Gopal Jain - Managing Partner

Gopal started out investing as a hobby when he was thirteen. He began his professional investing career 19 years ago and started making private equity investments in 1995. Since then he has made nearly 25 investments. These include several companies that have grown to become sector leaders in India. As an entrepreneur he has been a pioneer in private equity and equity research in India. He is a charter member of TiE Mumbai and a member of Leaders’ Quest, UK. Gopal has a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Delhi.

Ranjit Shah - Managing Partner

Ranjit has 24 years of operating experience as an entrepreneur and manager and over 5 years as a private equity investor at Gaja. Ranjit has held CXO roles in the telecom, technology and export sectors and also worked in leading investment banking and management consulting firms in India. As an entrepreneur Ranjit co-founded an asset finance company which he took public. He has an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a B.Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay. He is a charter member of TiE , Mumbai and a member of the CII - PE/VC national committee.

Himanshu Shah - Director, Operations

Himanshu has over 17 years of senior management experience in Private Equity, Real Estate and Financial Services. Prior to joining Gaja, Himanshu worked at Indiabulls Group, Voyager Fund and at The View Group. Himanshu is a Chartered Accountant and a Cost & Management Accountant.

Sriranjan Seshadri - Principal

Sriranjan has over 11 years of experience in Private Equity and Financial Services. Prior to joining Gaja, Sriranjan spent over four years in the Private Equity team of JM Financial India Fund, a private equity fund sponsored by JM Financial, with Old Lane Partners as the lead investor. Here, he was involved in investments across sectors such as Auto Ancillary, Farm Equipment, KPO, Steel and Banking. He has also worked in a variety of roles in Reliance Capital and ICICI Bank. Sriranjan holds an MBA from IIM (Ahmedabad) and a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from Mumbai University.

Imran Jafar - Partner

Imran has over 13 years of experience in Private Equity, Pharmaceuticals and IT services. Prior to joining Gaja, Imran worked in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility in Dr. Reddy's and Wipro Technologies. He has an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a Masters degree in software engineering from BITS-Pilani.

Avinash Luthria - Partner

Avinash has over 12 years of experience in Private Equity, Management Consulting, Project Management in IT/ITeS and entrepreneurship. Prior to joining Gaja, Avinash worked at Tata Strategic Management Group, MindTree and Wipro Technologies. Earlier he co-founded a Legal Research KPO. He has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and a B.Tech in Computer Science from RVCE Bangalore.

Abhinav Jain - Head of Finance and Risk

Abhinav has over 5 years of experience in India’s financial services sector. He previously worked as a credit risk analyst at ICICI Bank and earlier as an accountant. He has an MBA from ISB, Hyderabad. Abhinav is also a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary.

Sanjay Patel - Co-Founder & Advisor

Sanjay is a Managing Partner and Head of International Private Equity at Apollo Management International. Previously he was Co-head of European Private Equity at Goldman Sachs. He has over 18 years of alternative asset investing including growth capital, buyout, mezzanine and distressed experience. He has an MBA from Stanford and AB and SM degrees from Harvard.

Shailesh Haribhakti - Advisor

Shailesh Haribhakti is the Chairman of BDO Haribhakti, the Indian member firm of BDO International, the world’s 5th largest accountancy network. Mr. Haribhakti is a leading chartered accountant and is actively involved with several prominent financial institutions in India, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Stock Exchange (NSE), International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Riaz Currimjee - Advisor

Riaz is founder and managing director of Surya Capital, an alternative investment advisory firm based in London. Prior to founding Surya, Riaz was a partner at Arundel Partners, a London based fund of hedge funds, where he retains an advisory role. Riaz also serves as a non-executive director of Currimjee Limited, a diversified private business group in Mauritius. Riaz qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen in the UK. He has a BSc in Applied Finance from Boston College.

Manish Sabharwal

Manish is a successful serial entrepreneur having started and successfully exited multiple businesses. He is currently co-founder and Chairman of TeamLease services - among India's largest private sector employers. Prior, he co-founded IndiaLife Hewitt (HR services, BPO), ICap India (fixed income and Forex inter dealer) and India Insure Risk Management (an insurance brokerage firm). He has an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Ranjan Dasgupta

Ranjan is a power industry veteran with over 37 years experience at India's largest private sector enterprise, Crompton Greaves, from where he retired as Board Member and President - Power Systems, in 2002. He is currently the Chairman of a Hi-Tech switchgear contact manufacturing company and CEO of two companies engaged in reprography, digital photography, printing and animation. He has an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and an AMP degree from Harvard Business School.

Saurabh Sood (CEO, Marketopper Securities - Operating Partner & Research Affiliate)

Marketopper Securities is a specialized research firm based in New Delhi. Gaja leverages Marketopper Securities on an opportunistic basis for its research and deal development requirements.

Narayan Ramachandran

Narayan Ramachandran is an investor and entreperneur with a focus on financial services and social businesses. Till recently, he was the Country Head of Morgan Stanley in India leading all of the group's businesses. Prior to these roles , Narayan 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 joined Morgan Stanley in 1996 and has 20 years of investment experience. Before joining the firm, he was a managing director at Rogers Casey (now CRA Rogers Casey). In addition, Narayan was director of research at Rogers Casey and president of its investment advisory subsidiary. He began his career at Goldman Sachs. He 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. Narayan has a keen interest in using market-based solutions for poverty alleviation in areas such as micro-finance, social venture capital, micro-insurance and affordable housing. He writes a column for the MINT newspaper titled The Visible Hand.