Meet the Team

Gautam Prakash is Founder and Senior Managing Director of Monsoon Capital. Prior to launching Monsoon Capital in 2004, Gautam was an advisor to ChrysCapital, a billion-dollar private equity fund based in New Delhi. From 1993-2001, Gautam was a venture capitalist at Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the country’s oldest venture capital firms. Gautam co-led the health care practice and served on the boards of numerous portfolio companies. Prior to joining BVP, he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in New York from 1991-1993. Gautam serves on the Board of Trustees of The Sidwell Friends School and is the former President and Chairman of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Boston chapter, and a former member of the Board of Trustees of TiE Inc. Gautam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University with summa cum laude honors and Distinction in Economics, graduating in 1991.

Rishi Kohli is a Portfolio Manager at Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is responsible for the firm’s systematic trading absolute return hedge strategies. Rishi Kohli’s experience in the Indian capital markets goes back to 2001. Prior to Suyash, he was Head of Equity Derivatives at SSKI Securities, one of the largest domestic institutional brokerages. Rishi started the Equity Derivatives desk at SSKI in 2004 and was responsible for growing the business from zero to over 5% institutional market share. Prior to SSKI, Rishi worked in Derivative Sales at Refco (now MF Global) in Mumbai and, prior to that, in Derivatives Research at ICICI Securities between 2001 and 2003. At ICICI Securities, he was a part of a three-member team that was responsible for getting most of the initial FII equity derivative trades started in India. He also briefly assisted in managing a $5 million proprietary trading book at ICICI Securities. Rishi received a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India in 1999, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management at Lucknow, India in 2001. 

Gaurik Shah is the Quantitative Analyst at Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital. Gaurik has 4 years of experience in Quantitative Research & Trading, and a primary focus at Suyash of researching medium frequency and high frequency systematic strategies and trading models for possible inclusion in the absolute return portfolio models. He is also responsible for using his programming skills combined with quantitative knowledge to test and implement algorithmic trading and DMA in the Asian markets for the firm’s absolute return strategies. Apart from this he is also involved in generating other fundamental and technical quantitative portfolios and trading systems. Immediately prior to Suyash, Gaurik was a junior Delta1 trader at RBS Hong Kong where he initiated quantitative-based trading for the Asian desk. Prior to that, he spent 3 years at MAPE ADMISI Securities, a domestic institutional brokerage house, as a Quantitative Research analyst in the institutional brokerage division. Gaurik spent the initial few years of his career as a programmer in some of India’s best-known software companies, namely Infosys and Cognizant. Gaurik completed his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Instrumental & Control) from PICT Pune in 2003. He holds a PGDBM from XLRI Jamshedpur.

Mehul Patel is a Quantitative Analyst at Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital. Mehul has 7 years of experience in Quantitative Research, and is responsible for generating short-term (1-4 days) directional trading models as well as volatility trading models for the firm’s absolute return strategies. Prior to Suyash, Mehul was a member of the Alternative & Quantitative Research desk at Edelweiss Securities for 3 years, where he built successful models across fundamental factor, statistical arbitrage and options strategies. From 2004-2008, Mehul worked at Morgan Stanley Advantage Services, providing quantitative research assistance to the London Proprietary Trading Desk. Mehul completed his Graduation in Commerce from Jai-Hind College Mumbai in 2000. He also holds a Masters in Financial Management from Lala Lajpatrai Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. 

Viral Mehta is the Trader, Senior Analyst at Monsoon Capital Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsoon Capital. He has a total of 11 years of sell-side experience in Indian capital markets. Prior to Monsoon Capital Private Limited, Viral was an Equity Derivatives Trader with SSKI Securities – one of the largest Indian institutional brokerage firms. Prior to SSKI, Viral worked as an Equity Trader at Asit C. Mehta Securities in Mumbai. Viral completed his Graduation in Commerce from Bombay University in 1996. He also holds NSE (National Stock Exchange, Mumbai) Certifications in Capital Markets and Equity Derivatives.  

Girish Kulkarni is Founder and Senior Managing Director of Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is the lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s long-only and real estate strategies. Since 1989, Girish has had operating and investment experience in different aspects of the Indian capital markets, including public equity, private equity, and real estate investing. Prior to sub-advising Monsoon Capital, Girish led TDA Capital, the private equity arm of Templeton Investments, where he focused on emerging market deals in both Eastern Europe and India. Also while at TDA, Girish was a sub-advisor to several multi-billion dollar US hedge funds focusing on long-only mid-cap investing in India. Prior to TDA Capital, Girish was Head of Equity Sales, Trading and Research at ICICI Securities, then a joint venture between ICICI (India’s second largest bank) and JPMorgan. Girish was responsible for founding and leading a team of 40 professionals that made proprietary investments, raised equity capital for corporate clients and advised institutional investors in their investment decisions. He has extensive public markets experience, having been involved in more than 30 IPOs in the Indian capital market and several M&A assignments. Girish received a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India in 1987, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad, India in 1989. 

Neelesh Wagle is Managing Director of Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is co-lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s long-only strategies. Since 1994, Neelesh has investment experience in Indian capital markets, both on the-sell side and buy-side in international investment firms. Neelesh re-joined Girish in 2000 at TDA Capital, where he has been directly responsible for investments in public equities, PIPEs and private companies, as well as a sub-advisor to several multi-billion dollar US hedge funds. Prior to TDA Capital, he was a Senior Associate with Bank of America Equity Partners (BAEP-Asia) from 1998-2000. At BAEP-Asia, Neelesh was part of a two-member team responsible for investing and managing $43 million of Indian investments in a $250 million Asian principal investment portfolio. He was also involved in technology investments in the Asian region. Prior to BAEP-Asia, Neelesh worked as a technology and telecommunications analyst at ING Barings in Mumbai and at ICICI Securities between 1994-1998, advising foreign institutional clients on investments in Indian equities. Neelesh received a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India in 1992 and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Calcutta, India in 1994. 

S N Rajesh is Managing Director of Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is a Portfolio Manager for the firm’s long-only strategies (where he has primary responsibility for private equity investments) and MIRC. Since 1994, Rajesh has had investment experience in different areas of the Indian capital markets, including private equity, public equity, project financing and corporate financing. Rajesh co-founded UTI Ventures in 2000, and until 2008, was involved with the entire life cycle of private equity: fund raising, identification and evaluation of Investment opportunities, due diligence and transaction structuring, Board level monitoring and successfully exiting from portfolio companies across Fund 1 & 2 of UTI Ventures. Prior to UTI Ventures, Rajesh worked with the Investments group at UTI Mutual Fund (one of India’s leading investment managers) from 1994-2000, where he was involved with project finance, credit, private equity, PIPE and structured finance investments of $1.2 billion in over 50 companies. Rajesh has been a director on the Boards of Subex, Ramkrishna Forgings, Laqshya Media, HBL Power systems, Consolidated Construction, Naturol Bioenergy, Primus Brands and Excelsoft Technologies. Rajesh received a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1992, and an MBA from Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur in 1994. 

Prafull Rai is a Principal with Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is an Analyst for the firm’s long-only and real estate strategies. Prior to joining Suyash, Prafull was Senior Equity Analyst for ABN AMRO Asia Equities, Equity Analyst for ENAM Securities, and Analyst for India Infoline, Ltd. He has deep experience covering the Automotive, Engineering, and Utilities sectors and performing in-depth financial analysis and modeling. Prafull holds a Chartered Accountant designation and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Nagpur University in 1997. 

Karthi Keyan is a Principal with Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is an Analyst for the firm’s long-only strategies.  His 12 years of work experience includes association with brokerages and Project Developers, as well as academic institutions. Prior to joining Suyash, he was Head of Research at Stratcap Securities, Business Analyst at KSK Energy Ventures (a project developer based out of Hyderabad), Analyst with Shah & Sequeira Investment Advisory Services (Mumbai) and a Research Analyst with ICFAI, Hyderabad. Through these years, he has tracked the power and associated sectors (utilities, equipment and ancillary sectors) and natural gas utilities, as well as commodities such as non-ferrous metals, sugar and paper. Karthi received his MBA in Finance from Osmania University, Hyderabad, in 1994, and a B.Comm. (Hons) degree from the same university in 1992. 

Siddharth Bhattacharya is a Research Analyst with Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and maintains the library and research resources for the firm’s long-only strategies. Prior to joining Suyash, Siddharth was Project Manager/Senior Research Associate for Dickinson Intellinetics and worked extensively on the “Venture Capital Guide for India” and “Indian Venture Capital Journal.” He received his Bachelor’s of Tech Electrical from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological College in 2002 and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Planning & Management, Mumbai in 2004. 

Girish Kulkarni is Founder and Senior Managing Director of Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is the lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s long-only and real estate strategies. Since 1989, Girish has had operating and investment experience in different aspects of the Indian capital markets, including public equity, private equity, and real estate investing. Prior to sub-advising Monsoon Capital, Girish led TDA Capital, the private equity arm of Templeton Investments, where he focused on emerging market deals in both Eastern Europe and India. Also while at TDA, Girish was a sub-advisor to several multi-billion dollar US hedge funds focusing on long-only mid-cap investing in India. Prior to TDA Capital, Girish was Head of Equity Sales, Trading and Research at ICICI Securities, then a joint venture between ICICI (India’s second largest bank) and JPMorgan. Girish was responsible for founding and leading a team of 40 professionals that made proprietary investments, raised equity capital for corporate clients and advised institutional investors in their investment decisions. He has extensive public markets experience, having been involved in more than 30 IPOs in the Indian capital market and several M&A assignments. Girish received a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India in 1987, and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad, India in 1989. 

S N Rajesh is Managing Director of Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is a Portfolio Manager for the firm’s long-only strategies (where he has primary responsibility for private equity investments) and MIRC. Since 1994, Rajesh has had investment experience in different areas of the Indian capital markets, including private equity, public equity, project financing and corporate financing. Rajesh co-founded UTI Ventures in 2000, and until 2008, was involved with the entire life cycle of private equity: fund raising, identification and evaluation of Investment opportunities, due diligence and transaction structuring, Board level monitoring and successfully exiting from portfolio companies across Fund 1 & 2 of UTI Ventures. Prior to UTI Ventures, Rajesh worked with the Investments group at UTI Mutual Fund (one of India’s leading investment managers) from 1994-2000, where he was involved with project finance, credit, private equity, PIPE and structured finance investments of $1.2 billion in over 50 companies. Rajesh has been a director on the Boards of Subex, Ramkrishna Forgings, Laqshya Media, HBL Power systems, Consolidated Construction, Naturol Bioenergy, Primus Brands and Excelsoft Technologies. Rajesh received a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1992, and an MBA from Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur in 1994. 

Prafull Rai is a Principal with Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and is an Analyst for the firm’s long-only and real estate strategies. Prior to joining Suyash, Prafull was Senior Equity Analyst for ABN AMRO Asia Equities, Equity Analyst for ENAM Securities, and Analyst for India Infoline, Ltd. He has deep experience covering the Automotive, Engineering, and Utilities sectors and performing in-depth financial analysis and modeling. Prafull holds a Chartered Accountant designation and received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Nagpur University in 1997. 

Shridhar Sethuram is a Venture Partner with Suyash Advisors, the Indian advisors to Monsoon Capital, and has primary responsibility for project management for the firm’s real estate strategy.  Shridhar has 20 years of experience across Investments & Business Operations. Shridhar has been associated with evaluating and  monitoring private equity investments, and has been part of senior management and led large teams, in the Hospital, IT & BPO industry, Shridhar has led Strategy and Business Process Re-engineering consulting engagements with large Indian conglomerates in the cable, power & chemicals industry.  His prior experience include Actis (PE), CashTech Solutions (IT), Hathway Investments (PE), Accenture (Consulting)  & ICICI(Venture Finance). Shridhar graduated in Commerce from University of Bombay in 1989 and obtained an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) in 1991. 

Nauman Malik is General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer for Monsoon Capital. Prior to Monsoon Capital, Nauman was an associate in the Financial Services Group at Dechert LLP in Washington, DC. Nauman advised U.S. investment companies and investment advisers on U.S. and global regulatory, corporate and business matters. He also advised offshore registered and unregistered funds on compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements and counseled European investment funds (UCITS and non-UCITS) on organization, registration and global distribution issues. He graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, magna cum laude, and earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude. 

Suzgo Munthali is the Operations Manager for Monsoon Capital. Suzgo is responsible for a variety of functions related to fund administration, accounting, and operations. Prior to joining Monsoon Capital, Suzgo spent six years with Essex Investment Management in Boston, where she was responsible for account administration, portfolio reconciliation, and performance analysis for the firm’s institutional clients. Suzgo holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University. 

Sinaly Kalo is Controller of Monsoon Capital. Sinaly oversees all accounting and finance activities of the firm, including audit, tax, fund administration and compliance. Prior to joining Monsoon Capital, Sinaly spent eight years with various organizations in the Financial Services Industry, including four at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and two at Credit Suisse in their New York offices. Sinaly was a Manager in the Transaction Services Group at KPMG based out of the Atlanta Office where he provided financial due diligence work for M&A clients. Sinaly earned a Master of Business Administration from the New York University’s Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Public Accounting from Pace University, respectively, in 2007 and 1998. Also, Sinaly is a Certified Public Accountant in New York. 

John Wartman is Director of Marketing of Monsoon Capital. For the last decade, John has been involved in various aspects of the alternatives investments industry: business consulting, manager research, product management, risk analysis, reporting and client services at multi-manager and single manager organizations. His prior experience as an enterprise risk management consultant (AMS), institutional options strategist (Prudential Securities), and FX Trader (Credit Suisse) provides the technical expertise to translate complex strategies to investors. John is a graduate of the Thunderbird School of International Management, Masters of International Management, and Brown University, AB.