Our Investment Team brings, between them, multidecadal experience of making impactful investments and governing and transforming business operations. Our leadership team of Gopal Srinivasan and D Sundaram is a unique collaboration of a seasoned entrepreneur and a reputed professional.
Chairman & Managing Director
Gopal Srinivasan
Gopal Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds (TCF). TCF — a growth private equity platform set up in 2007, is the largest Indian rupee capital Fund in India, with a corpus of ₹2,000 Crores. Under the leadership of Gopal, the platform has invested in more than 30 businesses that include companies like Nykaa, RBL, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), GoDigit, Yubi and Five Star Business Finance.
Gopal is a third-generation member of the illustrious TVS Family; his entrepreneurial career spanning well over three decades, in which he has founded, steered and scaled up over 10 new ventures across diverse verticals.
Gopal also believes that the key for building the new India is to energize educational institutions. He has contributed significantly to his alma mater. Gopal is a member of University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Advisory Board. Gopal was also associated as a Governing Board member of Great Lakes Institute of Management-Chennai, IFMR- Chennai and Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai.
Gopal has played an extensive role in VC/PE industry bodies as well as regulatory policy landscape. He is a board member of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Gopal has been a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC), since 2016 and he is also a board member of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), since its inception in Dec’20.
He actively involves in promoting start-ups and Founding member of The Chennai Angels, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai and Non-official member of National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT
Gopal’s pursuit of excellence in creating an environment of intellectual and creative engagement in his hometown of Chennai led him to yet another initiative to bring together diverse groups of people under the auspices of the Chennai International Center (CIC). As its chairman, he has sought to develop CIC into a think tank that brings together a cornucopia of thought leaders from business, economy, policy, science, art, culture, and governing bodies.
Organizational Positions
- Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds P Ltd
- Chairman of TVS Electronics Ltd
- Director on the Board of TVS & Sons and few other companies in and outside the TVS Group
Gopal is the Honorary Consul General for the Kingdom of Netherlands in Tamil Nadu, in recognition of his standing in the Community.
Board Positions: Academics
- Member, Ross School of Business Advisory Board at the University of Michigan, USA
- Former Chairman of the University of Michigan’s India Advisory Board
- Former member, Governing Councils at: Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA);
- Great Lakes Institute of Management; IFMR School of Management
Board Positions: Private Equity / Venture Capital & Advisory Councils
- Non-official member on the National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT
- Board member of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)
- Member, Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) of SEBI since March 2015
- Former Chairman of IVCA (Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association): 2016-2018
- Former Chairman, of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Committee for Private Equity & Venture Capital (2009-2011) and Former Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council (2007-2008)
- Founding member of The Chennai Angels
- Founding member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai
- Chairman, Forge CIBI (a Technology Accelerator & Incubator) hosted at the Kumaraguru
Education
- Com, Loyola College, Chennai & MBA from Graduate School of Bus. Admn. University of Michigan, USA
Managing Partner
Anuradha Ramachandran
Anuradha Ramachandran is Managing Partner at TCF. With more than 18 years of experience in investing, Anuradha will drive investments and portfolio management across different verticals we invest in.
Anuradha has rich experience spanning over 18 years and 4 years of M&A and corporate planning.
Anuradha is a high calibre investment professional having handled, development of strategy, investing, portfolio management and exits across various sectors like Fintech, Technology (consumer internet, retail tech, B2B platform), Life sciences, consumer products and financial services. She has experience in team building and profile building. Anuradha believes innovation and entrepreneurship can change the lives of millions of individuals and can create massive socio-economic shifts that can benefit a growing economy like India.
Prior to joining TCF, Anuradha was with Flourish Ventures a global fintech focussed fund setting up and managing India investments, team and strategy. She was also Investment Director at Omidyar Network leading fintech investments with a combined experience of nearly 10 years. She was earlier with Venture East for over 7 years handling fund raise, investment, portfolio management etc.,
She also has nearly 3 years experience in M&A, corporate planning during early stages of her career.
Anuradha is a B.Sc MBA from Madurai Kamarajar University She completed short term course on Venture Capital in 2006 from Indian School of Business (ISB).
Her hobbies include reading, going to the theatre, and listening to music (Indian). She also likes travelling and bird watching and aspires to do so with her daughter.
Managing Partner
Naveen Unni
Naveen Unni is Managing Partner at TCF. With nearly two decades of consulting experience at McKinsey, Naveen brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to our team. His diverse background across multiple geographies, including India, Australia, and Southeast Asia, positions him as a key driver of investments and portfolio management across various verticals.
Naveen’s extensive experience spans a wide range of sectors, with a particular focus on the industrial landscape. He has worked with manufacturing, mining, oil & gas, infrastructure, and utility companies on a large scale. His invaluable insights and strategic guidance have propelled these organizations forward in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
Beyond his expertise in business strategy, Naveen has also made significant contributions in leadership development, top team effectiveness, business transformation, and digital transformation. This comprehensive skill set grants him a unique perspective in evaluating investments and supporting the NextGen entrepreneurs who aspire to build high-quality businesses.
Prior to joining TVS Capital Funds, Naveen held multiple leadership roles at McKinsey and Company, a renowned consulting firm. As the Managing Partner of the Chennai location, he also led the India sustainability practice, which he founded and led the support functions for the India office. In addition, he served as the Managing Partner of the Perth location, leading the Australian Electric Power and Natural Gas practice and the Australian Organization practice, both of which he initiated.
Naveen holds an MBA from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Recognized for his expertise and contributions, he sits on the advisory boards of the University of Western Australia Business School, Perth, and KC High School, Chennai. Additionally, Naveen is an esteemed member of the YPO Chennai Chapter, fostering connections and collaborations within the business community.
Outside of his professional pursuits, Naveen finds joy in various hobbies. He is an avid reader, enjoys word puzzles, and listens to rock, jazz and R&B music. Naveen also finds time to play bridge and badminton, and occasionally picks up his guitar. He cherishes moments with his wife and two daughters, exploring new places through their travels. Moreover, he is passionate about mentoring young individuals, guiding them to discover their own paths in life.
Naveen Unni, a remarkable leader, strategic advisor, and passionate individual, embodies the values and spirit of TVS Capital Funds. His expertise, dedication, and unwavering support make him an invaluable asset as we embark on a journey to shape a brighter future for entrepreneurs and businesses alike.
Partner
Praveen Sridharan
Praveen Sridharan is a Partner at TCF. He works across the investment and platform teams helping them drive origination, transactions, portfolio management and fund raising.
He is an investment professional with 14+ years of experience across buy side and sell side roles. He has worked across the lifecycle of investments including transaction sourcing, evaluation, negotiations, deal structuring, due diligence, documentation, portfolio management and exits.
Prior to joining TCF, he worked as a Director at Emerald India, a pan-Asia investment platform set-up by the global PE firm Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts (KKR). He also played an active role in the setting up of the Emerald platform.
Praveen has also worked with Ambit Corporate Finance, which gave him M&A and Private Equity exposure and with Cognizant Technology Solutions which gave him exposure to the technology side of businesses.
Praveen is an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and an engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He enjoys listening to old rock classics but is a recent convert to fusion music too.
Partner
Gaurav Sekhri
Gaurav Sekhri is a Partner at TCF. He leads investments with end to end responsibility for executing transactions. He is also an active fund raiser.
Gaurav worked as a Principal for Private Equity investments with the Piramal Group prior to joining the TCF team. His investment experience is spread across sectors including Healthcare, Consumer, Retail and Financial Services. He has worked across the lifecycle of investments including transaction sourcing, evaluation, negotiations, deal structuring, due diligence, legal closing, post investment asset management, dispute resolution and exits. He has also served as a Nominee Director and Observer on Boards of Investee Companies. Prior to Piramal Group, GSK worked at SBI – Global Markets starting with Public Equities and then transitioning to Private Equity for the bank.
GSK is an MBA from University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He is a CAIA member designee of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA, USA) and holds a Masters in Economics degree from Madras University.
GSK is a fact freak and is married to numbers. When not evaluating transactions or discussing strategy with clients, he may be found gulping coffee at Starbucks or treating his tooth at Sweet Bengal. GSK spends his weekends watching movies or a game of tennis, especially if Nadal is dominating the court. He is a leisure traveller and an amateur guitarist!
Vice President
Rajalakshmi Vaidyanathan
Rajalakshmi is a Vice President with TCF. She brings with her, more than 12 years of experience in the financial services domain in roles spanning debt and equity markets. In her last assignment, she was Regional Head (South) of L&T Financial Services, responsible for P&L of the wholesale business in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Prior to L&T Finance, she was a part of the Investment Banking team of SBI Capital Markets, where she has extensive experience in end-to-end management of capital market transactions.
Rajalakshmi is an MBA from IIFT (Delhi) and also holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Madras.
She has been a professional classical dancer, having learnt the art for more than 15 years. She is passionate about dance and music. Come December, you can catch her in the Chennai music/dance circles! Raji (as most people call her) also loves travelling and baking desserts. She spends her weekends doing fun and recreational activities with her kids.
Associate Vice President
Suraj Kumar Majee
Suraj is an Associate Vice President at TVS Capital. Prior to joining the team, he worked with the middle office of UBS Investment Bank and focused on Healthcare transactions in US and EMEA regions
Suraj graduated as an Industrial Engineer from NIT Trichy, where he served leadership roles in its cultural festival and Robotics club. During his time in NIT Trichy, he worked with MyDreamStore – a crowdfunding platform using custom merchandise and co-founded a start-up in corporate gifting. As a part of his sophomore internship, Suraj worked with IIM Bangalore & Centre for Collective Development and assisted them in designing the go-to-market strategy for branded products from Co-operative societies
Suraj is a walking-talking national daily. When not sunk behind 3 screens, Suraj may be found ordering his daily dose of Tech, History and Business books. His weekends are meant for exploring life- Lip smacking food, exciting travel destinations and new adventure sports; he may graduate from the surfing school soon!
PS: Suraj is a certified Scuba Diver!
Senior Analyst
Dheeraj K. Reddy
Dheeraj is a Senior Analyst at TCF. Prior to joining the team, he worked as a Global Market Analyst in CVA and FVA division where he handled the Initial Margin disputes with the Global cpty’s by liaising with Quants, Legal and other teams. During his internship he assisted the team in building a go-to-market strategy for few start-ups.
Dheeraj graduated as a Marine Engineer from IIT Madras, during his campus time he served leadership roles in administrative activities and headed IITM business club
If you don’t find him in the office, he may be found in writing clubs or on mountains. He is keen to learn about businesses across sectors. His weekend conversations include politics, nature and economy.
Analyst
Sreeraman V.
Sreeraman is an Analyst with TCF. Sree was previously with the Aditya Birla Group as part of the Finance Leadership Program (batch of 2021), which is exclusively for Chartered Accountancy Final Rank Holders.
At the Aditya Birla Group, he worked with the Strategy team of the Chemicals business, the Corporate Economics Cell of the group, the Strategy team of the Digital Fashion Ventures business and as the Finance Manager for Reebok’s Indian operations.
He is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and has completed his articleship in Grant Thornton (Direct Tax & Regulatory Services), Price Waterhouse Coopers (Audit & Assurance).
Sreeraman is a trained classical flutist and loves jamming with fellow classical/light music instrumentalists. He is interested in sports and enjoys playing cricket, table tennis and badminton.
Analyst
Siddharth M.
Siddharth is an Analyst with TCF.
Siddharth has completed his MBA from IIM Bangalore and is a B Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Indore. He has done his internship with HSBC in the securities business. Prior to his MBA, he has worked as a data engineer at Tata Digital.
He enjoys solving chess puzzles & problems from past Math Olympiads. He is also passionate about stand-up comedy and more recently, F1.
Junior Analyst
Manasa Krishnan
Manasa is a junior analyst at TCF. She graduated with top honours with a degree in Economics and Business Studies from Krea University. The world of business and finance has always fascinated her, and Manasa is eager to build her career in private equity at TCF.
During her coursework, she has previously interned at TCF and at the Drishtee Foundation, a non-profit supporting rural industries. A student ambassador for the university, Manasa was also the editor-in-chief of the college newspaper as well as campus correspondent for Her Campus, an online magazine targeted at the female college student demographic.
A trained theatre artist and pop culture aficionado, and an avid tea-drinker, Manasa also loves cooking Asian cuisine.
Junior Analyst
Ananya Raju
Ananya is a junior analyst at TCF. She graduated with honours with a dual degree in Economics, Business Studies and Psychology from Krea University. She has always been captivated by the dynamic ecosystem of startups and the inner workings of businesses, fuelling her excitement to forge a career in private equity.
Previously, Ananya has interned at Coupl (YC 22), Glance, Salt (a women focused fin-tech), Goonj and IIM Bangalore across growth, strategy and marketing roles. She has also contributed to research that was published in the Oxford Journal of Public Health.
An advanced certified scuba diver, she enjoys horse riding, reading, and traveling. A foodie at heart, Ananya is equally passionate about the revival of Indian textiles and crafts.
The Investment Team is supported by an experienced and effective platform team which encompasses all core functions including Finance, Taxation, Legal and Operations.
Managing Partner & COO
Krishna Ramachandran
Krishna Ramachandran is Managing Partner & COO at TCF.
Krishna comes with more than 27 years of experience across client engagement, business transformation, digital transformation, finance and operations.
Till recently, he was Managing Director at Accenture responsible for their Chennai Operations. He has also been associated with Royal Philips, Allianz, KPMG and Vodafone in multiple roles.
Krishna comes with a wide spectrum of operating experience including significant exposure to digital transformation initiatives. His multi-disciplinary experience across businesses will help drive value to TCF portfolio companies. It also significantly strengthens TCF’s internal initiatives in building a “neo TCF”, which will help scale the fund to the next level.
Krishna is also a public speaker on the subjects of Corporate Governance, Digitisation, Robotics Process Automation and finance transformation, and is also an Executive Coach and visiting faculty.
His interests include Cycling, Yoga, Ikebana among others and is always eager to learn and explore.
Krishna is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Management Accountant and a Company Secretary.
Senior Advisor
Mani Krishna Iyer
Mani is a senior advisor at TCF and guides the Corporate Development and Research Functions. Mani has been a professional banker with exposure in both asset and liability side having handled treasury /resource management and asset creation besides transaction banking including trade finance/working capital. Mani has handled more than 500 debt transactions in the SME space from deal origination to consummation, including recovery. He has seen more than 1500 transactions including risk / mezzanine capital products to MSMEs and Start-ups.
Mani has directly evaluated more than 80 Venture/SME funds while facilitating support to more than 130 funds under various Fund of funds programme in SIDBI. He was Chief General Manager heading Treasury at the time of retiring from SIDBI. He holds post graduate degree in Management besides Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers [CAIIB].
Vice President, Finance
Ravi Krishnan
S. Ravi Krishnan is Vice President Finance at TCF. Ravi has 13+ years of post qualification experience. He was previously part of Sify Technologies where he has handled Financial Reporting, Direct Taxes, Indirect Taxes for the Group with exposure to compliance, restructuring, due diligence, Digital Initiatives. He has wide exposure to automating tasks, dashboarding and Business Finance for a Business Unit where he was involved in Strategic Business Planning, Performance Management and Cost Management initiatives.
He has experience of serving at CA firms Sri, Sesha & Ravi as Partner and as Manager at Yoganandh & Ram.
Ravi is a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary by qualification. He has Certifications on CISA, DipIFR and Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting.
Ravi enjoys traveling and long drives apart from his keen interest in watching and playing football.
Advisor, Taxation
R. Jagannathan
R. Jagannathan is an advisor for Taxation & Regulatory matters at TCF. He has over 35 years’ experience in Taxation and Finance and has held various positions in TVS Group companies.
He is a tax wizard. He is a member of the ICWA and has a diploma in Financial Management from IFMR University. He also has a diploma in taxation.
RJ is a curious learner, a good Mentor and a passionate gardener. He spends his weekends with his family, tending to his beautiful terrace garden.
Senior Manager, Finance
H. V. Sathyamurthy
Sathyamurthy HV is a Senior Manager, Finance at TCF. He has 31 years’ experience in various positions across TVS group entities including 6 years’ experience in TVS Capital Funds. He has worked across functions, handling accounts, investor relations, compliance and audit.
HVS holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce. He is a cricket enthusiast and movie maniac.
Senior Manager
K. C. Srinivasan
K. C. Srinivasan is the Senior Manager at TCF. He has 28 years’ experience across various functions in TVS group companies and has worked with TVS Capital Funds for the past 13 years. He has extensive experience in administrative management, HR, program management and compliance.
KCS is an MBA from Annamalai University, Chennai.
KCS is a movie buff. If not watching the latest releases, he could be found playing chess with his kids.
*Caveat- KCS is a one-man army for managing programs as well as situations; remember to carry that box of sweets!
Senior Executive
Rohini Kamble
Rohini is a Senior Executive at TCF. Rohini has over 22 years of administrative and operational experience across IT and financial services sectors.
She has been associated with TVS Capital Funds for the last 9 years and is in-charge of the Mumbai office administration. Prior to joining TVS she had worked for Alcatel- Lucent, Telstra VComm, Tatanet & Abacus. Rohini is a BA in Sociology from Mumbai University and an MBA in HR & Administration.
When not at work, Rohini likes to spend time with her family and friends.
TVS Capital Funds is focussed on governance and transparency. We are guided by an eminent board of directors who have experience across multiple sectors and aspects of business.
Chairman & Managing Director
Gopal Srinivasan
Gopal Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds (TCF). TCF — a growth private equity platform set up in 2007, is the largest Indian rupee capital Fund in India, with a corpus of ₹2,000 Crores. Under the leadership of Gopal, the platform has invested in more than 30 businesses that include companies like Nykaa, RBL, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), GoDigit, Yubi and Five Star Business Finance.
Gopal is a third-generation member of the illustrious TVS Family; his entrepreneurial career spanning well over three decades, in which he has founded, steered and scaled up over 10 new ventures across diverse verticals.
Gopal also believes that the key for building the new India is to energize educational institutions. He has contributed significantly to his alma mater. Gopal is a member of University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Advisory Board. Gopal was also associated as a Governing Board member of Great Lakes Institute of Management-Chennai, IFMR- Chennai and Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai.
Gopal has played an extensive role in VC/PE industry bodies as well as regulatory policy landscape. He is a board member of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Gopal has been a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC), since 2016 and he is also a board member of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), since its inception in Dec’20.
He actively involves in promoting start-ups and Founding member of The Chennai Angels, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai and Non-official member of National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT
Gopal’s pursuit of excellence in creating an environment of intellectual and creative engagement in his hometown of Chennai led him to yet another initiative to bring together diverse groups of people under the auspices of the Chennai International Center (CIC). As its chairman, he has sought to develop CIC into a think tank that brings together a cornucopia of thought leaders from business, economy, policy, science, art, culture, and governing bodies.
Organizational Positions
- Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds P Ltd
- Chairman of TVS Electronics Ltd
- Director on the Board of TVS & Sons and few other companies in and outside the TVS Group
Gopal is the Honorary Consul General for the Kingdom of Netherlands in Tamil Nadu, in recognition of his standing in the Community.
Board Positions: Academics
- Member, Ross School of Business Advisory Board at the University of Michigan, USA
- Former Chairman of the University of Michigan’s India Advisory Board
- Former member, Governing Councils at: Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA);
- Great Lakes Institute of Management; IFMR School of Management
Board Positions: Private Equity / Venture Capital & Advisory Councils
- Non-official member on the National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT
- Board member of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)
- Member, Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) of SEBI since March 2015
- Former Chairman of IVCA (Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association): 2016-2018
- Former Chairman, of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Committee for Private Equity & Venture Capital (2009-2011) and Former Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council (2007-2008)
- Founding member of The Chennai Angels
- Founding member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai
- Chairman, Forge CIBI (a Technology Accelerator & Incubator) hosted at the Kumaraguru
Education
- Com, Loyola College, Chennai & MBA from Graduate School of Bus. Admn. University of Michigan, USA
Former Vice Chairman
D. Sundaram
D. Sundaram was the former Vice Chairman & CFO of HUL with 34 years of professional experience in corporate finance, business performance, governance, talent management and strategy.
He is an institution builder and is closely associated with shaping great businesses in TVS Capital’s portfolio. He anchors the TVS Capital platform and its transformation to an institution. He brings deep financial expertise and significant understanding of consumer-related businesses to the PE operations.
Sundaram serves as an Independent Director on the eminent boards of Infosys, ACC, GSK Pharma India, Crompton Greaves Consumer, SBI General Insurance and Schneider Electric India Pvt Ltd. He is a two-time winner of the prestigious “CFO of the Year for FMCG Sector” award by CNBC TV18 (2006 and 2008). Also awarded as the “Best Independent Director in 2019” by Asian Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability in December 2020.
He is a Post Graduate of Management Studies (MMS), a Fellow of the Institute of Cost Accountants, and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
Former ED & CFO
Raghavan R. S.
A Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and Company Secretary, Mr. R. S. Raghavan is the Non Executive Non Independent Director of TVS Capital Funds Private Limited. Mr. Raghavan’s experience spans corporate finance, business performance, investment, governance, mergers & acquisitions, strategy, fund raising, Investor relations, talent/people management, legal etc.,
A professional with nearly 40 years experience in the manufacturing and financial services Industry like VCPE, NBFC, Wealth management, manufacturing etc., Mr. Raghavan brings deep financial experience and significant understanding of business, risk management.
Mr Raghavan was the Executive Director and the CFO of TVS Capital Funds. He is currently in the Boards of some of the group companies.
Founder, Shriram Group
R. Thyagarajan
Thyagarajan is the Founder of the Shriram Group, one of India’s largest financial services network. He is an acknowledged expert in the general insurance business; having spent over 25 years in the business, he started with New India Assurance Company Limited.
He had subsequent stints with New India Assurance Co. and J.B.Boda & Co. Pvt. Limited, one of the largest reinsurance and insurance brokers in Asia. In 2013 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award in the field of trade and industry.
He holds a master’s degree in Mathematical Statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute. He is also an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London.
Co-Founder, Cognizant. Director CMI, ICT Academy, Shriram Capital
N. Lakshmi Narayanan
Lakshmi Narayanan is the Co-Founder of Cognizant and Director, ICT Academy, Chennai Mathematical Institute. He is a Technology industry professional, who has spent over 40 years in the IT industry, with the last few years in a leadership and governance role in Cognizant’s Board. He is passionate about encouraging young minds to seek a larger purpose in life and encourages them to realise their potential through higher education and entrepreneurship. He plays an active role in ICT education and promotes research in Math and Computer Science.
His association with ICT Academy, Chennai Mathematical Institute, and Thiagarajar School of Management is aimed at promoting excellence in higher education. He is also actively involved in nonprofits, such as United Way, CHILDS Trust Medical Research Foundation, and others, to advance the cause of disadvantaged people and create meaningful livelihood opportunities in areas of technology and healthcare. He supports young entrepreneurs through angel investments as part of The Chennai Angels and the TiE Organisation. His recent investments include deep tech startups, space startups and energy ideas.
Director, Arpwood Capital
Rajeev Gupta
Rajeev Gupta (b 1958) founded Arpwood Financial Group in 2012, comprising an M&A investment bank (Arpwood Capital Ltd) and a mid-market PE buyouts firm (Arpwood Partners). Prior to setting up Arpwood, he was a global partner at The Carlyle Group, and before that the Joint Managing Director of DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd.
He has an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad (1982) and a B.Tech from IIT BHU (1980).
Arpwood Capital, known for strategic financial advice and reliable execution of complex M&A transactions, ranks among the top 5 M&A advisors in India. Its marquee transactions include Essar Oil sale ($13 Billion), L&T Electricals sale ($2 Billion), Lafarge India sale ($ 1.4 Billion), Tata Steel acquisition of Bhushan Steel ($5.4 billion), and Piramal acquisition of DHFL ($ 5 Billion).
Arpwood Partners specializes in mid-market control PE investments. Its investing partners have a cumulative three decades investing experience with large global buyout Funds.
Ex-Morgan Stanley India CEO, Chairman, InKlude Labs
Narayan Ramachandran
Narayan Ramachandran is the Chairman of TeamLease Services, India’s leading provider of human resource services.
Narayan also serves as the co-Chairman of Unitus Capital, India’s largest social enterprise bank. He is Chairman of Vivriti Asset Management and UC Inclusive Credit, which are pioneering firms working in bringing credit to underserved markets.
Narayan is co-founder and Fellow of the Takshashila Institution, with research interest in inclusive economics and topics of strategic national importance. He teaches an online graduate-level course on contemporary economics. He is the Chairman and co-founder of InKlude Labs, a social business enterprise working in the field of education and public health.
In 2018, Narayan finished a full 8-year term as Chairman of RBL Bank taking it to successful listing and beyond. Earlier, Narayan was the Country Head of Morgan Stanley India, leading all the Group’s businesses. He was the Head and lead portfolio manager of Morgan Stanley’s Global Emerging Markets and Global Asset Allocation teams, managing over $25 billion in assets. He began his career at Goldman Sachs.
Narayan received a B.Tech. in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Narayan holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He writes a fortnightly column titled “A Visible Hand” for The Mint Newspaper.
Chairman & MD, SRF Ltd.
Ashish Bharat Ram
Ashish Bharat Ram took over as the Managing Director of SRF Ltd. in January 2007. Subsequently, he was appointed Chairman and Managing Director on April 1, 2022. Under his leadership, SRF Ltd. has grown into a major global conglomerate with operations in four countries across India, Thailand, South Africa, and Hungary. Today, its businesses cover a diverse portfolio of Fluorochemicals, Specialty Chemicals, Packaging Films and Technical Textiles and command a market leadership position, both in India and overseas. The Company has a market capitalization of USD ~9 billion.
Prior to joining the SRF Group, Ashish worked with the American Express Bank in India and the Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan. Ashish led the successful divestment of SRF Finance to GE Capital in 1997.
Ashish has been studying the dynamics of family businesses for a while now and regularly speaks on the subject at Indian and global platforms. He has also authored articles on subjects related to India’s economic scenario and entrepreneurship in leading publications. Ashish has served as the Regional Chair for South Asia for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is an active member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
For his achievements in the areas of entrepreneurship and leadership, Ashish has been named India’s Best CEO in the emerging and mid-sized companies’ categories by Business Today, India’s leading business magazine in 2020 and 2023 respectively. Additionally, he was conferred the “Transformational Leader Award -Mid Cap company category” in 2020 by the Asian Centre for Corporate Governance & Sustainability. His sharp insights into the workings of SRF has enabled the company to win several laurels, including The Economic Times Family Business of the Year Award in the Large companies’ category in 2019 and the first-ever Moneycontrol Indian Family Business Award in the Giga category in 2021.
He holds a degree in Economics from Delhi University and earned an MBA from The Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.
Ashish is a single-digit handicap golfer and an avid follower of sports.
Former, MD State Bank of India
P. Pradeep Kumar
Pradeep Kumar was the former Managing Director & Group Executive (Corporate Banking) at State Bank of India. He has held several key assignments in retail, corporate, treasury and IT verticals, and various circles of the Bank besides heading Banks’ U.S. operations and State Bank of Travancore.
He is a Post Graduate in Statistics from the Madras University.
Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services
Ramesh Iyer
Mr. Ramesh Iyer, aged 65, holds a degree in Commerce and an MBA from Mumbai University and is an alumnus of several management and leadership programs conducted in India, the US, France, and China by institutions like IIM (Bangalore), Michigan Business School, Harvard Business School and IMD, Switzerland.
He is currently the Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and President – Financial Services Sector & Member of Group Executive Board in Mahindra & Mahindra Limited.
Ramesh’s key mandate at Mahindra is to drive inclusive growth, aligned to our guiding belief of delivering rural prosperity. He has been instrumental in building Mahindra Finance into one of India’s leading rural finance companies, since 1994. The experience comes in handy when managing a team of over 30,000 employees, spread across 1,400 branches across the country. Ramesh’s efforts have led not only to the creation of a potentially global financial services powerhouse, but also supported the rapid expansion of our mobility and tractor businesses.
Ramesh manages the Financial Services Sector of the Mahindra Group which includes Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited and its subsidiaries, Mahindra Insurance Brokers Limited, Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited, Mahindra Asset Management Company Private Limited and Mahindra Trustee Company Private Limited. He also oversees the operations of Mahindra Finance USA, LLC., a U.S. joint venture with De Lage Landen Financial Services Inc., (DLLFS) a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rabobank Group.
Ramesh has been closely involved in the development of the country’s dynamic financial services sector, affecting policy change as the Chairman of the Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC). He is a member of the National Committee on Financial Inclusion and Digitisation of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)and also serves as the Co-Chairman of the NBFC Committee of IMC Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He is also a member of the Banking & Finance Committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and the Taskforce of NBFCs of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Apart from the Financial Services Sector, Ramesh is also on the Advisory Boards of various Educational Institutions like IITB-Washington University and Vidyalankar Institute of Technology – School of Management. He also serves on the boards of several Mahindra Group Companies.
Ramesh Iyer is a recipient of various prestigious awards like: ‘Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award (APEA) 2017 INDIA’, ‘Best CEO – Financial Services Sector Mid Cap’ awarded by Business Today, ‘CEO – FINANCIAL SERVICES’ at the CEO AWARDs organized by CEO India magazine and also featured among Business Today’s top 40 BFSI CEOs of India and Business World’s Most Valuable CEOs – 2019. The Company under his leadership was honoured with the Forbes India “Conscious Capitalist of the Year” Award 2016.
We have an eclectic ecosystem of advisors, who come with invaluable experience across various business segments. Our investment team works symbiotically with our ecosystem to curate the best idea-based investments.
Ex-Wholetime member of SEBI
G. Mahalingam
Mahalingam was Executive Director and former regional director of Reserve Bank of India. Associated with RBI for last 30 years, he has served in various roles including that of Inspecting Officer, Chief Forex Dealer, Chief Investment Dealer, Head of Internal Debt Management Department.
Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Mindtree
Krishnakumar Natarajan
Krishnakumar Natarajan is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Mindtree, a leading IT services provider.
He was ranked amongst the most valuable CEOs in India by Business World & Forbes in 2016, won Bloomberg UTV’s award as the CEO of the Year in 2010, Business Today CEO of the year award in 2014 and was recognized by Chief Executive Magazine’s as one of the twelve global leaders of tomorrow.
Prior to Mindtree, he held key positions at Wipro, where he launched and grew the e-commerce division of Wipro, served as Group Vice President of Human Resources, and was Chief Marketing Officer for Wipro’s IT business.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Chennai, India, and an MBA from the Xavier Institute, Jamshedpur, India.
Former DMD & CFO, SBI
R. K. Saraf
R.K. Saraf was previously Deputy Managing Director & CFO of State Bank of India. In a career spanning 39 years with SBI, he has had rich experience of working in a wide variety of assignments in almost all fields of banking, banking technology and Bancassurance.
Saraf holds a Master’s Degree from IIT Kanpur and Diploma in Financial Management from Mumbai University. He is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers and a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India.
Former MD & CEO, Tata AIA
Suresh Mahalingam
Suresh Mahalingam was MD & CEO of TATA AIA, Member Group Management Council at WGC, General Manager HDFC Life and Business Head at ITC Ltd, He has been a dynamic catalyst of change for over thirty years in corporate India. His core competency is the power to orchestrate multi-talented and diverse teams to execute future-ready strategies with passion and precision. This has been achieved by navigating complex challenges from cutting-edge thinking to world-beating execution.
He has completed the Post Graduate Program in Executive Coaching from Coaching Foundation India Limited (CFI).
Currently, he is an Independent Director for Aviva India and 5F World. He act as advisor and lead the digital transformation practice of Kalzoom Advisors for FMCG and BFSI; as well as strategic advisor to Nubesol, SpeakIn, Skill-Edge and iAssist Innovation Labs.
Former ED & Director, ICICI Bank
K. Ramkumar
K. Ramkumar is the Founder of Leadership Centre, an organisation dedicated to building world class thought and practise in the domain of leadership consulting, research and development. He retired as the Executive Director on the Board of ICICI Bank. He envisioned and established the ICICI Academy for skills, an ICICI CSR initiative for skill development. The academy, on last count is present in 23 locations and nurtures 35,000 youth in 15 skills. Ram has worked for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and ICI prior to his 15 years long innings at ICICI Bank.
Ram has worked for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and ICI prior to his 15 years long innings at ICICI Bank.
Former MD & CEO, Syndicate Bank
Mrutyunjay Mahapatra
Mrutyunjay Mahapatra was former MD & CEO of Syndicate Bank and CDO of SBI. He is senior banker with experience of driving large scale digital transformation in financial services.
He is member of the Governing Council of RBI Innovation Hub and Board of Supervision of NABARD, Member of Insurance Advisory Council of India.
Founder & CEO Delium Technologies
Simon Roy
Simon Roy is Founder and CEO of Delium technologies, Previously he was the Lead Consultant at Some Service Startup. He has studied B.E at Velammal Engineering College.
President, Bolt
Kal Raman
Kal Raman is President at Bolt, leading the Engineering, Product, and Customer Experience teams. Raman is an ecommerce industry veteran, serving in executive roles at Amazon (S-team), Samsung, Groupon, and Walmart. He was previously the CEO of GlobalScholar and Xome. Raman has also led many other companies and served as a board member/advisor at BigCommerce, Feedvisor, and Solana Labs.
Raman holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Anna University in Chennai, India. Kal currently resides in Seattle, Washington.
Executive Chairman | Steer Group of companies and Co-Founder | Artha School of Entrepreneurship
T. N. Hari
Hari is a startup evangelist, a thought leader, and an influencer in the startup ecosystem, who has helped scale multiple startups into Unicorns (including a listing on NASDAQ). He has vast experience in scaling companies and building organizations. He is passionate about helping founders build great companies and supporting women leaders discover their potential. He is also an author of 8 books, mostly centered around different aspects of start-up journeys, and an angel investor. He is currently the Executive Chairman of the Steer Group of companies and the Co-Founder of the Artha School of Entrepreneurship.
Educational Qualifications
• BTech, IIT Madras
• MBA, IIM Calcutta
Formerly Chief Research Scientist, Indian Institute of Science
Prof. H. Krishnamurthy
Prof. H. Krishnamurthy serves as Chairman/Member of several technology initiatives of RBI, SEBI and IRDAI.
He is currently serving as a board member with IFTAS (Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services) and Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub (RBIH).
He was on the Boards of the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) and Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM) till recently. He served on the Boards of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF), IDRBT, and Canara Bank in the past.
He was with the Indian Institute of Science for more than three decades and retired as a Chief Research Scientist in 2017. His focus areas are Networks and Security in particular and Banking Technologies in general.
Chairman & Managing Director
Gopal Srinivasan
Gopal Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds (TCF). TCF — a growth private equity platform set up in 2007, is the largest Indian rupee capital Fund in India, with a corpus of ₹2,000 Crores. Under the leadership of Gopal, the platform has invested in more than 30 businesses that include companies like Nykaa, RBL, National Stock Exchange (NSE), Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), GoDigit, Yubi and Five Star Business Finance.
Gopal is a third-generation member of the illustrious TVS Family; his entrepreneurial career spanning well over three decades, in which he has founded, steered and scaled up over 10 new ventures across diverse verticals.
Gopal also believes that the key for building the new India is to energize educational institutions. He has contributed significantly to his alma mater. Gopal is a member of University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Advisory Board. Gopal was also associated as a Governing Board member of Great Lakes Institute of Management-Chennai, IFMR- Chennai and Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai.
Gopal has played an extensive role in VC/PE industry bodies as well as regulatory policy landscape. He is a board member of the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA). Gopal has been a member of SEBI’s Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC), since 2016 and he is also a board member of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), since its inception in Dec’20.
He actively involves in promoting start-ups and Founding member of The Chennai Angels, TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai and Non-official member of National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT
Gopal’s pursuit of excellence in creating an environment of intellectual and creative engagement in his hometown of Chennai led him to yet another initiative to bring together diverse groups of people under the auspices of the Chennai International Center (CIC). As its chairman, he has sought to develop CIC into a think tank that brings together a cornucopia of thought leaders from business, economy, policy, science, art, culture, and governing bodies.
Organizational Positions
- Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Capital Funds P Ltd
- Chairman of TVS Electronics Ltd
- Director on the Board of TVS & Sons and few other companies in and outside the TVS Group
Gopal is the Honorary Consul General for the Kingdom of Netherlands in Tamil Nadu, in recognition of his standing in the Community.
Board Positions: Academics
- Member, Ross School of Business Advisory Board at the University of Michigan, USA
- Former Chairman of the University of Michigan’s India Advisory Board
- Former member, Governing Councils at: Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA);
- Great Lakes Institute of Management; IFMR School of Management
Board Positions: Private Equity / Venture Capital & Advisory Councils
- Non-official member on the National Start-up Advisory Council (NSAC) being formed by the DPITT
- Board member of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)
- Member, Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee (AIPAC) of SEBI since March 2015
- Former Chairman of IVCA (Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association): 2016-2018
- Former Chairman, of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) National Committee for Private Equity & Venture Capital (2009-2011) and Former Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu State Council (2007-2008)
- Founding member of The Chennai Angels
- Founding member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Chennai
- Chairman, Forge CIBI (a Technology Accelerator & Incubator) hosted at the Kumaraguru
Education
- Com, Loyola College, Chennai & MBA from Graduate School of Bus. Admn. University of Michigan, USA
Former Vice Chairman
D. Sundaram
D. Sundaram was the former Vice Chairman & CFO of HUL with 34 years of professional experience in corporate finance, business performance, governance, talent management and strategy.
He is an institution builder and is closely associated with shaping great businesses in TVS Capital’s portfolio. He anchors the TVS Capital platform and its transformation to an institution. He brings deep financial expertise and significant understanding of consumer-related businesses to the PE operations.
Sundaram serves as an Independent Director on the eminent boards of Infosys, ACC, GSK Pharma India, Crompton Greaves Consumer, SBI General Insurance and Schneider Electric India Pvt Ltd. He is a two-time winner of the prestigious “CFO of the Year for FMCG Sector” award by CNBC TV18 (2006 and 2008). Also awarded as the “Best Independent Director in 2019” by Asian Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability in December 2020.
He is a Post Graduate of Management Studies (MMS), a Fellow of the Institute of Cost Accountants, and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
Managing Director, TVS Logistics
R. Dinesh
Mr. R Dinesh, a fourth-generation TVS Family member, is a Commerce Graduate and an Associate Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India. He is the Executive Chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Director of TVS Mobility Group and Director of Ki Mobility Solutions that operates the myTVS brand across India.
Dinesh is the President of CII for FY 2023-24. He is also the Chairman of the CII Institute of Logistics and CII FBN (Family Business Network) India Chapter Council.
Dinesh has won many awards, including ‘Icon of the Year’ from ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu for the year 2018 and ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award for ‘Services’ category by Ernst & Young in 2017. He is also the recipient of TiECON’s ‘Next Gen Entrepreneur of the year 2014’ award and ‘Emerging Entrepreneur’ award by CII in 2010.
Dinesh founded TVS Supply Chain Solutions (earlier known as TVS Logistics) in 1995. The company, under his able leadership has grown multifold to become a billion-dollar company. TVS SCS employs around 18,000 people across the globe, with presence in over 25 countries. His other business Ki Mobility Solutions is the largest automotive aftermarket digital platform in India and offers integrated aftermarket services through online-to-offline (O-to-O) model.
Dinesh works closely with marquee investors like Exor International, Mitsubishi Corporation, etc. Currently, the companies under his management have a turnover of around USD 2 Billion and employ more than 25,000 people. He has been instrumental in expanding his companies’ operations globally and has set up subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Thailand, Bangladesh, United States of America, Singapore, China and Australia.
Consultant and former Chief credit officer Asia, International Finance Corporation
S. Balasubramanian
Balasubramanian, dearly addressed as Bala, is an experienced investment and risk professional who has worked for over 25 years in various capacities in the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. His diverse investment experience spans multiple regions and sectors in Emerging Markets and various roles including Chief Credit Officer for Asia, Portfolio Manager in East Asia, Country Manager in Turkey and Manager for strategy in Asia. He has also developed a successful track record of making and managing direct investments in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Prior to IFC, Balasubramanian has worked for a decade in the Tata Administrative Services, the elite management cadre of Tata Sons in India. In that capacity, he served as General Manager for Development for the Indian Hotels Company, which involved landmark Public-Private projects such as the Taj Mahal and Taj Palace Hotels in Delhi.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from IIT Delhi and a Post-Graduate Diploma from IIM Ahmedabad. As an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow at MIT, he completed a Master’s degree from MIT Sloan School of Management. He is also a qualified Cost and Management Accountant. He has attended the Executive Development Program of the World Bank Group, jointly sponsored by Harvard, Stanford and INSEAD business schools.