Meet the Team

The team functions on a unified philosophy and partners with entrepreneurs to foster financial discipline and accelerate their growth trajectory.

Leadership Team

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Abhay A. Asrani

Managing Partner

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Gautham Kalro

Managing Partner

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Darshika Madhani

Associate Director, Managing Partners' Office

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Vishakh Ramesh

Credit Analyst

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Harsh Bishnoi

Credit Analyst

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Nishita Jain

Investment Associate

Leader

Abhay A. Asrani

Managing Partner, Aquilon Capital
Harvard Business School | Indiana University

Abhay, an avid backpacker, enjoys exploring new Aquilon on foot. He actively supports his 8-year-old daughter, Aditi, in her academic pursuits, be it school competitions or being the founding student at Synthesis. Abhay seamlessly blends business and pleasure, making every moment an opportunity for both productivity and leisure. Audiobooks are his preferred form of information intake. Abhay loves his History, Coffee, and Manga, in no particular order.

Leader

Abhay A. Asrani

Managing Partner, Aquilon Capital
Harvard Business School | Indiana University

Abhay, an avid backpacker, enjoys exploring new Aquilon on foot. He actively supports his 8-year-old daughter, Aditi, in her academic pursuits, be it school competitions or being the founding student at Synthesis. Abhay seamlessly blends business and pleasure, making every moment an opportunity for both productivity and leisure. Audiobooks are his preferred form of information intake. Abhay loves his History, Coffee, and Manga, in no particular order.

Work Profile

Banking

  • Abhay is a seasoned professional with a distinguished career spanning over 17 years in Corporate & Institutional Banking. During his tenure, he was responsible for originating and managing assets in excess of USD 3 Billion at a large Private Sector Financial... Read More Institution, with his expertise extending across various facets of Banking including structured finance, acquisition financing, promoter financing, and mezzanine financing, etc.
  • His wealth of knowledge encompasses various financing categories and transaction phases within the Indian market, emphasizing his ability to orchestrate complex financial structures with finesse, aligning financial acumen with strategic insight. His diverse investments span industries such as FinTech, Green Hydrogen, Healthcare, InsureTech, Logistics, and more. Abhay excels in managing all aspects of transactions, including financial structuring, due diligence, credit analysis, documentation, syndication/de-risking, and position monitoring. Show less

Entrepreneurship

  • Notably, Abhay has also played a pivotal role in the growth of Canopi, a Banking-as-a-Service platform, steering it from its start-up phase to becoming one of the country's fastest-growing financial technology service providers ... Read More . Under his leadership, Canopi, a bootstrapped entity, achieved annualized disbursements of approximately USD 1.5 billion within just four years - an impressive feat that reflects his financial acumen and operational scaling know-how. Show less

Structuring Expertise

  • He has ideated, structured, and underwritten debt for numerous consumer brands, including Bounce, CureFit, Furlenco, Indkal (Acer Televisions), Koye Pharma, Melorra, Quikr, WeWork India, and Zefo, contributing significantly to their financial success and business growth. ... Read More
  • As one of the early investors in Propshare Capital, Abhay has advised and structured the commercial Real Estate investments through the SPV and Category II AIF route, thereby optimising the process of capital deployment.
  • Owing to his deep relationships with Financial Institutions and leveraging capabilities, Abhay has successfully structured, optimised and delivered Opco and Propco solutions for large Co-working players, Pharma API plants and EPCs. He has secured firm term sheets of over $40 million from Financial Institutions for long tail debt against fund commitment of $17 million ultimately lowering the effective cost of capital and enhancing returns for his investors.
  • In recent years, he successfully secured over USD 140 million in Debt & Equity for prominent start-ups, VC funds, and large Family Offices owing to his prowess in capital procurement. Show less
Leader

Gautham Kalro

Managing Partner, Aquilon Capital
IIM Bangalore

Gautham loves his morning coffee which often becomes an all-day event. He follows his wife Kamana’s lead on everything digital. He loves to cheer on his 7-year-old son Avyaan, who is a Tennis and Cricket enthusiast. Gautham alternates between swimming and tennis as a way of achieving his daily fitness goals. He is an ardent believer of life’s most enriching experiences being stored in different pockets of the world.

Leader

Gautham Kalro

Managing Partner, Aquilon Capital
IIM Bangalore

Gautham loves his morning coffee which often becomes an all-day event. He follows his wife Kamana’s lead on everything digital. He loves to cheer on his 7-year-old son Avyaan, who is a Tennis and Cricket enthusiast. Gautham alternates between swimming and tennis as a way of achieving his daily fitness goals. He is an ardent believer of life’s most enriching experiences being stored in different pockets of the world.

Work Profile

Investorpreuner

  • Gautham Kalro is a highly experienced Investorpreuner who brings over 18 years of diverse experience across sectors like Banking, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Pharmaceutical Distribution ... Read More . His career is characterized by a strong focus on problem-solving, driving growth, and executing strategic initiatives.
  • Gautham's entrepreneurial journey commenced in 2006 while he set up a boutique consulting firm, Billions Business Solutions, that helped MSMEs raise capital on their Balance Sheet in the form of Debt. In 2008, he went on to demonstrate his versatility by leading Future Kidz and working closely with the founding team of Cloud Nine group of Hospitals, showcasing adaptability in the Healthcare sector.
  • As a fervent Start-up Evangelist, Gautham made impactful investments in multiple companies, securing notable exits. His portfolio spans various sectors, housing high-performing ventures with distinguished track records. Collaborating closely with founders and promoters, he actively contributed to value creation.
  • Gautham's passion for start-ups and angel investing emerged early in his career when he made his first individual equity investment in Cloud Nine group of hospitals. His comprehensive experience encompasses the entire investment lifecycle, from fundraising to deployment and successful exits. Recognized as a valuable resource in the entrepreneurial community, he actively shares his extensive network, offers on-the-ground problem-solving support, and serves as a trusted sounding board for fellow founders and operators. Show less

Family Office - Structured Debt

  • Notably, during his stint as the Founder and Managing Partner at Propel Investments, Gautham specialized in lending from the Family Balance Sheet, particularly within the MSME sectors, orchestrating structured debt financing for more than 250 entities. This impressive feat involved deploying over USD 100 Million while maintaining an NPA rate under 1.75%. ... Read More
  • Gautham's investment prowess and financial acumen flourished during his almost decade long involvement with Capier Investments as Co-Founder & Managing Partner in 2015. He went on to lead Capier to become one of the most active family offices in the Indian start-up ecosystem. Remarkably, Capier Investments achieved an average multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of 4.20X, nurtured 2 Unicorns, 3 Soonicorns, and oversaw the listing of 1 company, with another in the pipeline. Show less

Fund Management

  • Gautham was a partner at PeerCapital, an early-stage tech VC fund (Category II AIF registered with SEBI) with a target corpus of approximately USD 80 Million. He played a pivotal role in setting up PeerCapital from in 2021. .. Read More He was instrumental in helping the firm raise capital, manage fund operations and identify crucial partnerships (peers and portfolio) while staying dedicated to supporting promising founders and building the future. Show less
Leader

Darshika Madhani

Associate Director, Managing Partners' Office

Darshika is an Associate Director and a part of the Managing Partners' Office at Aquilon. As part of the Investments team, Darshika enjoys the opportunity to learn and contribute towards designing the optimal transaction structures to facilitate deal closure. Prior to joining Aquilon, Darshika worked at an Equity AIF focused on early-stage investments. She is currently pursuing her CFA Level 2 and holds an MSc in Behavioural Finance from Queen Mary University of London.

Leader

Namratha Kanyal

Administrative Coordinator

Namratha is the Administrative Coordinator at Aquilon Capital, where she oversees comprehensive stakeholder management. Leveraging her varied background in Animation and Business, Namratha leads stakeholder relations, fostering positive interactions with Investors, Partners and other relevant parties. Her expertise ensures seamless coordination and efficient administrative processes, central to Aquilon's operations.

Leader
To be announced

Candidate A

Associate
  • Practicing Chartered Accountant for the last 8 years.
  • Previously worked as a core team member of a key player in Transaction Advisory space in India
  • Has managed complex and intricate corporate structuring requirements extensively in the Fund space.
Leader
To be announced

Candidate B

Analyst
  • Chartered Accountant
  • Managed and assisted AIFs in areas of audit, valuations, and generation of internal reports in previous roles.