ChrysCapital reshuffles top deck, brings Harsh Mariwala as adviser

By Ranjani Raghavan

  • 15 Mar 2019
Credit: 123RF.com

Homegrown private equity firm ChrysCapital has brought Harsh Mariwala, founder of consumer goods company Marico Ltd, on board as a senior adviser as it announced top-level changes on Friday.

Mariwala joins other industry veterans like former HCL Technologies Ltd CEO Vineet Nayar and former State Bank of India chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, who have been associated with ChrysCapital for the past few years, the PE firm said in a statement.

ChrysCapital also named Sanjay Kukreja as its new chief investment officer and Ashley Menezes as the chief operating officer.

The top-level rejig comes barely two months after the PE firm completed the fundraising process for its eighth fund, overshooting its hard cap of $850 million (Rs 5,950 crore).

The PE firm said Kukreja will work closely with each sector team, overseeing portfolio construction, investments and exits. Menezes will lead all operations related to entry and exit processes for the firm.

Menezes has been responsible for ChrysCapital’s operations related to finance, fund structure and set up, and deal negotiations and execution, it said.  

The firm’s directors and vice presidents, who until recently were responsible for proactive coverage of their respective sectors, deal sourcing and execution, portfolio monitoring and exits, are being empowered to lead their respective sectors and manage deals from start to finish.

Sanjiv Kaul, a partner at the firm, will lead portfolio management across all sectors and build out Enhancin, ChrysCapital’s value enhancement team while continuing to oversee pharmaceutical investments and mentoring for the firm.

Gaurav Ahuja will continue to lead the investor relations and fundraising functions, which he took over in 2017. Ashish Agrawal has recently been promoted to managing director and will lead the firm’s efforts in the financial services sector.

The Times of India, which first reported the organisational changes earlier in the day, said that ChrysCap is also exploring a credit strategy. However, Kaul denied the plan. “That’s not correct. ChrysCapital is not exploring a credit fund at this stage,” he said in an emailed statement to VCCircle.