Fund Manager Profile
Vikram Gandhi
Founding Partner - Asha Ventures
He's on the faculty at Harvard Business School, teaching in both the MBA and Executive Education programs. He also works as a Senior Advisor to The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (www.cppib.com).
Vikram also runs Asha Ventures (www.ashaventures.in), a group started by people who care about society. They pool their money, contacts, and know-how to tackle tough problems in India and other developing countries by investing in ventures that make a difference, giving to charities, and pushing for better policies. Right now, Asha Ventures is based in India, putting money into social enterprises and working with the government, businesses, and regular people on important policy issues.
Before all this, Vikram was Vice Chairman of Investment Banking and Global Head of the Financial Institutions Business at Credit Suisse, in both New York and Hong Kong. He was also on Credit Suisse’s Global Investment Banking Management Committee and the Fixed Income Operating Committee.
Before Credit Suisse, Vikram was at Morgan Stanley for a long time. He was Co-Head of Global FIG in New York, headed the Firm’s institutional strategy, oversaw its Global E-commerce Committee, and served as Country Head and President of Morgan Stanley India. In his 23 years in investment banking, Vikram has advised Boards of Directors and CEOs all over the world on where to go and how to make big moves like mergers, acquisitions, and raising capital.
Vikram is very involved in development work in India and around the world. He's a Board Member and Chairman of the Asian Regional Committee of the Grameen Foundation, a Board Member of Jana Small Finance Bank, and on the Investment Committee at Gawa Capital. He helped start Harvard University’s South Asia Initiative and Ashoka University, India's first liberal arts college. He is part of The Global Leaders Circle and helps with the Social Entrepreneurship program at Harvard Business School. He also helped start Social Finance India, which is part of a global network that invests in projects that have a positive impact on society and the environment. He used to be on the Standing Council of Experts for the Indian Ministry of Finance, giving advice on how to make India's financial sector more competitive. Vikram is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee in Washington, DC, which works to promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and keep the global financial system stable.
Vikram got his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, and a B.Com from the University of Mumbai. He's also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
