The team helping you grow

Dr. Murti has over four decades of experience and possesses vast expertise in high level managerial positions within technology companies spanning software products and services, defense technologies, and industry promotion in Europe. He has also been an entrepreneur as a co-founder of a defense IT startup. As a General Partner at Sigma, he brings his storehouse of knowledge and experience to bear on new technology opportunities in the Defence & Aerospace, Enterprise Saas and Logistics sectors.

Throughout his career, he held notable positions such as the head of HCL Technologies, Director of IGEP software industry promotion in Europe, and CEO of Softek Limited. With a profound understanding of product life cycle management and information technology domains, he effectively leverages his product knowledge at Sigma.

He holds a B.Tech in electrical engineering from IIT Bombay and an MBA from IIM Calcutta. He has been awarded a PhD at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) for his thesis titled “Knowledge Processes and their role in Innovation”. Outside of work he enjoys travel and films, is an aficionado of espionage novels, and is a published author of fiction

Nilyanka has over two decades of experience of which the majority has been that of an entrepreneur in the apparel, design, and manufacturing sector. Additionally, she is an active angel investor in numerous consumer sector companies. She has extensive entrepreneurial experience that allows her to apply her profound knowledge of the hurdles faced by entrepreneurs and the strategies for achieving profitable outcomes. As a General Partner at Sigma, she drives the relationships with Limited Partners and brings her storehouse of knowledge and experience to bear on new opportunities in the Consumer-Tech sector.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she held important global positions in renowned companies such as Honda, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard, where she contributed to product development, finance, and manufacturing verticals.

She graduated in Economics from Delhi University Delhi and has an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune. She is interested in cricket and soccer and enjoys food, music, and photography.

Kshitij has more than two decades of diverse experience in scaling businesses across multiple industries. He brings his operational expertise to drive profitable growth and facilitate the expansion of portfolio companies. As a General Partner at Sigma, he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm’s business with a focus on deal origination, evaluation, and scaling companies and takes the responsibility to bear on new opportunities in the Logistics and Consumer-Tech sectors

He has held senior business roles in premier global brands viz – Apple and Amazon, for majority of his career, based in India and Europe for multiple emerging markets across India, Africa and the Mediterranean region. In the early part of his career, he was with the TATA group, Arvind Brands Ltd etc in diverse industries spanning across Automobiles, Watches & Jewellery and Apparel to name a few. His functional experience is across Revenue Growth, Marketing, Category Management, Distribution, Supply Chain, and Business Strategy.

He is an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune and is an alumnus of INSEAD Business School. Outside of work he is interested in Design & Architecture, technology, and traveling, and enjoys reading, music, and sports.

Karthik is a seasoned investment professional with over two decades of multi-industry investment management experience. He enjoys exploring ideas, formulating investment thesis, reviewing biases and omissions, supporting the entrepreneur in their journey, and relishing the success that comes with an investment thesis going right. Another area of his continued interest is learning and understanding people and craft solutions to bridge the diverse interest of stakeholders to stitch a deal together.

Whilst his tryst with entrepreneurship (tried an uber for home healthcare idea) was short lived, he has had the benefit of working with global best-in-class private equity investment firms such as Softbank, Goldman Sachs, IDFC Alternatives, Old Lane and Halcyon which invested in real estate, infrastructure and special situations spanning stressed, distressed, mergers and spinoffs. In his spare time, he reads and meanders in the intersection of military history, geopolitics and macroeconomics.

He has an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and has a B. Pharm(hons) degree from BITS Pilani.

A member of the investment team, Raghav brings a blend of financial and business acumen, strategic insight, and a passion for innovation. With an unwavering dedication to uncovering promising startups. He plays a pivotal role in originating and executing deals for the fund.

Raghav has two years of entrepreneurial experience in the apparel and workwear industries. He commenced by setting up a design and manufacturing unit for protective workwear and high-fashion garments, from which he gained hands-on experience across product management, pricing, strategy, sourcing, marketing, production, and supply chain.

He graduated in business administration, specializing in marketing and finance. When he is not busy scouting for innovative and cutting-edge startups to invest in, he likes to travel. An avid sportsperson, Raghav has played cricket and football at the zonal level.

Shikha oversees the day-to-day operations at Sigma and works closely with the partners to contribute to all aspects of the fund’s operations, including internal systems, office operations, social events, etc. She identifies challenges and addresses them to ensure everything works seamlessly at Sigma. She is also an angel investor and has made investments in food tech and HR tech startups.

With her people skills, Shikha fosters the company culture and is excited about taking on new challenges.

She graduated from Patna University and holds an MBA from VTU, Bengaluru. A movie buff who enjoys yoga, Shikha likes playing golf and hits the course whenever time permits.

Dr. S. Narayan has four decades of experience in public service with state and central governments. He has recently been appointed as a member of the Special Economic Advisory Committee of the Government of Tamil Nadu. In his last government assignment, he was the Economic Advisor to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Prior to this, he was the Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary. He also served as the Secretary in the Departments of Revenue, Petroleum, Industrial Development, and Coal in the Government of India. At Sigma, he brings unrivaled experience in governance and regulatory issues and is also a highly respected mentor in the Indian startup ecosystem.

He is currently on the boards of Dabur, Seshasayee Paper and Board Ltd., and IIFL Wealth Management. He has been a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS, Singapore, since 2005. He has authored two books and edited three more on development and energy-related issues.

He graduated from Madras Christan College, University of Madras, and has an M.Sc. in Physics from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Business Management (Finance) from the University of Cambridge. He also holds an M.Phil. in Development Economics and a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Vice Admiral Suresh Bangara (Retd) brings the domain expertise of the armed forces and its operational requirements to the fund. He had 40 years of meritorious service in the Indian Navy before retiring as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, of Southern Naval Command, in 2006. In addition to the rank of Vice Admiral, he held two other appointments, namely, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defense Staff and Commandant of the National Defense Academy. At Sigma, he brings an overview of the armed forces at the senior-most level, covering technology, operations, and procurement.

In the rank of Rear Admiral, he held critical assignments as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy and Plans), Information Warfare and Operations, and Assistant Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition. He was also the Flag Officer Commanding at the Maharashtra Naval Area. Prior to that, he served as the Naval Adviser at the High Commission of India in Islamabad (1985–88). In 1971, he took part in the attack on Karachi Harbor. Post-retirement, he has been involved as an advisor on training for the Cabinet Secretariat to the Government of India, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, an advisor to the Union Public Service Commission, and the chairman of the project management team for Project Kalpasar to the Government of Gujarat (2008–2013). He is also a member of the Harvard Alumni Association.

He has been a recipient of military awards for distinguished service of exceptional order, including the AVSM (Ati Vishisht Seva Medal) and PVSM (Param Vishisht Seva Medal) in 2004. He was appointed honorary ADC to the President of India in 2006.

He is a B.Sc. from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, and a postgraduate (M.Phil.) from the National Defence College, Delhi. In 2000, he completed a course for senior executives at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University. A missile and gunnery course in 1970 in the Soviet Union, a specialization in anti-submarine warfare in India, and a staff course at the Royal Naval Staff College at Greenwich, London, were his professional qualifications.

Thomas Preising is currently the CEO at Athlos, UK. He was a senior adviser at AMP Capital, an infrastructure equity fund with $18 billion under management globally. Tom advised AMP’s portfolio companies on innovation and technology, supporting the global team from India, which is truly at the intersection of emerging technologies. He is also an advisor and investor for two recent technology startups: Metafused, a London-based fintech company, and CarDose, an Indian pharmatech company. At Sigma, he brings his extensive experience in sales and supply chain management to a global level. He is also a certified leadership coach and will evaluate and mentor Sigma portfolio companies.

As a corporate leader, he was the Global Business Operations Director for Apple, based in their HQ in Cupertino, US. He joined Apple in 2004 as the Operations Director for Europe before moving to Delhi as the Sales Managing Director of Apple India. In other roles at Apple, he established its first office in the Middle East and led sales operations and planning for its Latin America business. Before joining Apple, Tom worked at Hewlett-Packard for 13 years in Europe and Asia.

Tom has a B.S. in business and economics from Penn State and an MBA from Wharton. He brings his extensive experience of large-scale and efficient business operations in varied global market environments, as well as his functional understanding of deep technology, operations, process management, and creative strategic thinking.

Arun Seth took early retirement from his corporate career to focus on bringing the benefits of IT and telecom to real-world businesses in the Energy, Health, Fintech, MedTech, Education, Hospitality, etc. via a vibrant, innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem and a focus on giving back to society. At Sigma, he has direct access to entrepreneurs, incubators, and angel investors. He also has a strong understanding of the Indian healthcare sector.

Starting as the founding MD of British Telecom in India in 1995, he built it to its current leadership position in managed telecom services and outsourced IT and back-office operations. He had been very active with the government and regulators in shaping telecoms policy and IT policy as an elected member of Nasscom for a decade. He is currently an independent director on the board of Narayana Health, Jubilant Life Sciences, Sify Technologies, Usha Breco Ltd., and Servion Global Solutions Ltd.

As an active angel investor for the last two decades, he has incubated companies such as Avendus, InMobi, ToneTag, Ezetap, and HealthifyMe. He has served on the Board of Governors for IIM Lucknow and IIIT Delhi, both leading colleges. Also, be an advisory board member of TERI and a governing member of the TERI University board.

He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Calcutta, and he has worked in senior commercial positions at BT, HCL, Usha Martin, and the UB Group over the last 40 years.

Suchitra has demonstrated investment experience of more than 4 years in technology startups in the Asia-Pacific region. She is an innovation enabler, business builder, and leader with a strong background in technology, finance, P&L management, and commercial strategy. She has expertise and a proven track record in building successful businesses for multinationals and start-ups in technology. Special interest in technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, robotics, entrepreneurship, and innovation. At Sigma, she is our techno-commercial specialist for the evaluation of technology and products from an investor’s perspective.

Prior to being an investment professional, she was in multiple leadership roles as a practice leader and vice president at Gartner. She has been a successful “intrapreneur” and led the Consulting and Advisory for Sales and Services Practice for Asia Pacific. Prior to that, she held senior managerial roles in global corporations, viz., IDC, eBay, and Tata Consulting Services.

Suresh is the managing partner of Encube Ventures, an investment and advisory firm based out of Bangalore that he co-founded in 2012. Encube has slowly emerged as the go-to investment partner for start-ups in the technology and consumer brands verticals on raising capital and investment advisory for venture firms. At Sigma, Suresh brings a deep understanding of the investment ecosystem combined with an extensive network of startups and investment banking. He is uniquely positioned to advise and provide tailored solutions to accelerate growth with growth capital, facilitate private equity exits, and facilitate strategic deal structuring as well as M&A opportunities.

In the last 10 years, Suresh has executed and advised on over 25 deals across sectors, valuing over $ 120 million. Suresh has also been involved in entity restructuring to improve efficiency, profitability, and fundraising. Prior to becoming an investment professional, he had a distinguished corporate finance and investment background of more than 20 years across multiple roles. His last role was as the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) with America Online (AOL), one of the largest Internet and media companies globally at the time. He was part of the four-member core team in India that set up the business and scaled it up to the largest centers globally. As the finance head for India, he oversaw the launch of AOL.in in the Indian business, driving revenue and profitability.

Suresh has also worked with Titan Industries Ltd., where he was on the corporate finance team and managed group consolidation and reporting. He was also closely associated with Timex when they launched in India through a JV with Titan. He has also worked with the GE Jack Welch Technology Center at a senior level, managing the finance for the India software division and eventually being involved in carving out the business to be sold as part of GE’s strategy.