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Ajay Relan’s exit from Citi Venture Capital International is official. CVCI will now be headed by PR Srinivasan.

Ajay Relan’s exit from Citi Venture Capital International, where he spent about 13 years, is official. Citi has issued a release that the fund in India will be headed by PR Srinivasan or popularly known as PRS. He is being designated as Managing Director (Region Head - India), Mumbai.

Prior to joining Citi in 2002, Srinivasan was with HSBC Private Equity and ICICI Venture. He was earlier an engineer with the aircraft production division of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bangalore. Srinivasan holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from College of Engineering, Guindy, Madras and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

The release, according to Mint, also said that Srinivasan will report to Dipak Rastogi, CEO, CVCI. Srinivasan will lead a team of senior investment professionals at CVCI India including Vivek Chhachhi, Vinayak Shenvi, Ajay Tandon and Rahul Yadav, the report said, quoting the release.

Relan’s exit was rumoured in the media in the last few weeks. VC Circle also contacted Relan for his comments, however, he refused to talk saying he would call back. Vivek Chhachhi had told VC Circle that he would be staying put with CVCI. Relan is believed to be starting up his own fund. Citi under Relan has invested in companies like Suzlon Energy, KS Oils, Spentex Industries, Jai Balaji Industries, BGR Energy Systems, and several broking firms like Sharekhan, Anand Rathi Securities and Globe Capital Markets.

Relan is a Citi old timer as he has been leading the investments for the firm since 1995. Prior to starting CVCI, Relan was the CEO of Citicorp Securities and Investments Ltd, a Citi affiliate registered in Mumbai and engaged in fund advisory, equities research and bond trading. An economics graduate from St Stephens College in Delhi and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, Relan has worked in various positions at Citi in India and abroad.