Aditya Birla Capital Advisors

CEO

Bharat Banka

Bharat heads Aditya Birla Private Equity as its Founding CEO. He led the initiative to set ABPE practice, build team and raise ~$200 million in its maiden domestic fund. With diverse experience in business, strategy, principal investing, M&A, post-merger integration, capital markets & CXO-level roles, he brings unique value-creation abilities, commercial acumen for portfolio companies and strong team management skills.

In earlier role as Head of Group Finance at the Aditya Birla Group, he played a pivotal role in expanding the Group through complex M&A and organic means. Before joining the Aditya Birla Group in 1994, he was responsible for primary capital markets, corporate advisory and led the PSU practice at the Indian JV of J. P. Morgan with ICICI.

His career highlights include formation of India's 5th largest $5 billion mobile company (Idea Cellular); creation of India's 2nd largest $7 billion cement business (Ultra Tech Cement); formation of India's large non-ferrous $8 billion metals company (Hindalco) and formation of US$ 2 billion conglomerate (Aditya Birla Nuvo); all through a series of multi-billion dollar innovative acquisitions, capital market interventions, mergers and post-merger integration.

Bharat is a Fellow Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), an Associate Cost Accountant from the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI), member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai, India

He is a member of National Committee on Capital Markets, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and a member of the Board at GEI Industrial Systems, Anupam Industries and V-Mart Retail. He is on Advisory Councils of an upcoming healthcare solutions company and an upcoming unique social media company.

Bharat mentors entrepreneurs as an active member of Indian Angel Network (IAN), the largest network of angel investors in India. He is a recipient of “Professional Achiever – Finance Sector” Award from the ICAI. He writes monthly column ‘Bankanomics’ in Network 18 business magazine ‘The Entrepreneur’.

Investment Team

Rahul Shah - Investment Director

Rahul is a veteran leading private equity investments or with a long track record of nurturing entrepreneurial teams. As a founding team member of IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML), he participated in IL&FS’ development of its venture capital and private equity arm in the late 90s.

Rahul has steered investments across sectors through their entire life-cycle and has a track of producing successful exits from investments ranging from start-ups to late-stage growth deals. As a Board member, he navigated portfolio companies through economic cycles by providing strategic inputs and playing a central role in cross-border joint ventures, developing growth plans, effecting strategic sales and judicious financial interventions. His highlight investments include Shoppers' Stop, Godrej Food & Beverages, India Games, DQ Entertainment, Global Broadcast, Quikjet and Arch Pharmlabs.

At Aditya Birla Private Equity, he is responsible for sectors like Healthcare, Media, Technology and Discretionary Spending.

Rahul is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Mumbai, India.

Amitvikram Sharma - Investment Director

Amit is a veteran in venture capital and private equity investment management. He has extensive cross sector expertise in investing, growing and successfully exiting early-stage and mid-market enterprises while working with leading venture capital and private equity managers like Gujarat Venture Finance, Jardine Fleming Electra, Actis and Milestone Religare. As an investor, Amit has specialized in working actively with early-stage and mid-market companies, often as a Board member, for significantl value-addition through effective growth strategies and ensuring profitable exits to unlock value through multiple routes. The highlight of his 22 investments include Neilsoft, Tipco Industries, Moser Baer, Zensar Tech, Daksh, KIMS Hospital and CARE Ratings.

At Aditya Birla Private Equity, Amit is responsible for sectors like Healthcare delivery businesses, Higher Education & Training, Print Media, Retail (Electronic Products, Garments, Agriculture) and Infrastructure (Power, Water & Power EPC and Capital Goods).

Amit is a Mechanical Engineer from National Institute of Technology, Surat, India and has earned a Post Graduate Diploma from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow, India.

Shamik Moitra - General Principal

Shamik brings close to two decades experience in CXO level operational consulting, private equity advisory and entrepreneurial roles alongside winning investments in technology and leisure sectors. These experiences were acquired with firms like Accenture, Bank of America, DLJ and CMC. Prior to joining Aditya Birla Private Equity, Shamik was an investment banking partner with Europa Partners LLP in London with a focus on the TMT cluster. Active Hotels (UK), Indian August (India) were two of his successful principal investments and he played entrepreneurial roles at Oorvara Ltd (UK and India) and Shore2Shore Ltd (UK & India).

As a General Principal at Aditya Birla Private Equity, Shamik focuses on IT, Telecom, Media, Hospitality & Education Technology besides contributing to growing the firm’s funds by interacting with institutional investors and channel partners.

Shamik holds a Masters in Finance from the London Business School, an MBA from XLRI-Jamshedpur, India and an Honours Bachelor in Physics from the University of Delhi, India. He is an associate member of the Institute of Directors in London and is an FSA registered Security Analyst.

Mehul Maroo - General Principal

With rich and diverse experience across geographies in private equity, mergers and acquisitions advisory and management consulting, Mehul had previously worked with the private equity practice of specialist management consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates, US. His select highlight client assignments include Group Danone and Swander Pace Capital.

As a General Principal at Aditya Birla Private Equity, Mehul has interest in Consumer, Healthcare, and Infra verticals with specific focus on healthcare services, consumer and brands, infrastructure services, and media, besides contributing to growth of the firm in fund-raising.

Mehul holds a bachelors degree in engineering and a masters degree in management, both from Stanford University, US.

Sailesh Shenoi - Investment Principal

Sailesh holds a wide repertoire of skills across private equity, corporate finance, cross-border M&A, equity markets and strategy consulting for companies operating in cement, FMCG & agriculture, technology and EPC sectors. Earlier, Sailesh was a management consultant with Accenture and also led the Finance & Strategy function at Geometric Software before joining the Aditya Birla Group. His highlight investments include CARE ratings and a leading regional value-retailer.

As an Investment Principal at Aditya Birla Private Equity, Sailesh has specific focus on verticals including Education, Renewable Energy, Business Services, Facility Management, Pharmaceuticals, CRAMS and EPC.

Sailesh is a Bachelor of Engineering (Computers) from VJTI, India and a Masters in Management Studies (MMS) from Sydenham Institute of Management, India, where he was the topper of his batch. He was the youngest member of the prestigious Management Council at Geometric Software in his past assignment.

Achin Bhardwaj - Investment Principal

Achin has a decade’s experience in the financial services industry, with most of it in private equity investment management. Prior to joining Aditya Birla Private Equity, Achin worked with private equity firm ChrysCapital, Morgan Stanley and the Deloitte group. Achin has worked on 6 major private equity transactions. Highlights include Anupam Industries at Aditya Birla Private Equity and earlier Redington India, Idea Cellular and Titagarh Wagons at ChrysCapital.

As an Investment Principal at Aditya Birla Private Equity, Achin has specific focus on verticals including Capital Goods, Media (Print, Radio), Infrastructure EPC, Hospitals, Medical Devices and K-12 Education.

Achin holds a Masters in Finance from University of Delhi, India, is a CFA from AIMR USA and Bachelors in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, India.

Sunil Jain - Investment Principal

Sunil has more than a decades experience in capital market actions, M&A execution including deal origination, project evaluation, financial modeling, valuation, due diligence. Sunil worked with SBI Capital Markets and Lodha Capital Markets before joining the Aditya Birla Group. His highlight assignments include an investment in the Rating firm, CARE besides the US$ 1.2 billion 3-way complex merger to form Aditya Birla Nuvo and post-merger integration of Sidex Steel S.A. of Romania with Mittal Stahl (now Arcelor Mittal).

As an Investment Principal at Aditya Birla Private Equity, Sunil focuses on verticals including Financial Services, Mining, Light Manufacturing, Logistics and Defense Ancillaries.

Sunil is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) degree from the University of Calcutta, India.

Bhavna Mohan - Investment Analyst

Bhavna has been a member of the Aditya Birla Private Equity team since inception. Earlier Bhavna worked with Tata Consultancy Services, India’s leading IT firm, leading software development teams catering to the BFSI and Logistics business verticals. In her current role, Bhavna has participated in originating and executing growth investments in retail, material handling equipment and power ancillary companies.

At Aditya Birla Private Equity, her responsibilities include deal origination, financial modeling and valuation, business due diligence and post investment activities including performance monitoring and value building.

Bhavna is an MBA with dual-specialization in Finance and IT & Operations from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Sciences from the University of Pune, India.

Nagaraj Cherukuri (Naga) - Investment Analyst

Naga has been a member of the Aditya Birla Private Equity team since inception. Earlier, he worked with Corporate Finance Cell (CFC) of the Aditya Birla Group where he was involved in Project Appraisal and Investor Relations function and played a key part in the strategic divestment of a cement asset. In his current role, Naga played a key part in executing investments in CARE Ratings and GEI Industrial Systems.

At Aditya Birla Private Equity, his responsibilities include deal origination, evaluation and analysis, due diligence and post-investment processes besides tracking Hospitals and Logistics sectors.

Naga is an MBA with majors in Finance from S P Jain institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, India and is an M. Sc. (Tech) Finance graduate from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, India.

Ankita Handoo - Investment Analyst

Ankita brings on board experience across deal origination, M&A and strategic partnerships advisory and client relationship management as an investment banker focused on the BFSI sector with firms like Edelweiss Capital and Ambit Corporate Finance.

At Aditya Birla Private Equity, her responsibilities include deal evaluation and analysis of potential portfolio companies to devise investment strategies and make specific investment decisions.

Ankita is an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India and also holds a B. Tech degree in Electronics from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India.