MUMBAI, India, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Bessemer Venture Partners announced today that its India operation has formed an Advisory Group. Consisting of Mr. Sridar Iyengar (Chairman), Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, Mr. Rajeev Chitrabhanu, and Mr. M. K. Sharma, the Advisory Group will help BVP India's investment professionals identify and manage outstanding investment opportunities, and will also work with select BVP portfolio companies to help them achieve their full potential.
Bessemer maintains the longest-running track record of success in the venture capital industry, having formed or funded over 100 startups that grew into independent public companies. From offices in New York, Silicon Valley, Boston, Beijing, Mumbai and Israel, Bessemer Venture Partners manages more than $2 billion of capital invested in over 120 companies around the world. The firm has invested in 21 companies in India in the last four years and has a 14-person team in Mumbai.
"India is an exciting investment opportunity for us," said Rob Chandra, a Managing Partner at BVP. "Just as we saw the long term opportunity when we entered Silicon Valley in the 1970s, we see a similar opportunity in India driven by the growth in middle class prosperity and innovation. We have an exceptionally experienced and talented Advisory Group who we think will help us build a great investment practice by combining local expertise with a global investment platform."
Sridar Iyengar, chairman of the Advisory Group, noted, "I am honored to join this group along with three insightful and experienced business people. Bessemer is unique in the investment community for seeking outside input and counsel. I am confident our collective experience will help in building a successful and respected investment practice."
The Advisory Group has a wealth of wide-ranging experience in the Indian business world.
-- Mr. Sridar Iyengar, Chairman, brings more than 30 years of global business experience, including 15 years dealing with investments in the India/US corridor. Mr. Iyengar, the former CEO of KPMG India, serves on a number of boards such as Infosys and ICICI Bank and is active in many aspects of social development, economic and political reforms in India.
-- Ms. Rama Bijapurkar is a noted business consultant, and the author of Winning in the Indian Market (also titled We Are Like That Only). Ms. Bijapurkar serves as an independent director on the boards of a number of prestigious companies, including Infosys, CRISIL, Axis Bank, Bharat Petroleum, and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited. Ms. Bijapurkar is a Visiting Faculty member at her alma mater, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, where she also serves on the Board of Governors. Her previous work experience includes with McKinsey and Company, MARG (now AC Nielsen India), and full time consulting with Hindustan Lever (now Hindustan Unilever India).
-- Rajeev Chitrabhanu is the CEO and Managing Director of JM Financial Services Private Limited. He has done extensive work in all areas of the capital markets. Over the years Mr. Chitrabhanu has executed various types of capital market transactions for India's market leaders including Bharti, Cadbury's, Iflex, Koutons, and Renuka Sugars. He has prior experience working with the management of companies in the U.S. and Europe.
-- Mr. M.K. Sharma recently retired from his position as Vice-Chairman of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, where, among many other responsibilities, he chaired the four-member National Management Committee. During his tenure at Hindustan Unilever, Mr. Sharma was named to several government committees, including the Corporate Law Committee that redrafted the Companies Act and the Committee on Corporate Governance. He currently serves on the boards of ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Bata India, and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, and on the Board of Governors of the Anglo Scottish Education Society, which runs the Cathedral & John Connon School in South Bombay.
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global investment group with offices in New York, Silicon Valley, Boston, Beijing, Mumbai, and Israel. As the oldest venture capital practice in the United States, Bessemer has partnered as an active, hands-on investor in Ciena, Ingersoll Rand, Parametric, Skype, Staples, VeriSign and W.R. Grace and over 100 other companies that have gone public. To learn more, visit www.bvp.com.
SOURCE Bessemer Venture Partners
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