TEAM

ASK Pravi Capital Advisors Private Limited ("ASK Pravi") is a private equity investment advisory firm. ASK Pravi is a joint venture between ASK Group and Pravi Capital, a unique combination of a wealth management and advisory services institution with an experienced entrepreneurial investment management team.

INVESTMENT TEAM

The Managing Partners have worked together in Indian private equity market for more than 15 years and have a successful track record of private equity investing in India.

Team Member

Jayanta Banerjee

Managing Partner
Team Member

Sunay Mathure

Managing Partner
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Anand Vyas

Managing Partner

Anand has 17 years of industry experience with the last 13 years in the private equity business in India. He has in-depth experience of working across the investment life cycle from sourcing, evaluating, structuring, negotiating and executing deals, post investment monitoring to exits. Anand has made investments across a wide range of sectors, including retail, media, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and technology services.

Previously, Anand was Director – investments at ICICI Venture. In that capacity, he was responsible for investments in domestic consumption driven sectors like media, FMCG, education, retail etc. In the 10 years at ICICI Venture, Anand was active in all aspects of private equity investing, from deal evaluation and diligence, structuring and negotiating to day-to-day portfolio management. He has also led exit processes through sale to financial and strategic players. Anand has been on the boards of numerous portfolio companies and has worked closely with them on matters pertaining to corporate governance and financial reporting, acquisition strategy and fund raising (debt and equity including IPO) and HR.

Anand has a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (IIT-B).

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Jayanta Banerjee

Managing Partner

Jayanta has over 20 years of industry experience with the last 12 years in the private equity business in India. He has in-depth experience of full cycle investing and fund raising in private equity and in investment banking. He has also been an entrepreneur and has worked in the industrial sector. Jayanta has experience of investing in a wide range of sectors like BFSI, infrastructure services, logistics and manufacturing.

Previously, Jayanta was President – private equity at ICICI Venture. In that capacity, he was responsible for investments in pharmaceuticals and healthcare and was also in charge of fund raising of India Advantage Fund (IAF) Series 3. Prior to that, as the India head of private equity at Lehman Brothers, Jayanta led a team covering all sectors. In his earlier stint at ICICI Venture, Jayanta led investments in auto components, logistics and textile sectors and led the fund raising process of IAF Series 2. Jayanta has also worked on and managed multiple investments from ICICI Venture's India Advantage Funds apart from managing and exiting several private equity investments of the legacy funds of ICICI Venture. He has also been on the boards of numerous portfolio companies.

Jayanta has a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Jadavpur University.

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Sunay Mathure

Managing Partner

Sunay has 18 years of industry experience with the last 13 years in the private equity business in India. He has in-depth experience in working across the investment life cycle from sourcing, evaluating, structuring, negotiating & executing deals to post investment monitoring and exits. Sunay has experience of investing in entertainment and across a wide range of industrial sectors like engineering, textiles and auto components.

Previously, Sunay was Director – investments at ICICI Venture. In that capacity, he was responsible for investments in industrial sectors. In the 10 years at ICICI Venture, Sunay was active in all aspects of private equity investing, from deal evaluation and diligence to structuring and negotiating to day-to-day portfolio management. He has also led exit processes by taking portfolio companies public. Sunay has been on the boards of numerous portfolio companies and has worked closely with them on matters pertaining to business strategy, corporate restructuring, governance and risk management.

Sunay has a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (IIM-C) and a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from the Institute of Technology - Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU).

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Shashidhar Jayaraman

CFO and Principal

As the CFO and Principal at ASK Pravi Capital, Shashidhar Jayaraman will work on evaluation and due diligence of businesses and also aid the portfolio companies in managing working capital and instituting financial control systems. As the CFO, he will have overall responsibility for fund accounting and investor reporting and shall also be the compliance officer of ASK Pravi Capital.

Shashidhar has over 20 years of operating experience across a broad range of roles in the finance function, strategic planning, plant and sales accounting, financial control, and working capital functions. Shashidhar also has experience in treasury, mergers and acquisitions, tax and legal issues. Shashidhar has a proven track record in managing finances of multi-location businesses as also investor relations.

Earlier, Shashidhar was the CFO of the Healthcare Division of Philips Electronics India. Prior to that, he has worked as CFO of Infomedia India (now Infomedia 18) when the company was managed by ICICI Venture. Earlier, he had a long stint with Pepsico India. Shashidhar has also worked in the finance function at ITC, a leading consumer products company in India.

Shashidhar is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is also an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Costs and Works Accountants of India.

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Ajitabh Banerji

Principal

As Principal at ASK Pravi Capital, Ajitabh works on all aspects of deal making and investments.

Ajitabh has 9 years of business experience in financial services including 6 years in the Indian private equity industry with in-depth experience in working across various stages of the investment cycle – sourcing, evaluating, structuring & executing deals, post investment monitoring and exits. Ajitabh has been involved in investments made in the auto components and logistics sectors.

Previously, Ajitabh was a vice-president at ICICI Venture where he focused on evaluating investment opportunities in the manufacturing and healthcare services sectors in addition to focusing on post-investment monitoring as an observer on the board of portfolio companies. Prior to that, Ajitabh was at Blue River Capital where he focused on investments across multiple sectors.

Ajitabh has a post graduate diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and a bachelor's & master's degree in biochemical engineering & biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D).

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Alok Dutta

Operating Advisor

As an operating advisor to ASK Pravi Capital, Alok Dutta will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating investments by providing his insights as a business leader. Alok will act as a strategic advisor to portfolio companies on all aspects of business.

Alok has over 40 years of industry experience in all aspects of business including manufacturing, sales & marketing, new market development and inorganic growth. He is currently a non-executive director of Minda Industries and Minda Autocare and also advises the Minda Group on strategic issues.

Alok has also worked with Baxy Group where he was actively involved in the acquisition by the Baxy Group of Vege, a European engine manufacturer and turned Vege around within a period of 12 months. Prior to that, he worked for 25 years with Eicher Group, a leading automotive group in India. At Eicher he was responsible for various functional areas like procurement and management of materials, manufacturing, engineering, marketing and group finance. His last assignment with Eicher Group was as the managing director of the export arm - Eicher International. He was member of the board of directors of various Eicher Group companies including Eicher Goodearth Limited, Eicher Limited, Eicher Motors and Royal Enfield Motorcycles. He has been actively involved with Confederation of Indian industry and was Chairman of the Africa committee for a period of 3 years and also served as the member of northern region council.

Alok is a cost accountant with a degree in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

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Manu Parpia

Operating Advisor

As an operating advisor to ASK Pravi Capital, Manu Parpia will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating investments by providing his insights as a leader. Manu will act as a strategic advisor to portfolio companies and provide insights to portfolio companies drawing from his experience as an entrepreneur.

Manu has over 30 years of industry experience with over 20 years in the engineering solutions space. Manu is the managing director and CEO of Geometric Ltd. and chairman of 3DPLM Software Solutions Limited, a joint venture with Dassault Systemes.

Manu founded Geometric Ltd, a leading engineering software and design services company. He served as the managing director of Geometric from 1994 to 2006 and as vice-chairman from 2006 to 2011. For over a decade until 1999 he served as the chief executive of the Electronic Business Equipment Division of Godrej & Boyce. During this period, he also founded Godrej Pacific, a joint venture between Tech Pacific and Godrej & Boyce, and served as its managing director. He was the President of Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) in 1997-98.

Manu has an MBA from Harvard University and a degree in chemical engineering from McGill University.

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Naveen Kshatriya

Operating Advisor

As an operating advisor to ASK Pravi Capital, Naveen Kshatriya will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating investments in consumer product and services businesses by providing his insights as a business leader with extensive experience in this domain. Naveen will act as a strategic advisor to portfolio companies in this sector on all aspects of business.

Naveen has over 40 years of experience in business leadership, marketing and customer management. He has significant experience in blending strategic thinking with improvement in motivation of people to effectively drive business growth. He has experience in leading turnaround & growth businesses. He has extensive international business experience and he has been based out of India, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and UK. Naveen is a member of the board of Ambit Holdings & Non-Executive Chairman of the board of First Energy Ltd. He intends to focus his time on mentoring SME businesses, where he can add value.

Naveen retired recently as Regional VP and head of BP Castrol's Automotive Lubricants business in Asia & the Pacific region, operating out of Singapore. Prior to this, he was the CEO and MD of Castrol India while concurrently heading the business in South Asia, Middle East, Africa and Turkey. He was on Castrol's Global Leadership Team since 2004 and on the Board of Directors of Castrol India since 1998. Prior to this, he worked at Unilever for 23 years. He was with Hindustan Unilever for 17 years and grew to national level marketing / sales roles, including an assignment as business head in the Exports Division. He was with Unilever Arabia for 6 years where his last position was General Operations Manager. He was also CEO of a leading mineral water company in Middle East, then an associate of Evian.

Naveen has a degree in mechanical engineering from IIT - Kharagpur.

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Shyamal Chakravarty

Operating Advisor

As an operating advisor to ASK Pravi Capital, Shyamal Chakravarty will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating investments by providing his insights as a business leader. Shyamal will also act as a strategic advisor to portfolio companies on all aspects of business.

Shyamal has over 35 years of industry experience in infrastructure services including industrial construction & infrastructure, manufacturing, packaging and logistics with over 20 years at leadership levels with responsibility for identifying and incubating new opportunities from concept to commissioning and then nurturing them into profitable businesses. He currently works as an advisor to various companies in the area of engineering and infrastructure.

Shyamal has spent most of his career with the Balmer Lawrie Group. In his last assignment, he was managing director and CEO of Transafe Services Limited and was responsible for its transformation from a container leasing company into a multi-business logistics sector focused company. He has earlier been the executive director (technical) of IBP - Balmer Lawrie. During his tenure with the group, he served as director in several of Balmer Lawrie's joint ventures with leading companies in India and abroad in sectors like manufacturing, trading, infrastructure and logistics.

Shyamal has a post graduate diploma from Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata (IIM-C) and a degree in civil engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (IIT-B).

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Narendra Amare

Manufacturing Operations

As a functional expert in manufacturing operations to ASK Pravi Capital, Narendra Amare will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating these aspects of the target companies business. Post investment, he will work with the portfolio companies on specific projects in the same function and aim to instill best practices and facilitate improvement in operating efficiencies.

Narendra has over 25 years of industry experience in manufacturing operations across a range of industries including industrial products, food products, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Currently, he is an independent industrial consultant and is well versed with creating, developing and executing innovative business development plans and strategies together with designing, consolidating and improving organizational processes within time, budget and quality parameters.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Narendra was the Head of Operations at Pidilite, a leading manufacturer of adhesives and industrial chemicals, where he supervised manufacturing cost control, budgeting, quality and production planning and control at third party units and company owned units.

Narendra worked at Cadbury's India office from 1996 to 2005 and in his last assignment was officiating as Factory Manager. Previously, he worked as an engineer at Emicos International (cosmetics), Cipla (pharmaceuticals), German Remedies (pharmaceuticals) and Godfrey Phillips India (cigarettes).

Narendra has a degree in mechanical engineering from Walchand College of Engineering.

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Shashidhar Jayaraman

Finance

Shashidhar Jayaraman will work on evaluation and due diligence of businesses and also aid the portfolio companies in managing working capital and instituting financial control systems. As the CFO, he will have overall responsibility for fund accounting and investor reporting and shall also be the compliance officer of ASK Pravi Capital.

Shashidhar has over 20 years of operating experience across a broad range of roles in the finance function, strategic planning, plant and sales accounting, financial control, and working capital functions. Shashidhar also has experience in treasury, mergers and acquisitions, tax and legal issues. Shashidhar has a proven track record in managing finances of multi-location businesses as also investor relations.

Earlier, Shashidhar was the CFO of the Healthcare Division of Philips Electronics India. Prior to that, he has worked as CFO of Infomedia India (now Infomedia 18) when the company was managed by ICICI Venture. Earlier, he had a long stint with Pepsico India. Shashidhar has also worked in the finance function at ITC, a leading consumer products company in India.

Shashidhar is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is also an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Costs and Works Accountants of India.

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Sugato Chandra

Supply Chain

As a functional expert in supply chain management to ASK Pravi Capital, Sugato Chandra will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating this aspect of the target companies business. Post investment, he will work with the portfolio companies on specific projects in the same function.

Sugato has over 25 years of industry experience with over 15 years in supply chain management including hands-on experience in distribution, warehousing and technology. He is currently an advisor to HCL Technologies Limited.

Previously, he was a senior consultant with Diamond Value Chain Consulting, a business division of Dow International. Prior to that he was president in charge of projects and technology in M J Logistic Services Limited, an integrated third party logistics services company with over 1,000,000 square feet of warehousing facilities.

Sugato worked from 2001 to 2006 at Take Solutions, a leading technology solutions and services provider in areas of life sciences and supply chain management. At Take Solutions, Sugato co-created various supply chain software products. Later on he headed the supply chain software solutions business of Take Solutions. From 1998 to 2000, Sugato was General Manager - Eastern India at SembCorp India (100% subsidiary of SembCorp, Singapore) a leading integrated logistics service provider. Sugato has worked for fourteen years at Phillips India in various locations across the country in areas like distribution, warehousing and accounts.

Sugato has an MBA from the University of Calcutta and a graduate degree in science from Visva Bharati University.

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Sujay Naik

Brand and Marketing

As a functional expert in brand and marketing to ASK Pravi Capital, Sujay Naik will work closely with the Investment Team in evaluating these aspects of the target companies business. Post investment, he will work with the portfolio companies on specific projects in the same function.

Sujay has over 15 years of industry experience in marketing, procurement, and manufacturing including 6 years of running a boutique consulting firm – Zephyr, which works with small and medium enterprises primarily in marketing strategy and brand management. At Zephyr, he has worked with a number of companies mainly in consumer goods and services sector including healthcare, foods and personal products. Sujay's engagement with a client typically starts with generating business plans and attendant marketing and sales strategy to product development, communication development and advertising. Utilizing in-depth experience across a range of business functions, Sujay focuses on creating detailed plans and implementing them to create value for clients. He currently is a non-executive director of Goodlife Fitness Solutions and Swas Healthcare.

Before founding Zephyr, Sujay was with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare for 8 years. In his last role, he was the group product manager for Boost. He worked in several business verticals including nutritionals, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, and oral care in manufacturing, sourcing and marketing functions. His marketing experience involved leading above the line (media and research), below the line (activation and engagement) and product development activities.

Sujay has a post graduate diploma from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and a degree in production engineering from G.S. Institute of Technology & Science.