US-based buyout firm TPG Capital has named Shailesh Rao as the India and Southeast Asia head of its mid-market and growth-equity platform TPG Growth and the social-impact vehicle The Rise Fund.
Rao has been an adviser to TPG Growth and The Rise Fund since October 2017. He will assume the new role on 15 September, the PE firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
Rao's appointment comes nearly a year after TPG Growth partner Vish Narain quit in October last year. TPG Growth also manages The Rise Fund.
TPG indicated that Rao's appointment may result in an increase in technology investments, given his background. Rao had left microblogging company Twitter Inc. in 2016 after a four-year stint. He previously worked for seven years at tech giant Google, where he led YouTube in Asia and also headed Google India.
“As we continue to build businesses with leaders across India and Southeast Asia, Shailesh’s regional expertise and global operating experience will be invaluable,” said Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of TPG Growth and co-founder and CEO of The Rise Fund. “In addition to sourcing new regional opportunities, we look forward to advancing technology investment activity worldwide.”
Rao said in the statement that he will use his experience from Google and Twitter to work with founders and business leaders to scale their businesses beyond Asia.
Rao will join the boards of BookMyShow and Fourth Energy upon joining the firm, TPG said. He will work alongside Puneet Bhatia and Ganen Sarvananthan, who lead TPG Capital Asia.
