Our People

Venkatesh is Managing Director at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors. He has over 20 years of industry experience, including 14 years of venture experience.

Venkatesh has been with Chiratae for over a decade and leads the SaaS / Cloud practice. He has been instrumental in driving several SaaS investments and has over the past three years authored the report on “Indian SaaS Revolution”. Meeting early-stage founders and working closely in their initial journey is what Venkatesh enjoys the most.

Venkatesh has led investments in Deepfence, GetVantage, Healthplix, Hevo Data, Pixis, Questt, Rentomojo, SquadCast and SquadStack and support role in Lenskart. In addition, he has generated exits from investments in Unbxd, Hiree, Hansel.io and Infisecure.

Prior to Chiratae Ventures, Venkatesh has over six years of experience in Venture Capital, Investment Banking and Start-up leadership roles at Reliance Ventures, Credit-Suisse, Adventity and Blue Star Infotech.

Venkatesh is an active CFA charter holder from the CFA institute, USA and holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from VJTI, Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS).

Anoop Menon is Principal in the Investment team. He leads the Consumer-Tech sector. He is building the Investor and the Strategic partner network in APAC focused on Singapore, Japan, SEA, Hongkong, Korea and ANZ.

In a career spanning over 18 years across Management Consulting, Family Office VC – leading and managing an early-stage startup portfolio to leading a Media-tech startup as CEO, Anoop has donned multiple hats. Prior to Chiratae, Anoop worked at Accenture Ventures – partnering, investing and acquiring startups with Deep-tech capabilities for its Open Innovation platform in India. He led the organisation’s lone acquisition of a Data-AI startup in India in May 2020. Anoop was responsible for driving Innovation Strategy and Corporate Venturing as a Service for Accenture’s clients and was part of Accenture India’s Investment Committee for its CSR Investments into Social startups. He also conceptualised and launched Accenture’s 2 Centers of Excellence with IISc, Bangalore and IIT-Madras in Advanced Computing and Industry 4.0 respectively.

Taking his interest in early-stage investments forward, he founded the IIM Indore Alumni Angel fund and served on its Fund-1 as an Investment committee member.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from University of Madras and MBA (PGDM) from Indian Institute of Management – Indore.

Investments: PlayShifu, Shopdeck, Tamasha, Railofy, Artium Academy, Oye Rickshaw

Anoop is a foodie and loves playing basketball, badminton and board games.

Amish is a Principal with Chiratae Ventures, leading the Portfolio Growth and Exits. Action oriented, Amish is always on the move. When not interacting and engaging with people he is devoted to his favourite causes.

At Chiratae Amish focuses on developing a network with Investors, Strategic Players and Bankers, to enable growth for the Portfolio in terms of follow-on investments, acquisitions and exits. Amish leads Spotlight – Chiratae Ventures’ flagship platform for enabling discovery and engagement between Portfolio and Investors.

Amish has experience in the consulting and investment banking domain. He started his career with McKinsey & Co. as a Research Analyst. He has over 15 years of experience in the Investment Banking domain with YES Bank and PwC. Experience covers products like M&A, Fund Raise and Capital Markets. At PwC, he established the New Age Digital and TMT vertical for the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking team. Along with deal experience, he brings an extensive network in the ecosystem.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Narsee Monjee College and MBA from IIM Indore.

Amish is actively involved with an NGO, which undertakes Eye Donation and Blood Donation in Mumbai. He has a sweet tooth, and loves spending time with his daughter.

Mandeep Julka is Vice President at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, and leads investing in Seed and Series A deals.

Prior to Chiratae Ventures, Mandeep worked with Ola, where she headed Business Finance for Ola Financial Services, including Digital Lending and Digital Insurance verticals. Before that, she worked in the FinTech investing team at IFC, Washington DC, and at Brightriver Capital, a sector agnostic PE fund, in Singapore. Earlier in her career, she has worked at SBI Capital Markets, Mumbai, where she led fund raising for maritime projects.

Mandeep holds a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical Engineering from PEC, Chandigarh, and has also studied in FMS, Delhi and at the Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago. She is an active CFA charterholder from the CFA institute, USA

Mandeep enjoys reading, travelling, and staying up-to-date with her watchlists.

Kailash is a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures where he focuses on seed stage investment opportunities in early stage tech companies. He supports the team in identifying promising tech ventures, conducting due-diligence and documentation, and post-investment portfolio management and tracking the performance of investee companies.

Prior to joining Chiratae, Kailash was a part of the investment teams at Bharat Innovation Fund, an early stage deeptech focused venture capital fund and Unitus Ventures, an seed stage investor in companies building technology solutions for the masses. He comes with a healthcare management background having started his career and served as the Vice President at the Corporate office of Narayana Health, one of the leading hospital chains in the country.

In 2021, Kailash was recognised as one among the Top Under 40 in the alternative investments space in India by AAAIF and AIWMI.

Kailash has completed his MBA (PGDM) from IIM-Bangalore, holds a bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering from NITK Surathkal and is a CFA Charterholder. Over the years, he has been an active member of Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youth (SPICMACAY). Apart from early stage investments, Carnatic music and Tamarind rice (Puliyogare) with South Indian filter coffee hold special place in his heart.

Chandraneel is a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, where he focuses on evaluating investments in early stage companies. In addition to evaluating new investments, he actively engages in building investment thesis around the sectors and supports the portfolio companies as they grow

Prior to joining Chiratae, Chandraneel worked as an Investment Banking Associate at JP Morgan in the North American Healthcare group, where he was involved on various M&A and equity capital raises

Chandraneel holds a B.E (hons) Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree from BITS Pilani, where he was an elected member of the student council. He has also cleared 2 levels of the CFA program and is currently a Level 3 candidate. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor sport namely badminton and cricket and is a fitness enthusiast

Sarthak has worked in venture investing for over four and a half years with reputed Indian and Global funds, primarily focusing on seed to Series A rounds. His deal-making expertise spans diverse sectors, including Consumer, SaaS, Fintech, and B2B Marketplaces. He has worked closely with founders across fundraising, hiring, and miscellaneous tactical and strategic issues and has been fortunate to see 0-1 playbooks closely as a part of his professional journey. In his previous professional life, Sarthak was an operator, creating and successfully selling Machine Learning Solutions to small businesses.

He holds a BTech degree from IIT Bombay and a PG from Ashoka University, showcasing his strong educational foundation.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Sarthak's interests span the spectrum from music, particularly singing, to watching sports and exploring new culinary experiences.

Naimil is part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, specialising in early-stage investments in SaaS and technology startups. Apart from identifying promising investment opportunities, he dedicates his efforts to supporting portfolio companies and formulating investment theses around sectors.

In his previous roles, he has been an operator and focused on building global-scale products and platforms. Before joining Chiratae Ventures, Naimil served as a Product Manager at Microsoft, contributing to the creation of an employee engagement platform. Before pursuing his MBA, he gained valuable experience working on high-value data platforms and establishing cloud infrastructure for banking and insurance applications at HSBC.

Naimil holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and a B.E. in Computer Science from BITS Pilani (Goa campus). He actively participated in entrepreneurship clubs at both institutions and has been deeply involved with startups and founders for several years.

Beyond his professional endeavours, he finds joy in playing badminton, exploring new musical pursuits, and indulging in non-fiction and poetry reading during his leisure time.

Yash is part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, specialising in Seed to Series B start-ups in B2B and Healthcare space. Apart from identifying promising investment opportunities, he dedicates his effort to supporting portfolio companies and formulating thesis around these sectors. In his previous experience, he was part of the Investment team at Alkemi Growth Capital, an early growth fund focused on Healthcare and Consumer wellness, where he looked at opportunities in these sectors and assisted the fund leadership in fundraising activities. Before Alkemi, He worked as a Management Consultant with PwC India, helping companies across sectors (IT services, Hospitality, Food and Beverages) frame their revenue growth strategy. Before pursuing his MBA, he worked as a consultant with ZS associates, where he helped Fortune 500 pharma companies in long- and short-term financial planning and commercial assessment of M&A opportunities.

Yash holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from VNIT Nagpur. He is also an active CFA charter holder from the CFA Institute, USA.

In his leisure time, Yash enjoys playing table tennis and badminton and loves dancing.

Thejeswi is a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, where she focuses on early-stage investments in tech startups by building investment theses, conducting diligences and sourcing new companies. Apart from evaluating new investments, she also focuses on actively working with portfolio companies as they build and grow their businesses.

Prior to this, Thejeswi worked at JP Morgan as a Structurer for their EMEA Equity Derivatives desk. As part of the role, she developed structured product solutions for clients such as Banks, Family Offices and HNIs to achieve their investment goals and effectively manage investment risk. She also interned at organizations like MSCI, Deloitte and Halliburton across a variety of sectors.

Thejeswi graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) in 2020 with a B.E. in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Finance. In college she was the Convener of Waves, the annual cultural festival of BITS and an active member of the institute Dance Society, being a trained classical dancer.

Ritu Bansal is Vice President at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, where she leads investor relations and India focused fund-raising through distribution.

Prior to Chiratae, Ritu had rich experience in managing family offices and large investors across multiple regions in India. She headed the B2B business, research and international products at Stockal. Previous to Stockal, she has been a private banker across organizations like Axis Bank, RBS – Coutts, Sanctum Wealth and HDFC Bank across Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore. She is a postgraduate from IISWBM Kolkata. She is an avid photographer, loves gardening and a pet lover.

Amritha heads the legal team at Chiratae Ventures and primarily handles complex portfolio matters, fund formation and documentation for fundraising, commercial agreements and other strategic matters. Amritha considers an efficient and solution-based approach her core professional value and enjoys working towards legally sound solutions that achieve the commercial objective.

She has more than 16 years of post-qualification experience - starting her career as a generalist advising on different areas of law, including corporate transactions, dispute resolution, public policy, intellectual property, real estate, and general corporate advisory before finding her area of interest and specialising in venture and private equity investments, acquisitions, commercial contracts and anti-harassment laws.

As a lawyer specialising in transactions, Amritha advised financial investors, including some of the largest venture capital firms and renowned corporations with their investments in multiple jurisdictions, and businesses and promoters with their fundraising and other regulatory requirements.

Prior to switching to the role of an in-house counsel and joining Chiratae, Amritha worked at leading Indian law firms for about 16 years - spending close to a decade as partner at law firms.

Amritha is a gold medalist with a B.A., LL.B., Law degree from University Law College, Bengaluru.

A fitness buff, her hobbies include travelling to and learning about new places and cultures, trekking the Himalayas and reading.

Abhishek Raj leads the Portfolio Finance function at Chiratae Ventures, joined the firm in 2018 and works with portfolio companies to identify and resolve compliance and governance issues through due diligence and contribute towards fair valuation for financial reporting to investors.

Prior to joining Chiratae, has been associated with Sequoia Capital India, Goldman Sachs and Citi Hedge Fund Services.

Abhishek is a Chartered Accountant with a B.Com (Hons) degree from Banaras Hindu University and is a candidate of CFA Level III.

He is an auto enthusiast and nature traveller.

Raghu leads the whole gamut of administrative responsibilities and guides the activities of the admin team members to provide prompt and efficient services, and ensures 24/7 smooth operations and healthy functioning of the overall facilities. He has been at Chiratae for over 16 years, and nothing escapes his astute purview. He is also the go-to person for all information, events, and activities.

With over 35 years of work experience, he has rich experience in Office Administration, Corporate Communications, Secretarial, Sales and Trading. Prior to joining Chiratae Ventures, Raghu worked for CYIENT (Infotech Enterprises), Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd., SOL Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Hyderabad.

Raghu holds a Master’s Degree in Commerce, Bachelor’s Degree in Law and MBA (HR) from IGNOU, New Delhi.

A deeply spiritual person, he believes that respect has to be earned. He loves movies and acting, and if he weren’t at Chiratae, he would be in the movies.

Vikram serves as the Finance Controller at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, where he plays a pivotal role in managing fund accounting, investor reporting, financial activities, and ensuring adherence to statutory compliance. He oversees crucial functions such as MIS, financial reporting of entities, and effectively manages audits and tax-related activities at Chiratae Ventures India.

Before joining Chiratae, Vikram was part of KPMG India, where he demonstrated his expertise by conducting statutory audits for a diverse client portfolio. His experience spanned various sectors, including private equity funds, real estate, service companies, manufacturing, and trading companies. Notably, he was involved in engagements requiring reporting compliance under rigorous frameworks such as Ind AS, IGAAP, US GAAP, and IFC.

Vikram is a qualified Chartered Accountant, showcasing his deep understanding of financial management, accounting principles, and regulatory frameworks. He holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Kuvempu University.

Outside of his professional commitments, Vikram finds enjoyment in playing cricket during his free time. This hobby not only provides him with a means of relaxation but also reflects his commitment to teamwork, discipline, and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Tanvi Dubey is Manager- Marketing at Chiratae Ventures. She is focused on building and executing the Marketing Strategy of the brand.

She was previously with Sigma Ventures, a VC fund. Tanvi has also worked closely with different ecosystem stakeholders during her time at YourStory. She brings her experience of storytelling, brand positioning, building communities, and leveraging new age media to create value.

Tanvi did her graduation and post-graduation from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

A pet parent, she is a foodie who can cook and buys books faster than she can read them.

Vineetha is Asst. Manager – Legal at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors.

Before joining Chiratae, she worked at leading Indian law firms such as Samvad Partners and Poovayya & Co., Bangalore. She has advised domestic and international clients throughout her career, including venture capital and private equity funds, startups, MNCs, unicorns, promoters and HNI’s on investment transactions, deal structuring, and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Vineetha is a B.A., LLB (Hons.) graduate from the School of Law, Christ University.

Her interests revolve around cooking, gardening, home décor and travelling.

Vaibhav is the Compliance Officer of the Gift City Office. He will closely work on all compliance aspects of the Gift City Office, including but not limited to investor onboarding, the lifecycle of fund management and related compliance activities, interactions with regulators representing Chiratae Ventures, and other ecosystem-related activities. He has over 8 years of experience in legal, compliance, and allied areas.

He was responsible for offshore legal, compliance, and distribution-related tasks at DSP Global Services (Mauritius) and DSP Fund Managers (Gift City). He is a semi-qualified company secretary and holds a master's degree in Commerce and a diploma in Financial Management. He has also recently completed an international postgraduate diploma in Financial Crime Compliance from FSI Mauritius.

Outside of work, he enjoys playing cricket, reading, and travelling.

Shalini has joined Chiratae Ventures as the Product Lead and will be supporting all digital transformation initiatives. She uses her expertise to collaborate with stakeholders to craft a vision and concept development of a product.

Shalini has an experience of 6 years in various startups, managing and developing multiple tech projects over different sectors. She holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from CMR Institute of Technology, Bangalore.

Shalini is an avid painter. She also loves to cook, read, and travel. She is a dog lover as well and works with multiple NGOs in bangalore

Yukti is a part of the Portfolio Finance team at Chiratae Ventures, where she focuses on valuations of portfolio companies invested by Chiratae Ventures, conducting financial due diligences and works with portfolio companies to address quantitative aspects. Apart from this, she also focuses on preparing fund raising documents and skillfully navigates investor relation matters.

Prior to this, Yukti worked at TresVista as an offshore analyst in the private equity division of the largest asset manager in the world and assisted the deal team in the preparation of 5+ Investment Memorandums. As part of the role, she researched and prepared portfolio summary, DCF analysis, public comparable analysis, company overview, industry, and GP overview for investments. She also built financial model from scratch to calculate the intrinsic value of ESOPs for an Investment Banking client.

Yukti has cleared all levels of CFA in her first attempt and graduated from Christ University, Bengaluru in 2020 with a Bachelor of Business Administration specialised in Finance. In college, she was the Event Head at an annual management fest of Christ and loves playing table tennis and badminton in her free time.

As a dedicated member of the Chiratae team, I am passionately involved in driving the company's mission of fostering innovation and growth. At Chiratae, I work as a Senior Executive in Fund Accounting. Prior to joining Chiratae, I held positions at PwC and BDO, where my major roles involved auditing private equity funds domiciled in Delaware, the Cayman Islands, and Luxembourg. I hold a B.Com Honours degree from CMR University and I am a finalist of the ACCA qualification.

Beyond my professional pursuits, I have a deep passion for movies and exploring various culinary delights. These hobbies bring me joy and relaxation and provide unique opportunities for personal growth and inspiration.

At Chiratae, Pavan works on ESG and Impact initiatives and engagements, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on strategy, execution, reporting and communication in the ESG and Impact Space.

Pavan has four years of work experience across sectors like strategy consulting (ESG), financial services, and engineering design. While at EY and Caspian Impact Investments, he has been part of engagements on sustainability deal advisory, ESG value creation, impact assessment, financial risk management, and ESG due diligence. Pavan holds a B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, with a specialisation in Environmental Management.

He enjoys playing cricket and football in his free time and follows Royal Challengers Bangalore and Leicester City football club.

At Chiratae, Ankita plays a pivotal role within the Fundraising Team, working diligently to help achieve fundraising targets. She also takes on the Investor Relations role, ensuring a seamless transition for LPs at Chiratae while nurturing strong relationships with investors and other stakeholders.

Ankita holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sophia College, Ajmer, and an MBA from the Central University of Rajasthan. With nearly four years of experience in the BFSI industry, she has previously worked with renowned companies like Sharekhan.

In her free time, Ankita enjoys exploring new destinations through her travels.

Ratan N Tata was the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, from 1991 till his retirement on December 28, 2012. He was also chairman of the major Tata companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and Tata Teleservices. During his tenure, the group’s revenues grew manifold, totalling over $100 billion in 2011-12.
Mr Tata is also associated with various organisations in India and overseas. He is the chairman of two of the largest private-sector-promoted philanthropic trusts in India. He is a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry. He is the president of the Court of the Indian Institute of Science and chairman of the Council of Management of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He also serves on the board of trustees of Cornell University and the University of Southern California. Mr Tata serves on the board of directors of Alcoa, and is also on the international advisory boards of Mitsubishi Corporation, JP Morgan Chase, Rolls-Royce, Temasek Holdings and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Mr Tata received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell in 1962. He worked briefly with Jones and Emmons in Los Angeles before returning to India in late 1962. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1975.
The Government of India honoured Mr Tata with its second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2008. He has also received honorary doctorates from several universities in India and overseas.

Mr Senapathy “Kris” Gopalakrishnan is the Chairman of Axilor Ventures, a seed fund. Kris served as the vice chairman of Infosys from 2011 to 2014 and the chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys from 2007 to 2011. Kris is one of the co-founders of Infosys. Recognized as a global business and technology thought leader, he was voted the top CEO (IT Services category) in Institutional Investor’s inaugural ranking of Asia’s Top Executives and selected as one of the winners of the second Asian Corporate Director Recognition Awards by Corporate Governance Asia in 2011. He also was selected to Thinkers 50, an elite list of global business thinkers, in 2009. He was elected President of India’s apex industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2013-14, and served as one of the co-chairs of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2014.
In January 2011, the Government of India awarded Mr. Gopalakrishnan the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian honour.
Mr Gopalakrishnan serves on the Board of Governors of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and is the Chairman, Board of Governors of IIIT, Bangalore. He is the Chairman of the Vision Group on Information Technology of Karnataka Government and the Chairman of CII Start-up Council. Mr Gopalakrishnan invests in promoting research on Brain sciences, aging related disorders as well as investing in start-ups and start-up ecosystem.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan holds Master’s degrees in physics and computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Kris is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) and an Honorary Fellow of Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) of India.

Mr. Bruno E. Raschle is the Founder, Managing Director, and Non-Executive Vice Chairman of Schroder Adveq. He served as an Executive Chairman. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and founded the firm in 1997.
Mr. Raschle served as the Founder and Managing Director at the MC Partners fund of funds investment programs at Motor Columbus. His operational experience includes the management of start-up, turn-around, and expansion opportunities in various industries on different continents. From 1994 to 1997, he was the General Manager of the Fastening Division of the privately-held SFS Stadler Group, Heerbrugg, Switzerland, for three years.
Mr. Raschle has also financed over a dozen start-up companies and served on several of their Board of Directors, including Ballard Power Systems. Mr. Raschle has over 15 years of experience in venture capital investing. He has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.
Mr. Raschle holds an M.S. in Construction Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

Dr. Andreas is the Chair of Hettich Group Advisory Board. The Hettich Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of furniture fittings with annual revenue of €1.1 billion. Dr. Hettich is non-executive director of Hettich India private limited and he is also the Managing Partner of his own holding group, Dr. Hettich Beteiligungen GmbH, which has investments in other companies like EWIKON, Halemeier, the educational company “das Forscherhaus” amongst other entrepreneurial holdings.
Dr. Hettich also serves as a member of advisory councils, supervisory boards of companies Jowat, Peter Lacke, FSB and Georg Nordmann Holding.

Manish Choksi is currently Vice Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Asian Paints Limited, he joined Asian Paints Limited in the year 1992 as an Executive and has grown in ranks by holding various positions across Sales, Information Technology, Supply Chain, Chemicals, HR and General Management in the Company.
Before being inducted as the Vice Chairman / Non – Executive Director on the Board of Directors of the Company, he held the position of President – International Business, IT, HR and Chemicals. He was a member of the Executive Council of Asian Paints group and reported to the Managing Director & CEO of the Company. He spearheaded the Information Technology function of the Company and has been instrumental in leveraging IT solutions across the extended enterprise and achieving improved business performance. He led the International Business of the Company and has led the Company’s efforts in expansion of its emerging markets portfolio. He has been a catalyst for the company’s foray into home improvement. Manish has significantly contributed in achieving the Company’s growth plans and more particularly in the critical areas of implementation of Supply Chain management solutions. He has also played an active role in restructuring the Joint Venture companies of the Company with PPG Industries Inc., USA.
He is an active angel investor with particular interest in investing in companies that champion cross leverage of physical and ecommerce models with a focus on consumers and data / analytics.
A leader in the IT community and the former Chairman of INDUS, a 1100+ company network of SAP users. He has been on the advisory boards of IBMs Collaboration business, the Asia Pacific Executive Advisory Board of SAP APAC, member of the Global Chemical Executive Advisory Board of SAP SE and a member of SUGEN, a global executive network of the all SAP user groups worldwide.

Ken Shibusawa founded in 2001, Shibusawa and Company, Inc., a strategic advisory firm for alternative investments, ESG/SDGs alignment and human resource development. He also founded in 2008, Commons Asset Management, a mutual fund dedicated to deliver long term investment opportunities to the Japanese household. In 2023, he founded &Capital, Inc., an impact fund management company for Africa. He has extensive market experience at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs as well as Moore Capital, a global macro hedge fund, where he was the representative managing director of the Tokyo Office.

He is also director and co-chair of the Global South Africa Committee of Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), and is a member of numerous government committees, including the Council for New Form of Capitalism, established by Prime Minister Kishida. In addition, he is an advisor to the Office of the President at the University of Tokyo, steering committee member of UNDP SDG Impact, board member of the International Foundation for Valuing Impact, a special advisor to the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Boards) chair, chairman of GSG (Global Steering Group for Impact Investment) National Advisory Board Japan. And most recently was named as co-head of Triple I (Impact Investment Initiative) for Global Health, an initiative that was endorsed by G7 leadership at the Hiroshima Summit.

He is a published author and writes frequently for magazines, journals, and internet media. He also publishes and hosts of a podcast, Made With Japan https://madewithjapan.net/

He was educated in the United States from second grade elementary through college (University of Texas, BS Chemical Engineering, 1983), and then returned again for graduate school (University of California Los Angeles, MBA, 1987).

A successful entrepreneur, Pat is a sought-after consultant for various tech companies in Silicon Valley and across the globe. He is also the Chair of the Board of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a philanthropy focused on advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science to create an equitable, and sustainable future for all. Over the past 25 years, he has been supporting emerging tech solutions for industry as well as their applications for good.

Puneet Pushkarna is currently General Partner of Solmark, a private equity fund formed by a group of tech entrepreneurs who have launched and built several companies and bring expertise in all aspects of growing a company in a competitive global marketplace. Solmark’s target portfolios include FinTech, Business Platforms, Cloud Technologies, Analytics, Data Management, MedTech and Customer Experience Management companies.

Prior to this, he was the President of Headstrong, a highly specialized deep- domain business in the Capital Markets that helped its customers through a strong process-centric digital technology services platform, leading to transformation in the front, middle, and back office.

He was also the co-founder of TechSpan, a Goldman Sachs-backed design thinking and business solutions consulting organization focused on e- business value chain management enterprise. Techspan consistently ranked as among the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley.

He was also part of the founding team that helped grow HCL America into what is now HCL Technologies.

He sits on a number of Boards/Advisory Boards, including

• Chairman of Core Committee, RIE2025, National Research Foundation, Singapore
• Chairman Emeritus of TiE Singapore
• Board of Governors, IIM Nagpur
• Industry Advisory Board of SP Jain School of Management
• Catalyst at SMART (Singapore MIT Alliance for Research & Technology)

He is also involved with a number of social and philanthropic initiatives, including the Indian Foundation for the Arts (IFA), the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) and the South Asian Heart Society.

Dr. Ferzaan comes with over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, currently serving as the Co-founder and Chairman of Cytecare Hospitals. He is also the Co-founder and Joint Chairman of Medwell Ventures, which offers home healthcare services under the Nightingales brand.
Dr. Ferzaan serves on the Board of Directors of Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd (SPARC) and Cytespace Research Pvt Ltd. He is an Observer on the Board of AUM Biosciences, Singapore. Prior to that, Dr. Ferzaan helped launch the international CRO industry in India and served as Chairman and CEO of Quintiles India from 1997 to 2010. Also, he served on the Asia Pacific board of Quintiles Transnational for over 5 years (2005-2010).
He has been a member of professional bodies such as AAPS and AACP. He received the AACP New Investigator’s Award in 1990 and received research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA. He has published papers in leading international journals and lectured at several conferences and at management schools such as IIMA and the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR) and has been a member of the CII National Committee on Drugs and Pharmaceuticals and the FICCI Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology Committee.
A graduate of the LM College of Pharmacy in Ahmedabad, Dr. Ferzaan completed his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of South Carolina, USA. He attended executive management programs at INSEAD (France), IIMA (India) and the Kenan-Flagler Business School (USA). He enjoys travel, jazz and art.