Meet our Team | IvyCap Ventures (2024)

Vikram Gupta is the Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures, a USD 530 Mn (INR 4200 Cr+) fund that invests through the alumni ecosystems and manages 30+ portfolio companies. His career spans over 25 years in Private Equity, Business Consulting, M&A, Strategy and Operations in Healthcare and Life Sciences, Education, Consumer Goods, and other industries. He has held leadership positions across various well-known companies in India and abroad. Mr. Gupta worked in the US with IBM Business Consulting Services for over four years in strategy and planning, business development, and project management across various assignments. During his stint with IBM, he conceptualized and led IBM's Healthcare and Life Sciences practice for Clinical Genomics. Before founding IvyCap, Mr. Gupta was the founding member of the Piramal-sponsored USD 100 Mn Healthcare focused Private Equity Fund that he conceptualized, and raised in 2008 when the world markets were going through turmoil.

Mr. Vikram Gupta conceptualized and established India's first endowment Fund at IIT, Delhi which was launched by the Honorable President of India in 2019. He currently sits on the board of this fund. Mr. Gupta is the Co-Chairman of PEVCAI (Private Equity and Venture Capital) at ASSOCHAM and is an active member of IVCA (Indian Venture Capital Association) and CII (Confederation of Indian Industry). He received the Distinguished Alumnus Service Award from IIT Delhi in the year 2020. Mr. Gupta has completed his B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from IIT Delhi and has an MBA degree in Strategy and Finance from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Anju is the President & Co-Founder of IvyCamp, (A global alumni-based engagement initiative of IvyCap Ventures) that is an IIT/IIM Alumni based startup engagement platform in India that leverages the Alumni Ecosystem to help founders enhance their skills, accelerate their business, engage in corporate innovation programs, and connect with investors.

Anju focuses her efforts on working with founders to explore their potential to the fullest through mentoring, corporate engagements, accelerator programs, and more. She is strongly committed to helping build out the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Anju is an IITD and Stanford Alumnus. She has over 15 years of experience in product management and marketing in the software industry. After her Ph.D. at Stanford, she worked in several roles at Risk Management Solutions Inc., in California, the leading provider of catastrophe risk models for the global re/insurance industry. Her roles included building risk assessment models for earthquakes, leading RMS's first ASP weather derivatives product, leading the product management team for RMS's core catastrophe software product, and helping to lay the groundwork for RMS's next-generation modeling platform.

She has authored many publications in catastrophe risk management and has worked on projects with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Office of Emergency Services, PG&E, Insurance companies, and risk managers in the commercial sector in the USA.

GK Pillai IAS(Retd) has been the Chairman of IvyCap Ventures since 2011. He is also a Distinguished Alumni of IIT Madras. Among his many appointments at both state and national levels, Mr. Pillai joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1972 and belonged to the Kerala cadre before he worked as a Special Secretary, Secretary Health, and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala Mr. AK Antony.

He has served the Ministries of Defence, Surface Transport, Home, and Commerce at the Central Government. As Joint Secretary (North East), MHA, he was involved in the negotiation with most of the insurgent groups in the region. As Special Secretary/Secretary in Commerce, he was closely associated with the enactment of the SEZ Act 2005, which led to the establishment of hundreds of Special Economic Zones and the creation of over 11 lakh jobs. He was also India's chief negotiator at the WTO. He retired as Union Home Secretary in 2011. Post-retirement, GK Pillai has worked with several NGOs in the field of health and road safety. He is currently on the Board of Tata International Ltd and Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd.

Pradeep Gupta is the Chairman of the CyberMedia Group, the specialty media house, with brands like Dataquest, PCQuest, Voice; Data, DARE, CIOL, Global Services, etc. Its subsidiary CMRSL is a leading provider of Digital Marketing services. Pradeep is an Angel investor and

has mentored over 250 start-ups. Pradeep was conferred the "National Entrepreneurship Award as the Best Mentor" by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. He is on the Investment Management Committee of the 10,000 crore Fund of Funds set up by the Government of India. Pradeep is the Chief Mentor of Electropreneur Park, Delhi, Bhubaneshwar.

He is the co-founder of Indian Angel Network, Asia's largest angel network with more than 700 members that has done over 200 angel investments. Currently, IAN invests in 30-40 deals each year. Pradeep was a global trustee of TiE, the world's largest entrepreneurial ecosystem with 12,000 members, including over 2,500 charter members in 60 chapters across 17 countries. He Chairs the IIT Alumni Trust of IvyCap Ventures. IvyCap manages $250 mn across 3 funds. Pradeep was the GP of India's first angel fund, Infinity Ventures. He was on the Board of UTI AMC and its subsidiary UTI Capital which ran the $80 mn India Infrastructure Development Fund (IIDF).

He has been the past President of Pan IIT India and the Association of Indian Magazines. He has been on the Boards of IIT Mandi, Indian Newspaper Society, IIT Delhi incubator, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, IIT Startups, Lemon Tree Hotels, etc. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni award of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta and the Helen Keller award for working in the disability sector. Pradeep is an Engineer from IIT Delhi (1975) and an MBA from IIM Calcutta (1977).

Ravi Dhariwal is the co-founder and Chairman of Sagacito Technologies, a data analytics firm specializing in helping enterprises maximize their revenues. He is also a Senior Advisor, Mentor, and Board Member of several leading listed and private firms.

Just before co-founding Sagacito, Ravi was the Group CEO of Bennett & Coleman, India's largest media company, with diversified media platforms including Radio Mirchi, Times Television Network, Times Internet, Times OOH, and the world's largest selling English newspaper The Times of India.

Ravi was also the World-Wide President of the International News Media Association from 2011-2013. He was honored for his voluntary contribution to World News Media in 2014.

Before joining Bennett & Coleman, Ravi worked with PepsiCo for 12 years. He was Pepsi's first employee in India and launched Pepsi brands in India helping build a successful business. He also led the Beverage Business in India, Africa, and South East Asia for PepsiCo.

Ravi started his career with Unilever in India in 1977 and worked for them in India and Australia for over 12 years mostly in Sales and Marketing management.

In his career now spanning over 44 years, he has built consumer businesses all over the world. He has worked in diverse and varied cultures and helped companies win customer loyalty and consumer regard.

Ravi is an Engineer from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from IIM Calcutta. He was bestowed the Distinguished Alumni Award by IIM Calcutta in 2013 and also from IIT Kanpur in 2019.

Mr. Ashank Desai is the Founder, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Mastek Ltd. Mastek employs 6500 professionals, publicly held IT players providing Enterprise Solutions to Government, Health, and Retail in North America, Europe, the UK, and Asia. Majesco, the emerging entity from Mastek, was listed in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)/ NASDAQ from 2015 till 2020 before being acquired by a PE firm. It is the first Pure-Play Software Products company from India to be listed on US Stock Exchanges.

Mr. Desai graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. He is one of the founder members & Past Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and a former President of the Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO).

Mr. Desai is actively involved in the field of Entrepreneurship, Education, and Social Service. He is a member of Governing Board of IIM Ahmedabad and the Chairman of Governing Board Society of Goa Institute of Management (GIM). He is Vice-Chairman of an IIT, Bombay Start-up Incubation organization called Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE). Contributed to around 150+ Startups, by connecting them to Industry through a platform created in CII-Western Region.

Mr. Desai has been involved in CII for the last 10 years as a Committee Member and Chairman of various sub-committees at the Regional as well as National levels. He is also the Vice Chairman of, Governing Board of Bombay First, an NGO working on the mission to make Mumbai a world-class city.

In 2015 he was felicitated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his contribution to NASSCOM & IT Industry over the last 25 years. He has been conferred with the "Distinguished Alumnus" Award from IIT Bombay and "Fellow of the Society & by Computer Society of India (CSI) in recognition of his services to the Indian IT Industry as an entrepreneur and for his contribution to the growth of education. For the last 11 years, his Founding efforts, Donation, and Board presence in 4 / 5 NGOs have impacted around 2 lac teenagers and adults in the low-income category, by providing Leadership & Vocational -entrepreneurial training, and Health care.

Nish*th Desai is the founder of the research & strategy-driven international law firm. Nish*th Desai Associates is ranked amongst the Asia-Pacific's Most Innovative Law Firms by Financial Times. Nish*th's interests span a wide spectrum of law, society, and ethics. He is a renowned International lawyer, author, lecturer, researcher, innovator, and thought leader. Nish*th is regarded as the 'Father of International Tax' in India and is a 'true pioneer' in the field of International Tax Law. He was also a director on the board of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (2011-2019). Soon after India opened its economy to the outside world in 1991, Nish*th pioneered the roots of the asset management industry in India. He has assisted the Governments of Mauritius and India in launching their offshore financial centers.

He has worked closely with Nobel Laureate Prof Yunus on social issues and personally received Prof. Mohd. Yunus Social Business Pioneer of India' in 2010.

Hari is an active angel investor . He practices lean startup principles and encourages founders to think global, act local and build an organisational culture suitable for innovation in startups. He has led several deals in Indian Angel Network and led exits for IAN investors other than providing strategic advice and fundraising support to portfolio companies.

Hari actively works with founders and facilitates their objective and key results (OKR) process.

He is a member of the Investment Committee of IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP).

Hari has been an entrepreneur since 1987. He was one of the early adapters of the internet and his portal Calcutta Online ( www.calonline.com) was acquired by a NASDAQ listed company in 1998. He co-founded Ontrack Systems Limited in 1988. He is the past President of TiE- Kolkata , COMPASS , CIITA and has held key positions in trade bodies (NASSCOM , CII , BBG, ICC , FAIITA ), trusts and non profit organisations. Hari now spends his time supporting innovative entrepreneurs , learning and researching on lean startup methodologies , disruptive business models and frugal innovation .

Dr. Mahesh Panchagnula is the Dean, & Alumni, and Corporate Relations at IIT Madras. His energy, entrepreneurial bent, and persuasive skills have melded together to build robust alumni and corporate CSR connections with IIT Madras, raising a national record-breaking high funding to the tune of INR.300+ Cr in just the last three years. Armed with a B.Tech from India1 Institution, IIT Madras, and both an M.S and a Ph.D. from the world-renowned Purdue University, Dr. Mahesh is a professor at IIT Madras' Department of Applied Mechanics. With an illustrious 20+ years' career of teaching and research (59 publications, 2 patents) to his credit, Prof.Mahesh has undertaken innumerable global teaching and consulting assignments and is a seasoned, sought-after speaker addressing packed audiences on a wide range of topics, including alumni relations to applied mechanics, entrepreneurship to education, impact to innovation, to name a few.

A man of many hats, Prof. Mahesh ideated and launched a pan-India Science and Technology Magazine, IIT Madras Shaastra, the first of its kind in the country, to feature the best of Indian Science and Tech. The magazine has been well-received in India, receiving appreciation from the Vice President of India. Mahesh has also pioneered the growth of 'IIT Madras Incubation Cell' as the Professor-in-charge and Board member, this Cell has now become the best tech incubator in the country with 220+ startups. Some of his career highlights include working with DRDO to design mission-critical elements of the Kaveri Gas Turbine engine and also the creation of India's first model to understand the onset of stampedes in dense crowds.

Prof. Sanghi obtained his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1985. His M.S. degree was from Cornell University and his Ph.D. was from the Levich Institute of the City University of New York. Immediately after his Ph.D. he returned to India and joined IIT Delhi as a faculty member in the Applied Mechanics Department where he has been Professor since 2006. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of IIT Delhi and the Head of the Educational Technology Service Centre at IIT Delhi. He has also been affiliated with the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme at IITD. He was also a visiting Professor at the University of Sussex from 2007-08.

Prof Sanghi has won many awards for teaching excellence, including the distinguished TA award at Cornell University and the Distinguished Teaching award at IIT Delhi. His primary area of research is Fluid Mechanics and he has published several articles in several reputed journals.

He has about 38 years of experience in commercial and development banking in various facets of financing MSMEs and large corporates, micro-credit, asset recovery, venture capital, credit guarantees and core business functions of banks/financial institutions having worked with UcoBank, IDBI,CGTMSE and SIDBI.In his last assignment, besides holding charge of SIDBI, he was also the Chairman of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, Indian SME Asset Reconstruction Co.Ltd, Indian SME Technology Services Ltd and SIDBI Trustee Co. Ltd. He presently chairs the Board of Capital Small Finance Bank Ltd and is also on the Boards/Advisory Boards of various organizations/NBFCs. An alumnus of St. Stephens College, Delhi, Mr. Maini also holds a Degree in Law from Delhi University. He holds Postgraduate qualifications in Management from MDI and International Trade from IIFT, besides being a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking & Finance. He has also undergone top management training programmes at Harvard Law School, Stanford and Cranfield schools of Management.

He is a recipient of the prestigious ‘ Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to the Microfinance Sector’ at the Inclusive India Forum instituted by HSBC and Access Development Services.

Satish Kini, a visionary management coach, and social entrepreneur is the former Chief Operating Officer in the PANIIT Alumni movement's Nation Building Projects. He spent his early professional career with IDM Ltd providing IT Consulting & Solutions to Indian corporates. His first entrepreneurial venture was Trust-House which provided Management & IT Consulting to Corporates and the SME sector in areas such as Business Transformation, BPR, Application of ICT, and people empowerment.

In early 2000, Kini became a pioneer in the Indian healthcare industry by identifying key issues in the sector such as the failure and apathy of the state to provide basic & affordable healthcare leading to rampant malpractices and exploitation of the poor by unregulated medical practitioners. Addressing this problem, he took up the challenge to transform Healthcare to be People sensitive, Accessible & Affordable. He founded "21st Century Health" which has benefited 30 million patients in 400+ Hospitals, Diagnostic Centres, and Clinics in India, Middle East & Africa. In 2010, he received the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award.

Kini earned his Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and a PGDMM at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management and Sciences.

Ankit is the CEO for IvyCap Ventures Mentor Trust. He has over 15 years of experience, primarily in Strategy Consulting & Entrepreneurship. Prior to joining Ivycap, Ankit has worked with firms like Bharti, Accenture Strategy, EY Advisory and Nokia India.

In the past, Ankit has helped global clients with their go-to market strategy, opportunity analysis, operational transformation and strategic cost reduction projects. He has helped save over $ 90M in his last cost reduction assignment and has helped develop client products that bring in over $ 10B in annual revenues. In his last entrepreneurial stint, he built NewsBulb (world's first audio news platform) from an idea stage, to reach over 50K Monthly active users and which was recognized amongst Top 10 News & Media Apps in 2021.

Ankit has completed his Bachelors from Gujarat University in Electronics & Communication and his PGDBM from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. Apart from work he loves to play Badminton, Table tennis, Catan and is an avid Bibliophile cum work-out junkie.

Aashish has over 7 years of experience in early-stage investing and investment banking. He has been instrumental in investing, managing, and helping founders build consumer brands and platforms. He has played a sector agnostic role, throughout his investing years, covering consumer internet, consumer brands, fintech, logistics, and B2B platforms.

Before joining ivyCap, Aashish was part of the investment team at Fosun RZ Capital, a leading global VC fund with an AUM of $1.3Bn, where he invested in India and South East Asia markets. At Fosun, he was instrumental in managing 6 companies and successfully exiting 2 companies generating stellar returns equivalent to the fund & total deployment in startups in India. Before Fosun, he spent 4+ years at Carpediem Capital, a domestic early-to-mid market PE fund, focused on early-stage investing across consumer-tech and B2B managed services. He was one of the early employees of the fund and was instrumental in managing 3 companies. He focused on sourcing, investing, managing, and exiting the investments. Before Carpediem, he spent time at Yes Securities in the investment banking division, with a focus on executing transactions in the Media & Technology sector, and BDO India in the transaction advisory division focusing on valuations for startups and M&A transactions.

Aashish is a Chartered Accountant and CFA Level III cleared. He is also a B.Com graduate from H.R College in Mumbai.

Romita has 10-plus years of experience across consulting, investment banking, and private equity. Before joining IvyCap, she was with the Private Equity team at Khazanah Nasional Berhad, At Khazanah, she was responsible for investments in the South Asia region and part of the global Healthcare and Consumer sector teams. Before Khazanah, she was with the Investment Banking team at Ambit.

Romita has completed her B.E. (Hons) from BITS Pilani Goa Campus and has an MSc. in Financial Economics from the University of Oxford. Apart from her work, she is a mixed media artist and a trained Hindustani classical singer.

Harsh*t has over 6 years of experience in investment banking and private equity investing. Before joining IvyCap, Harsh*t was a part of the investment team at Kingfish Group, a North America-focused middle-market private equity firm, where he was responsible for leading due diligence on new investments, developing the firm's executive relationships, and growing the investment team in India. Before Kingfish, Harsh*t was a part of Scaale Capital, a boutique investment bank, where he led early-stage investing and cross-border M&A mandates.

Harsh*t has a B.Com from Savitribai Phule Pune University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Jyoti has over 7 years of experience in strategy and academics. Before joining IvyCap, Jyoti was a part of the Core Analytical Group at Fitch Ratings. At Fitch Ratings, Jyoti was responsible for assessing the risks across the portfolio companies and laying out the strategy to upgrade or downgrade the sector. Before joining Fitch Ratings, Jyoti was working as an Assistant Professor of finance and economics at the University of Delhi.

Jyoti is a Ph.D. candidate at Delhi School of Economics and completed her graduation from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. Apart from work, Jyoti is an avid reader, a national-level handball and basketball player, and a professional trekker.