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Rishi Navani
Rishi has been investing in India for almost 15 years. He has experienced a number of investment and economic cycles as well as a variety of challenges that portfolio companies have faced across their lifecyles. His passion is to partner wtih entrepreneurs to build large, category defining companies in India, He enjoys the challenge of working closely wtih management teams to solve the myriad of complex issues that are involved in growing a business .



He started his career at Indocean Ventures, an affiliate of Soros Fund Management and Chase Capital Partners in a nascent Indian Private Equity industry. After two years at Indocean, he pursued his MBA and then rejoined the private equity industry at Apax Partners in New York. However, his desire to be involved with the India opportunity led him to WestBridge Capital Partners where he was part of the team that started the Silicon Valley office in 2001. He experienced first hand the dotcom bust in Silicon Valley and is well aware of the challenges involved in managing through a downturn. In 2004, he saw the inflection point in the India investing opportunity from an export oriented to a domestic market opportunity and moved back to India.

He attended Northwestern University where he graduated with a BA with Distinction in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences and Economics. He completed his MBA at the Wharton School with Distinction in Finance and is a recipient of the Ford Fellowship which is awarded to the #1 ranked first year student.

In 2006, Rishi co-founded Matrix India and is looking to partner with ambitious, high-caliber entrepreneurs who are focused on the Indian consumer opportunity.


“In Matrix India we found everything we were looking for in a partner: time, commitment, patience and understanding. In Rishi and his team we found a set of individuals who trusted our vision and our ability to deliver without compromising our values. They stand committed, and have made significant contributions to our business.”

Rajesh Bhatia, CEO and Founder, Tree House Education

“Rishi has a very clear thinking process which positively rubs-off on the entrepreneur to navigate through complex situations as they build the business and company.

His capabilities to connect with the entrepreneur on market context, business strategy and organizational dynamics are one of the best that I have come across. He has a very fair and objective approach; very passionate about what he does. As an investor and board member Rishi's contribution to Ver Se has been and continues to be invaluable.”

Virendra Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder, Ver se Innovation

Rishi Navani

Managing Director, Mumbai
+91 22 6768 0000
rishi@matrixpartners.com
Assistant: Yafa Gadkar
yafa@matrixpartners.com

Honors/Memberships

EO Mumbai

Past Investments

    Jamdat Mobile (NASD: JMDT, acquired by Electronic Arts)
    Zavata (acquired by Apollo Health Street)

Areas of Interest

Sectors include: Financial Services, Mobile

Experience

WestBridge Capital Partners, Managing Director

Apax Partners, Senior Associate

Indocean Ventures (affiliate of Soros Fund Management and JP Morgan Partners), Analyst

A.T. Kearney and McKinsey & Co., Consultant

Education

    The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, MBA with Distinction, Finance

    Northwestern University, BA with Distinction, Economics and Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences