Previous  Occupation: Programme Leader – GE Energy
Present Occupation: Private Equity Investment Professional
Sector: Private Equity
Work Experience: 8 years
Interests – Professional/ Personal:
Professional: Entrepreneurship

Personal: Music, nature trekking and travel

Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
I hail from Chennai. My dad worked with BSNL and is now retired and my mom is a homemaker. I have an older brother, who works in the IT sector, and an older sister who works with EPF. I recently got married (on February 14, 2013, in fact) to Sweta, who was born and brought up in Mumbai. My wife is a Chartered Accountant. She worked for CITI until recently and will be joining Matrix Partners shortly.

Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects).
I hold a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay. I remained a rank holder all through school right up to ISB. I am passionate about academics and my work. During my tenure at GE before joining ISB, I developed 10 energy efficiency and alternate energy related technologies and patents and commercialised them to create US$80 million in new business opportunities for GE in Indian, Middle East and North American markets.

Establishing myself in a private equity career with no prior IB/ PE experience before ISB in one of the most challenging job environments is something I consider an important achievement. Joining Nereus Capital in 2010, contributing to its fund raising efforts and growth, closing transactions, and achieving significant commitments of the targeted fund size over the last four years have all been my cherished achievements. As a part of the core investment team, we successfully raised a US$100 million commitment from United State Agency for International Development (USAID) for our renewable energy-focused Nereus India Alternate Energy Fund, which is a major milestone for our fund given challenging the fund raising environment for private equity funds in India.

Contributing to the lives of underprivileged people through whatever little charity and volunteering activities that I involve myself in is a big personal achievement for me.

Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
When I worked for GE pre-ISB, I was primarily responsible for performing new product and project feasibility and for evaluating investment proposals and developing and deploying new products and technologies for alternate energy applications. I also performed techno-commercial feasibility studies, due diligence, and technical and financial valuations of power projects.

As a part of the core investment team of Nereus Capital post-ISB, I am responsible for the end-to-end deal process including: (i) deal sourcing and directly interacting with promoters, (ii) financial modelling, (iii) preparing investment memorandums, (iv) negotiating term sheets, (v) due diligence, (vi) coordinating with lawyers to finalise transition documents, and (vii) structuring tax-efficient investment vehicles to fund the investments. I’m also responsible for active investment monitoring, which includes negotiating construction contracts, power sale agreements, project financing and operations and maintenance contracts. This is a highly diversified role for a mid-senior position that gives me scope to learn and do a wide range of activities in the private equity sector.

Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
Solving Markstrat problems sitting in my study group team member Om Sharma’s quad. I had the privilege of being part of an awesome study group of people with open minds, a great work ethic, a relaxed approach and diverse thinking and backgrounds. The study group contributed a lot to my learning experience at ISB. We would sit together for hours strategising and solving equations to find the right resource allocation, only to end up assigning them randomly in the end!

In your personal life, how have you changed post-ISB? Do you see yourself doing something differently because you went to ISB? What has left a lasting impression?ISB has introduced significant changes in both my personal and professional life. ISB has structured my thought process, increased my perseverance, improved my networking skills, honed my business valuation skills and significantly changed the way I perceive a crisis-like situation. I used to evaluate a situation from just one point of view and now I do so with an open and problem-solving mind. My professors and the diverse student community have contributed a great deal to these changes in me.

How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
ISB has contributed significantly to my career shift from energy/ technology to the private equity sector. It also helped me handle the most complex and open-ended problems that I encountered during my initial days at Nereus Capital. The multi-tasking skills I learnt at ISB due to its rigorous academic structure and through interacting with the multi-talented student body have helped me handle this pressure seamlessly. My ability to handle multiple activities without buckling under the pressure enabled me to take on a wide range of responsibilities right from deal sourcing to conducting negotiations with the promoters, which are typically handled at the senior levels in large private equity funds

If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Awesome. 

What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
I would say it is classroom learning from the rich experience of the professors and students (excluding arbit CPs) and the experience gained through consulting projects with industry veterans. Academic pressure did bring out the best in each of us.

Word of advice for the current class?
Do not follow the herd; follow your instincts and carve out a niche for yourself.

What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
Financial Decision Making, INVA and Markstrat – all were intellectually stimulating and taught by great professors.

Was there anyone during your time at ISB who acted as a mentor for you? Tell us a little about this relationship and why it was valuable.
I did not have specific mentors at ISB with whom I spent a lot of time. I regret not fully utilising the resources when I was at ISB.  However, I fondly remember Ravi Kumar Dhulipala and all the other ISB alums to whom I reached out to get career advice when I was not happy with the kind of opportunities that I was getting initially.

What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
I would be happy to mentor the current batch of students by helping them with their CVs, conducting mock interviews and giving them leads on opportunities. I would also like to coach entrepreneurs who are planning to start new ventures right after ISB through the PAEV course or through any other programmes at the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) using my PE/ VC experience. I also seek to actively contribute to business plan evaluation competitions and ISB’s family business initiatives.

What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
Exposure to a whole lot of new ideas from entrepreneurs, a flat hierarchy that is open to new ideas, and the freedom to implement any model that excites me and has a compelling economic proposition for the fund.

What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
I see a significant boom in the renewable energy sector, a sector that my fund focuses on for its investments in India. Many family businesses and corporate entities are looking forward to making large-scale investments in this sector given the significant energy deficit in the Indian power sector and delayed execution of conventional power projects. Intelligent business models, including the direct sale of energy to industrial consumers using an open access route under liberalised power policies, are offering compelling economics for private equity investors like Nereus.

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