectors like technology, sustainability, social impact, and women empowerment.
With a portfolio spanning 45+ companies she has invested in innovative companies across sectors like Pixxel, Brainsight, Boldcare, Karkhana and successful exits including RedBus, Carwale, Tred - to name a few - Paula is deeply experienced in the entire VC lifecycle—from sourcing and diligence to scaling and exits. Known for her hands-on approach, she partners closely with founders to help them build impactful and scalable businesses.
Through Aureolis Ventures, Paula continues to champion bold ideas with a focus on innovation, sustainability, and empowering visionary founders to create meaningful change.
Rema Subramanian
Co-founder and Managing Partner,
Ankur Capital Fund
Ritu Verma
Co Founder and Managing Partner,
Ankur Capital Fund
Roshini Bakshi
Managing Director, Private Equity & Head of Impact,
Everstone Capital Asia Pte.
Roshini Bakshi
Managing Director, Private Equity & Head of Impact,Everstone Capital Asia Pte.
Roshini is the Managing Director, Private Equity at Everstone Capital Asia Pte and the Head of Impact for the entire group. As an MD , she is focused on evaluating new opportunities, including thematic strategies in the consumer sector, and driving operational improvement in portfolio companies in the areas of, human capital management, brand transformation and implementation of ESG and Impact. She manages a diverse portfolio of companies based in India, and South East Asia as part of her remit.
Roshini has more than 30 years of general management and marketing experience and strong track record in consumer industries, setting strategy for creative consumer-driven services and improving operational effectiveness to create greater financial returns. Prior to Everstone, she was the CEO for the Walt Disney Company’s consumer, media and retail business for South Asia, where she set up and grew the business to more than $300 million in revenue. Some of her earlier roles were with Unilever, American Express, Mattel and Polaris.
Roshini serves on the boards of Persistent Systems, JM Financial Products as an Independent Director and on Everlife Pte, Singapore and Culinary Brands , India as a nominee director. She believes very strongly in young entrepreneurs as the future for innovation and growth and works closely with Endeavor.org as a mentor and global panelist helping shortlist the next generation of growth businesses.
Roshini holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad, India) and an undergraduate degree in economics from St Stephens College (Delhi, India).
She lives in Singapore and is a keen marathoner and is very passionate about running, finding a way to run and discover places on foot wherever she travels.
Shashi Singh
Chief Business Officer,
Singularity Holdings
Shweta Shroff Chopra
Partner,
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Sunil Mishra
Partner - Primary Investments,
Adams Street Partners
Sunil Mishra
Partner - Primary Investments,Adams Street Partners
Sunil specializes in fund selection, due diligence, negotiations, and monitoring of Asian investments ex-China, specifically in India, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Korea. He also actively participates in all fund investment decisions and is involved in the sourcing, screening, execution, monitoring, and exiting of growth and buyout co-investments.
Prior to joining Adams Street, Sunil worked for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore performing financial and business analyses of local and regional companies. Previously, he worked in India as an Investment and Strategy Associate in Tacogroup, the automotive technology and engineering investment arm of the Tata Group of India, where he worked on business planning, feasibility studies, and localization plans for new ventures.
Sunil manages relationships with several of Adams Street’s managers and sits on advisory boards of more than a dozen private equity firms within the Adams Street Partners portfolio. He is currently Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SVCA) and has been a member of the SVCA Board since 2016.
Vikram Raju
Managing Director | Head of Climate Investing | Private Credit & Equity,
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Vikram Raju
Managing Director | Head of Climate Investing | Private Credit & Equity,Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Vikram Raju is a Managing Director and serves as Head of the 1GT Platform and Head of Climate Investing for the Private Credit & Equity division of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Morgan Stanley IM). Prior to joining Morgan Stanley IM to set up the impact investing platform in 2014, Vikram was the Climate Funds Lead at the IFC/World Bank Group. Previously, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and a portfolio manager with Lazard Frères. Vikram is a past Chair of the Impact Council at the Global Private Capital Association and was previously an adjunct faculty member with the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Vikram received Masters degrees in Finance and International Affairs from Bombay and Columbia University, respectively. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Anita George
Chief Executive Officer,
ProsperETE
Anita George
Chief Executive Officer,ProsperETE
Anita has been an investor backing early trends with winning partners and established a distinguished track record in sustainable investments across the globe. In her last five and a half years with CDPQ, she established CDPQ’s office in India and soon after became Executive Vice President and Head of Emerging Markets at CDPQ. Her final post at CDPQ was as Executive Vice President and Deputy Head of CDPQ Global covering all geographies outside of Canada, supporting investments in renewable energy, highways, telecom, and venture fund investments in Emerging Markets. Anita spent 22 years at the World Bank Group with 14 of those years with the IFC in Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Municipal Finance and initiated the creation of IFC’s Venture group. Her various roles have led her to work in several regions of the world, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Ms. George holds a BA in Economics and Spanish from Smith College, in Massachusetts, and a Masters in Economics and an MBA in Finance from Boston University.
Ashima Setia
Vice President,
Sorin Investments
Ashima Setia
Vice President,Sorin Investments
Ashima believes that a bold vision, nurtured with solid execution, can create game-changing businesses. As a former operator, she is passionate about partnering with visionary and perseverant founders in creating lasting impact.
Ashima started her career as a trading analyst with Deutsche Bank in the European fixed-income markets. Post-MBA, she spent 5+ years with McKinsey & Co. across Healthcare, Financial Services and Logistics sectors. Some of the notable tech transformation journeys led by her include charting the path to 5x revenue for a multinational pharma CRO, achieving 40% y-o-y topline growth at a new-age logistics startup, and scaling SME lending business for a top private sector bank. Prior to joining Sorin, she was P&L Head for a key enterprise vertical at MediBuddy (a health tech startup) and steered the business towards EBITDA-positive margins during her tenure.
Ashima holds B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT Delhi and Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Ahmedabad, where she was a merit scholar during both the years
Ashwini Thulsaram
Principal and Head of the Governance,
Business Integrity and Closures (GBIC),
3one4 Capital
Ashwini Thulsaram
Principal and Head of the Governance,Business Integrity and Closures (GBIC),
3one4 Capital
At 3one4, Ashwini manages end-to-end deal closure processes that entail deal structuring, negotiation, closure of definitive documents, associated diligence, and valuation exercises. She also advices portfolios in relation to compliance issues taking into consideration the best practices of business at the intersection of the law.
Ashwini has the rich experience of having managed more than 70+ portfolio companies ranging from early to growth stages. She ensures that the delicate and indispensable balance between shareholder interests and the independence of the founding team members is maintained.
Prior to working at 3one4, she worked at a fintech startup in the blockchain space for 1.5 years where she managed the finance vertical. Drawing from her experience, she ensures that 3one4’s portfolio companies balance robust and resilient structures with the agility and responsiveness required in the early stage of startups.
Ashwini is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, a Company Secretary from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Christ University, Bangalore
Deepti Malik
Managing Director,
Stakeboat Capital
Deepti Malik
Managing Director,Stakeboat Capital
With 20 years of experience across various functions in banking, I have developed a diverse expertise in both Liabilities and Assets, having worked with leading private sector, multinational, and small finance banks in India. I served as the former Head of Retail Liability Business at Suryoday Small Finance Bank, where I was an active member of key committees, including the Executive Committee, Marketing, and Corporate Communications. Throughout my career, I have successfully scaled up functions and businesses within the banking framework, with over a decade of experience in Debt, Equity, and Alternative Investing. My expertise also extends to managing investor and stakeholder relationships, including regulators, institutions, family offices, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs). In addition to my role at Suryoday Small Finance Bank, I have held leadership positions at prominent financial institutions such as Axis Bank, where I was Senior Partner for Burgundy Private, HSBC as Vice President of Premier Banking, and Standard Chartered Bank as Associate Director in Private Banking. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Delhi and have furthered my education in Public Relations and Advertising from YWCA, Delhi.
Gurnoor Kaur
Senior Vice President,
TA Associates
Gurnoor Kaur
Senior Vice President,TA Associates
Gurnoor is focused on investments in business services and technology companies in India. Before joining TA, she gained valuable experience at Rothschild & Co., where she worked in the Investment Banking Division, handling sectors such as Telecom, Energy, Consumer, and Healthcare in Mumbai. She also worked at JP Morgan in the Investment Banking Division, specializing in Oil and Gas across London and Mumbai. Gurnoor holds an MBA from IIM Kozhikode and a B.Com. Honors degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.
Harsha Mundhada
Partner,
Inflexor
Harsha Mundhada
Partner,Inflexor
Harsha has been a member of the Inflexor team since inception. She handles multiple responsibilities in the fund ranging from handling investor relations, managing deal execution & portfolio management to dealing with the various legal aspects of investing. As a Partner in the firm, she plays a pivotal role in the strategic as well as day to day operations of the firm.
Prior to joining Inflexor, Harsha has close to a decade of experience handling financial due diligence in M&A transactions across the Big4 firms like EY, PwC and Deloitte. Her keen insight into financial performance of companies gives her the unique ability to evaluate transactions.
She has a dual distinction of being a rank holder during her CA as well as MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. She is an active member of the Women in Investing communities in Mumbai. She enjoys spending time with her family, has interest in spirituality, early childhood education and collecting handloom sarees from various parts of India
Kanwaljit Singh
Founder & Managing Partner,
Fireside Ventures
Kanwaljit Singh
Founder & Managing Partner,Fireside Ventures
With a career spanning more than 3 decades in the consumer brand and investing ecosystem, Kanwaljit Singh brings deep expertise in venture investing, strategy and business development, brand building and marketing.
As the Founder and Managing Partner of Fireside Ventures, he has successfully raised three separate funds (AUM US$400Mn) with notable investors include L’Oreal France, Investment Corporation of Dubai; Unilever Ventures, SIDBI (managing Govt of India’s Fund of Fund for startups), HDFC Bank, Waterfield Fund of Funds, etc. Apart from defining the overall contours of the portfolio he mentors entrepreneurs to scale and champions Fireside’s thought leadership. Kanwaljit is on the board of several companies, and at Fireside plays a pivotal role in the growth of brands like Boat, Slurrp Farm, Vahdam Teas, and The Ayurveda Experience etc. Prior to establishing Fireside Ventures, Kanwaljit invested personal capital and provided mentorship support to consumer brands like Licious and Mama Earth (both became Unicorns recently), Paper Boat, Epigamia, Yoga bar, amongst others.
Prior to this, as the co-founder and Senior MD at Helion Ventures (AUM US$600Mn) from 2005 to 2015 he worked closely with business in the consumer and consumer technology space. Some of his notable investments were Qwikcilver, ID Fresh, Simplilearn and Lifecell etc. Prior to Helion, as the Director of The Carlyle Group, India (2001-2005) he led investments in technology ventures. Kanwaljit’s foundational years (1987-2000) were at Hindustan Unilever focussing on sales, marketing and product innovation, along with a 3- year stint at Intel as the General Manager – Marketing overlooking responsibilities in India and the SAARC Countries.
Kanwaljit holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi; and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Punjab University.
Manish Kheterpal
Co-founder & Managing Partner,
WaterBridge Ventures
Manish Kheterpal
Co-founder & Managing Partner,WaterBridge Ventures
Manish has over 20 yrs. of experience in venture capital and private equity across India and North America. He has led US$ 850 Million of investments in India and across the US-India corridor. Manish has actively participated in 3 private equity and venture capital investment cycles across India, USA, and has a nuanced lens to the craft of private investing and fund management.
He is currently the Co-founder & Partner of WaterBridge Ventures, an India based home-grown early-stage VC firm with US$ 250 Million AUM. His investments at WaterBridge include leading start-ups like Atlan, Bijnis, CityMall, Chalo, Magicpin, Nymble, and Unacademy. Earlier he has been in senior investment roles at Rho Ventures (North America), Actis Capital (South Asia), and Director for Providence Equity Partners with a focus on India & SE Asia. Prior to a 2 decade career in the alternatives industry, Manish has held operating roles (tech, product marketing) in the telecom and tech sectors with Ciena (through acquisition of Cyras), Nortel and Infosys.
Manish is an active member of entrepreneurship and investing networks such as TiE (Delhi NCR, Bangalore), Stanford Angels. In the recent past as the Vice-Chair of IVCA’s VC Council, he has helped with many ecosystem building initiatives like ‘VC101’, ‘Bharat Vaapsi’, and ‘Venture IPO’s and Exits’. He is passionate about ‘India building for Bharat’ and ‘India building for the world’ opportunities.
Manish graduated with a B.Tech from IIT Delhi and an MBA from Stanford University (Graduate School of Business).
Nishtha Gaur
Associate Vice President,
Asha Ventures
Pawan Chaturvedi
Partner & Head-Asia,
Unilever Ventures
Priya Singh
Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Business Officer,
Chalo Mobility
Priya Singh
Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Business Officer,Chalo Mobility
Priya Singh is the Co-Founder, Director, and Chief Business Officer of Chalo Mobility, India’s leading bus transport technology company. With over 20 years experience across startups, internet industry, development sector, public-private partnerships, and government policy, Priya is driving meaningful change.
Before co-founding Chalo, she worked with international organisations like UN CARE and PSI and collaborated with the Government of Madhya Pradesh. She founded Rangrezza, an initiative to reduce the clothing industry's environmental impact. She played a key role in the core team at CarWale, India’s top automotive portal.
At Chalo, Priya is instrumental in digitising India’s public transport, operational in 65 cities, tracking 30,000 buses, and facilitating 180 million monthly rides.
Her global recognition includes her appointment to the World Economic Forum Global Board of Advisors as a 'New Champion.' A strong advocate for gender inclusivity, she has ensured a zero gender pay gap at Chalo and promotes diversity in decision-making and policy development. Her focus remains on sustainable, human and socio-economic development, and building better, more inclusive cities.
In 2021, Priya was named Emerging Women Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2023, she was featured in Hurun India’s Top 200 Self-Made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia.
Ralitsa Rizvanolli
Partner and Head of Investments,
Sarona Asset Management
Ralitsa Rizvanolli
Partner and Head of Investments,Sarona Asset Management
Rali is accountable for investment selection, execution and monitoring of investments for Sarona’s funds and impact mandates on behalf of third-party clients such as governments and non-profit organizations. Rali ensures that ESG and impact are embedded into the investment process. Rali is passionate about deepening the gender lens and climate risk assessment capabilities at Sarona, believing that investing with both lenses leads to better financial and sustainability outcomes. Prior to Sarona, Rali was an investment manager at Triple Jump. Rali built a portfolio of private equity and fixed income investments primarily in Africa and MENA for a fund of funds (Dutch Good Growth Fund) funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that Rali was a Portfolio Manager with responsibility for credit risk analysis and top-down allocation for microfinance funds. She started her career in microfinance, holding various positions at MIX Market, a data and market intelligence platform for the microfinance industry. Rali holds a B.A. in International Relations from Pomona College in California and an M.A. in International Development from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Rali was born and raised in Bulgaria and has spent extensive time working and living in emerging markets including Albania and Mexico. Rali currently heads Sarona’s Singapore office.
Renuka Ramnath
Founder, Managing Director, and CEO,
Multiples Alternate Asset Management
Renuka Ramnath
Founder, Managing Director, and CEO,Multiples Alternate Asset Management
Ms. Renuka Ramnath is the Founder, Managing Director, and CEO of Multiples Alternate Asset Management, a private equity manager and advisor to funds of ~ USD 3 bn in AUM.
Renuka Ramnath is one of the most experienced private equity fund managers in India, with a career of over 35 years in financial services across private equity, investment banking, and structured finance. Ms. Ramnath started her career with the ICICI group which culminated in becoming the MD & CEO of ICICI Venture. She was instrumental in building it into one of the largest private equity funds in the country. In 2009, she took an entrepreneurial turn and founded Multiples, a leading Indian private equity platform.
Renuka is driven by the ripple effects of supporting entrepreneurs in building sustainable businesses, resulting in employment generation, economic stimulation, and facilitation of nation-building. She is a Board member of GPCA, the global industry association for private capital. She is the Chairperson of Tata Communications Limited, a public company in the TATA Group. Renuka was the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association 2020 – 2022.
Renuka has frequently appeared in prestigious listings including Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business (Business Today, India), India's most Powerful CEO's (Economic Times), the Top 25 Non Bank Women in Finance (US Banker's global list), Asia's Women in the Mix: The Year's Top 50 for Achievement in Business (Forbes), Top 25 women in Asian Asset Management (Asian Investor) and Most Influential Women (Business World), Express Award for Women Entrepreneurs in Finance and Venture Capital (Financial Express), and The She List, featuring Top 100 Women Achievers in India (India Today).
Renuka holds a Bachelor of Engineering from VJTI and an MBA from the University of Mumbai. She has also completed the AMP from Harvard Business School
Rochelle Dsouza
Managing Director,
Lighthouse Funds
Rochelle Dsouza
Managing Director,Lighthouse Funds
Ms. D’Souza is a managing director at Lighthouse Advisors, a leading mid-market, private equity investment firm. She co-leads the investment team and specializes in food, healthcare and agri sectors. Ms. D’Souza’s current board positions include Tynor Orthotics, the largest orthotics soft good company in India, Wow! Momo Foods, which is India’s largest homegrown QSR brand, and V2 Retail, a leading value retailer. In her personal time, she serves as a mentor for the YEA Academy and is also an ambassador for WinPE, the network for women in private equity. She was Ranked among the Top 100 Women inFinance by AIWMI in 2019; Ms. D’Souza received her MBA from the SP Jain School of Management and holds a Bachelor in Engineering in Electronics from RVCE.
Saakshi Gera
Director,
Kedaara Capital
Saakshi Gera
Director,Kedaara Capital
Saakshi has ~15 years of investing experience encompassing the full life cycle of private equity in India. Saakshi is a Director at Kedaara Capital and leads Kedaara’s effort in Technology Services where she has led or advised on $900 million deployment by Kedaara in the space. She serves on the board of Impetus technology, GS Lab&GAVS technology, Universal Nutriscience and Spandana Financial. Saakshi actively works with her portfolio companies to drive the value creation plan by enhancing leadership capabilities, got-to-market approach , M&A synergies and systems and processes. Prior to joining Kedaara Capital, Saakshi served as an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, Principal Investing Arm (India office)
Saakshi has completed all levels of the CFA program (USA). She has done BA Economics from Delhi University, where she was a rank holder. These days she spends her free time in running after her 2 year old son.
Shivani Bhasin Sachdeva
Founder and CEO,
India Alternatives
Shyamala Gopinath
Non-Executive Chairperson,
HDFC Bank Ltd
Shyamala Gopinath
Non-Executive Chairperson,HDFC Bank Ltd
Ms. Shyamala Gopinath has 41 years of rich experience in financial sector policy formulation in different capacities at Reserve Bank of India (RBI). At RBI, she held key positions and guided & influenced national policies in diverse areas of financial sector regulation and supervision, the development and regulation of financial markets, capital account management, management of government borrowings, foreign exchange reserve management and payment and settlement systems.
She has served on several committees while with RBI. During 2001 to 2003, she was deputed as Senior Financial Expert at the International Monetary Fund. Ms. Gopinath retired as Deputy Governor of RBI, a position that she held for nearly 7 years. She served as Chairperson Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds for two years from 2012 to 2014.
Ms. Gopinath was also the Chairperson of the Board of Corporate Bonds and Securitisation Advisory Committee of SEBI.
Since 2012, Ms. Gopinath has held several Board positions in large corporates and public sector undertakings such as Clearing Corporation of India, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, GAIL and Ernst & Young (Global Governance Council). Presently, Ms. Gopinath serves as Independent Director on the Boards of other renowned companies. She is a part-time Non-Executive Chairperson of HDFC Bank Ltd. and Chairperson of the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Raipur.
Swati Mehra
Founding Partner,
Sixth Sense Ventures
Swati Mehra
Founding Partner,Sixth Sense Ventures
Swati Mehra is the Founding Partner at Sixth Sense Ventures which is India’s first Consumer VC Fund and currently manages US$0.5billion of capital. She has over 18 years of investment and research experience, during which she has closely worked with founders across early-stage to listed companies – creating disruptor brands, building emerging categories, and driving long term value creation. She has witnessed the complete lifecycle of 3 early-stage funds in India, from raising capital, investing to creating liquidity events. Swati has been adjudged as the Top 38 women torchbearers of India’s startup investor landscape.
Prior to Sixth Sense, Swati worked with IDFC Securities - leading investment research across consumer companies. She was awarded the No.1 Stock Picker by Thomson Reuters during this stint.
Swati is an MBA from INSEAD, CFA USA Charter holder, and a Computer Engineer (Gold Medallist) from Thadomal Shahani College.
Visalakshi Chandramouli
Managing Partner,
Tata Capital Healthcare Fund
Tata Capital
Anjali Sosale
Partner,
WaterBridge Ventures
Anjali Sosale
Partner,WaterBridge Ventures
Anjali Sosale is a GP at WaterBridge Ventures where she focuses on consumption and the gig economy. She was previous with Myntra Jabong and EY in leadership roles and is based in Bangalore. WaterBridge is a VC firm that partners with founders early, with a $1-3M cheque and continues to invest until Series C.
Ashley Menezes
COO & Partner,
ChrysCapital
Ashley Menezes
COO & Partner,ChrysCapital
Mr. Menezes is the COO and a Partner at ChrysCapital and has been with the firm for over 25 years. He is a member of the advisory committee and is responsible for diligence, regulatory/industry relationships, legal, compliance and operations. Mr. Menezes is a private equity veteran and is the chairperson of the Indian private equity association (and has served on its board for almost ten years). He is also a member of the CII National Committee of financial services and private equity as well as associated with other industry bodies.
Prior to ChrysCapital, Mr. Menezes was with KPMG, in its information technology and U.S. GAAP practices, where, among other things, he was involved in the ADR issues and NYSE/NASDAQ listings of several leading Indian companies. Mr. Menezes is a rank-holding Chartered Accountant and received a Bachelor’s degree in commerce from Mumbai University.
Bala C Deshpande
Founder Partner,
MegaDelta Capita
Bala C Deshpande
Founder Partner,MegaDelta Capita
Bala C Deshpande is the Founder Partner of MegaDelta Capital. Of her 32 years of experience, Bala has over two decades of investing experience. She started her investing career as Director Investments in ICICI Venture in 2001 and in 2008 she joined NEA at a General Partner to set up and head their India Practice. She along with two partners co-founded MegaDelta Capital in 2018-19.
MegaDelta Capital is a growth equity firm investing in Tech intensive and/or IP based businesses across consumer, healthcare, enterprise tech and disruptive services sectors. At MegaDelta, she is keen to back entrepreneurs who redefine markets, hack growth models to create lasting economic value. She is passionate about Technology and its far-reaching implications on markets, businesses and consumers and strongly believes that the next wave of large businesses will be created on the foundation of innovative Tech.
Over the years, she has held close to 40 Board positions in companies across a wide spectrum of industries. Her experience as a Board member is also variegated in terms of size and stage from young, high involvement companies to large listed companies. She has played an instrumental role in shaping many innovative businesses and entrepreneurial journeys. These include the first Internet IPO: Naukri.com, first 24-hour news channel: AAJ TAK, first Payment Tech company, several marquee consumer companies like Firstcry.com and GOQii that have redefined the sector.
Prior to her investing experience, Bala has had deep operating experience with reputed multi-national firms such as ICI, Cadbury’s and BestFoods. She is a Management Graduate from Jamnalal Bajaj and has a Master’s degree in Economics.
Diane Jegam
Regional Director,
South Asia Proparco
Diane Jegam
Regional Director,South Asia Proparco
Diane Jegam is the Regional Director of Proparco South Asia, covering the origination of both debt and equity investments in the region. Since joining French Development Agency in 2008, Diane held different positions within the group with a focus in Africa and has worked in numerous impactful sectors.
Before this posting in India, she held the position of Deputy Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) in Dakar (2017 – 2021), one of the important office of AFD Group network.
Imran Jafar
Managing Partner,
Gaja Capital
Imran Jafar
Managing Partner,Gaja Capital
Gaja Capital is India's leading mid-market growth capital investment firm with AUM of $750 million. Gaja Capital's aim is to help create India's next generation of market leaders in sectors such as Software, Education, Consumer, Financial Services and Healthcare.
Imran has 25 years of experience in Private Equity, Pharmaceuticals and Technology services. Prior to Gaja Capital, Imran worked in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility at Dr Reddy's and Wipro Technologies.
At Gaja Capital, Imran leads investments in the Software, Education, and Consumer clusters. He has been closely involved with Gaja Capital's investments in Amber (Student accommodation marketplace) Signzy (Saas platform for BFSI),LeadSquared (Sales automation Saas platform), Educational initiatives (B2B Ed-Tech). Kangaroo kids (Pre-K and K-12), KOOH Sports (Performance Sports), Sportzvillage (Youth Sports), Eurokids (Pre-K and K-12), John Distilleries (AlcoBev), CL Educate (Supplemental Education) and Indus World Schools (K12).
Imran has post graduate degrees in software engineering from BITS-Pilani and an MBA from IIM-Bangalore.
Karishma Makhija
Director,
Motilal Oswal Alternates
Karishma Makhija
Director,Motilal Oswal Alternates
Karishma joined Motilal Oswal Alternates in 2021. She is responsible for transaction sourcing & evaluation, financial analysis, deal documentation and portfolio management.
Ms. Makhija has 15+years of experience across Private equity, M&A & Investment Banking. During her career, she has successfully executed transactions, some of the notable ones include private equity investments in SK Finance, Happy Forgings, AU SFB, TransUnion CIBIL, India Shelter Finance and acquisition of Micro Housing Finance by Svatantra Microfinance.
Karishma holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from NM College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Manish Kejriwal
Founder & Managing Partner,
Kedaara Capital
Manish Kejriwal
Founder & Managing Partner,Kedaara Capital
Manish Kejriwal is the Founder and Managing Partner of Kedaara Capital. Kedaara is a private equity firm pursuing control and minority investment opportunities in India. It currently manages over ~US$ 6 billion through investments in several market leading businesses across a variety of sectors including consumer, financial services, pharma/healthcare, technology / business services and industrials. Kedaara’s operating partner model comprising former CEOs with proven track records of building market leading businesses. Since its inception, Kedaara has remained singularly dedicated to its stated strategy of focusing on investments built through trust-based relationships with best-in-class entrepreneurs and management teams across secular fast growing end markets. Kedaara combines the strengths of a well-networked, highly experienced local investing and operating team, with the experience of their strategic partner, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a global private equity firm.
In early 2004, Manish founded the India office of Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., where he headed all its investments and other activities till September 2011. During this time, Temasek invested over US$ 4 billion in India. He was a Senior Managing Director and also held multiple responsibilities in Temasek Singapore. He was a core member of its senior leadership team and a key member of Temasek Holding’s Senior Management Committee (SMC), and its Senior Investment & Divestment Committee (SIDC). He was also tasked to lead the firm’s global investments in the FIG sector, and its investments in Africa, Middle-East and Russia. Manish brings over 30 years of experience in investing, encompassing the full cycle of experiences in private equity across a variety of industries and sectors in private and public companies, and consulting.
Prior to Temasek, Manish was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, Inc. and was part of their New York, Cleveland and Mumbai offices. He helped found “The Private Equity Practice” during his years in New York and was instrumental in conceiving and co-authoring the widely followed “NASSCOM McKinsey reports”. Prior to McKinsey, Manish had worked at the World Bank in Washington D.C. and with Goldman Sachs (Principal Investment/Corporate Finance) in HK.
Manish received an AB from Dartmouth College where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Major in Economics and Engineering Sciences and where he received the Dean’s Plate. He holds an MBA from Harvard University, where he graduated with high distinction as a Baker Scholar.
Manish is currently the lead independent director at Bharti Airtel, on the boards of Bajaj Finserv Limited and Bajaj Holdings Investment Limited, and various Kedaara investee companies. He is also a Member of the Governing Board at K Raheja Corp. Over the years he has been on the boards of various portfolio companies: Temasek Holdings Advisors India, Parksons Packaging, ICICI Onesource, Punj Lloyd, Bharti Infratel, Fullerton Financial Holdings and Fullerton India Credit Company. He is passionate about driving a few select education initiatives reflected by his ongoing involvement in the United World College movement, as a founder trustee at Ashoka University and a former member of the Harvard Alumni Board.
Manish is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and was named a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum. Manish is the Co-chair of the CII National Committee on Private Equity and Venture Capital and was also a member of the Alternative Investments Policy Advisory Committee, constituted by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He has authored various articles on PE in India and has been profiled in various newspapers and periodicals. He is a sought after speaker at numerous conferences in India, Asia and North America. He was profiled as one of the “25 hottest young executives in India” by Business Today.
Nethra Bhat
Partner, Asia
Accion Digital Transformation
Nitya Agarwal
Vice President, Investments
3one4 Capital
Nitya Agarwal
Vice President, Investments3one4 Capital
Nitya Agarwal was an early addition to our
Investments team in 2019 and has since
been actively involved in creating a
thesis-driven pipeline for our ground-up
proprietary sourcing engine to discover the
next set of generational companies.
Outside of Investments, Nitya works closely
with 3one4-portfolio companies to assist
them with strategic, growth, and fundraising
initiatives.
Prior to joining 3one4 Capital, Nitya was part
of Gartner's Quantitative Analytics and Data
Sciences team and played an integral role in
their CIO Advisory Council. As one of the
youngest associates in the team, Nitya
owned end-to-end research/advisory
projects for CIOs of Fortune 500 companies.
During her tenure spread between India and
the US, Nitya published several
white-papers, worked on collective research
projects, and created interactive-tools to
drive client utilisation and renewals.
Nitya owns and drives a sizeable portion of
3one4 Capital's bottom-up thesis driven
selection routines while comprehensively
identifying markets that are large, growing,
and ripe for disruption
Pooja Parmar
Principal,
Equanimity Investments
Pooja Parmar
Principal,Equanimity Investments
Pooja is one of the founding team members at Equanimity, an early-stage venture capital fund based out of Mumbai. She has been with the fund for 7 plus years and manages the entire investment lifecycle starting from sourcing to evaluation to exit. She has led investments across sectors in companies such as Renee cosmetics, Nirmaan, Edept, Insurance Samadhan, SamosaSingh, Bookeventz, Navata supply chain solutions, etc. Prior to Equanimity, she worked at Housing.com as a Finance Business Partner to the technology and product teams.
She is a Chartered Accountant and a commerce graduate from NM College, Mumbai.
Puja Sondhi
Partner,
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Puja Sondhi
Partner,Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Puja is a leading advisor with expertise in foreign investment and regulatory affairs, mergers & acquisitions (incl. public M&A), venture capital, growth capital & private equity investments, joint ventures, and corporate restructuring. Puja has successfully closed numerous complex, award-winning transactions requiring innovative structuring, regulatory expertise and solution-oriented approach across diverse sectors. Puja is dual-qualified and has practiced in New York and India.
Ratna Mehta Nair
CEO & Managing Partner,
Fundalogical Ventures
Rohan Paranjpey
Managing Partner,
Waterfield Fund of Funds
Rohan Paranjpey
Managing Partner,Waterfield Fund of Funds
Rohan Paranjpey serves as the Managing Director and Head of Alternative Investments across Advisory and Funds at Waterfield Advisors. He leads the team responsible for formulating portfolio strategies for clients in unlisted investments, including sourcing and evaluating startups. In his role as the Managing Partner for Waterfield Fund of Funds (FoF), Rohan is responsible for leading and managing investments into VC and PE funds and co-investments with those funds.
With over 15 years of experience spanning alternative investments
Sangeetha Rajan
Co-founder,
The Arts Quotient Learning Experiences Pvt. Ltd.
Sangeetha Rajan
Co-founder,The Arts Quotient Learning Experiences Pvt. Ltd.
A powerhouse of talent, skills and experience, Sangeetha combines her expertise as a qualified psychologist, a people development professional and an Indian classical dancer to bring rich, multi-disciplinary insights into TAQ. She holds a Masters in Psychology, an LLB, a PGD in PM&IR from XLRI and a PhD from TISS.Her experience in people development began with roles at Maruti and ICICI Bank and spans over two decades in learning and psychometrics.
She is certified to use Hogan Assessments, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and SHL’s OPQ and ability tests. Sangeetha is the recipient of the Shringar Mani title for excellence in Odissi dance, was nominated to the International Council for Dance (CID-UNESCO) in 2013, was nominated for Best Choreography at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards 2018, and is leading a new generation of dancers at the Urban Temple Dance Repertory.
Along with co-founder Swati Apte, she draws on principles, practices, skills and perspectives from the arts to create transformative art-based learning experiences at TAQ.
Shuchi Pandya
Principal,
Fireside Ventures
Shuchi Pandya
Principal,Fireside Ventures
Shuchi has 16+ years of operational and entrepreneurial experience across fashion & home. She started Pipa.Bella, a D2C jewellery brand in 2013, which she later sold to Nykaa in 2021. She worked in Nykaa Fashion’s senior leadership team, where she led the P&L and brand strategy for private labels across western-wear, Indian-wear and accessories. Having been largely an operator for most of her career, Shuchi loves to roll up her sleeves and dive right in to find solutions and works with a strong customer intuition and product instinct.
Shuchi holds a BS, Economics from the NYU Stern School of Business, and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Sujeet Govindaraju
Managing Director, PVC & India Office Head
CPP Investments
Sujeet Govindaraju
Managing Director, PVC & India Office HeadCPP Investments
Sujeet leads CPP Investments’ Portfolio Value Creation (PVC) team in India. He works with portfolio companies on value creation opportunities across functional topics and due diligence on significant potential investments. Sujeet also provides regional leadership in India as the Office Head.
Prior to joining CPP Investments in 2018, Sujeet worked at McKinsey & Company based in US, Europe and India with expertise in corporate strategy, capital productivity and organisational topics. Before that, Sujeet ran a Waste to Energy company with operations in four cities in India.
Sujeet received a BE (Computer Science) from Osmania University (India) and MBA from Harvard Business School.
Sujeet currently serves on the Board of CPPIB India Advisors.
Upasana Taku
Co-Founder,
MobiKwik
Upasana Taku
Co-Founder,MobiKwik
Upasana Taku is the chairperson of the MobiKwik Board and the Executive Director, Co-Founder and CFO of the MobiKwik Group. She co-founded MobiKwik with a vision to transform the digital financial services and payments landscape in India. She believes that the India Fintech opportunity will be at least $1TN and that MobiKwik will be a significant part of it.
A phenomenal closer, Upasana has an unparalleled record in getting strategic deals/projects done in record time and is an inspiring leader. She has always been passionate about creating an impact at the grassroot levels, which brought her back to India from the US in 2008. Her hard work and desire to serve the community have made her an inspirational figure who has been recognized many times as one of India's leading Tech founders.
Upasana holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Punjab Technical University and a Master's degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. She has 18+ years of experience in product, payments, and financial services. Prior to her entrepreneurial journey, she worked as a Product Manager at PayPal, San Jose, in the Financial Services, Global Payments and Risk divisions. She also had a stint with HSBC, San Diego, working in the Product team of their auto finance division.
Upasana has been featured amongst the top 15 richest self-made women in India in the Kotak Wealth Hurun – Leading Wealthy Women List 2020 and 2021. In 2018, she was felicitated by the President of India as the First woman to lead a payments start-up. In 2019, she was featured in the top 25 accomplished women shaping Asia's business landscape in Forbes Asia's Power Businesswomen list.
VT Bharadwaj
Co-Founder & General Partner,
A91 Partners
VT Bharadwaj
Co-Founder & General Partner,A91 Partners
VT Bharadwaj is a General Partner at A91 Partners, an Indian private investment firm that seeks to partner with founders to build enduring businesses for tomorrow’s India.
Prior to co-founding A91 Partners, VT was a Managing Director at Sequoia Capital, a global venture capital firm in India where he led investments in consumer, pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Prior to that he worked at McKinsey & Co.
VT has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and a BE (Hons) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS Pilani.
VT is a trustee at Ashoka University, a board member of IIM Ahmedabad Endowment Management Company, a Founding Circle member of Museum of Art & Photography and involved with Cuddles Foundation and Swasth Foundation.