SUMMARY
The most recent resignation was put up by Rajesh Ramaiah in August after a thirteen-year long stint with the firm
Rahul Garg and Atul Gupta were two other partners who left earlier this year
All three partners who have exited will continue to have an advisory engagement with the firm
Azim Premji’s Bengaluru-based investment arm Premji Invest has witnessed the departure of three of its four seasoned partners this year. The latest to resign is Rajesh Ramaiah, who stepped down in August following a thirteen-year tenure with the company, as per a report by ET.
Ramaiah joined Premji Invest in 2010 as Director and CFO. He was promoted to the role of partner in 2018.
Rahul Garg and Atul Gupta were two other partners who left earlier this year. Gupta joined as a partner in 2008 to led PE investments in enterprise and consumer technology, education, healthcare and business Services.
On the other hand, Garg joined in 2010 to lead investments and portfolio companies in sectors like BFSI including insurance, payments and consumer/retail sectors.
Except Ramaiah, the other two partner’s LinkedIn profiles are not yet updated. Although Inc42 couldn’t verify the development, ET mentioned that a representative of Premji Invest has confirmed the acquisition.
“This is because each of the partners completed approximately 12-15 years, closed three funds and have different aspirations in their personal journey,” the representative said.
All three partners who have exited will continue to have an advisory engagement with the firm. Also, a cooling off period up to one year precludes them from taking up any other work commitments, as per the report.
Subsequent to the exits, the investment firm promoted its chief financial officer and operating partner, Manoj Jaiswal, as well as principal Saravanan Nattanmai as partners. It also hired former Amazon executive Kaveesh Chawla as a partner in June. Chawla had previously worked at Korean ecommerce firm Coupang.
Premji Invest has been active in the Indian startup ecosystem for more than a decade.
In November 2022, Premji Invest Opportunity Fund led a Series B round of INR 177 Cr in homegrown mattress and sleep-tech brand The Sleep Company. It has invested in more than 50+ startups, including Lenskart, FirstCry, Signifyd Icertis among others. It also has gained 15+ exits from companies such as Policybazaar, Myntra, Zuora and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance among others.
