Leadership

Ms. Lavanya Ashok is a General Partner at Trifecta Capital. She joined the firm in 2020 to conceptualize their equity investment strategy and leads Trifecta’s growth equity fund. Prior to joining Trifecta, she was Managing Director, Private Equity at Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS) in their Principal Investment Area (PIA) in Mumbai where she worked for a decade from 2010 to 2020.

Ms. Lavanya earned a BS in Economics and Finance summa cum laude from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 where she was among the top 1% of students in her graduating class. Upon graduation, she joined GS in the investment banking division in New York. After finishing her analyst program in 2006, Lavanya moved to SPO Partners, a $10 billion California-based hedge fund, from 2006 to 2008. Lavanya did an MBA from 2008 to 2010 at Stanford University where she was a Barrett Fellow and President of the South Asia Students’ Association.

Shri. Perumal Srinivasan co-founded Xponentia Capital in 2018 and serves as the Managing Partner. Previously he served as the Managing Director & Head of Citigroup - India Private Equity Team (CVCI). He was part of the Leadership Team that raised two global EM funds: USD 1.5 billion in 2005, USD 4.3 billion in 2007. He was one of 3 founders that set up HSBC India Private Equity & raised a USD 60 million fund in 1995 He has invested more than USD 700 million across his investing experience.

Some of his marquee investments include:

• At CVCI - Axis Bank, Yes Bank , Suzlon, Lupin, GMR and Sharekhan
• At HSBC India PE – Sharekhan, Kurlon, Dishnet, and Millennium Software
• At ICICI Ventures – Geometric Software, Microland

He studied at CEG, Anna University, Chennai and IIM- Bangalore.

Mr. Bhanshali leads the principal investments unit of Enam Holdings Pvt Ltd. He is recognized for identifying the potential in businesses and providing them capital and expertise to scale. Mr. Bhanshali has identified and invested in business leaders across numerous industries who have turned their companies into sector icons.

Mr. Bhanshali has been fortunate to create immense value for stakeholders and has subsequently developed one of the most impressive track records in recent times. Apart from pure investing, he has spent time building a breadth of industry relationships over the years, with especially deep relationships within his investee companies.

Mr. Bhanshali has a Master's degree in Commerce and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Vivek Saraogi holds an Honors degree in commerce and he is an Industrialist of repute. Mr. Saraogi was a past President of Indian Sugar Mills Association and had served as a Member of the Management Board of Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited until April 2005 and also as the Chairman of Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Limited.

Mr. Saraogi has been renowned for his expertise in the sugar industry. He has been on the Board of Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) since 3rd July, 1987 and is presently serving as its Managing Director.

Shri Manish Chokhani is a Chartered Accountant and an MBA from the London Business School. Shri Chokhani is one of the India's most respected financial experts and advisors.

He was CEO of Enam Securities, India's leading investment bank that was the trusted "house banker" to several leading corporates. He led its $400 million merger in 2011 with Axis Bank to create Axis Capital Limited which he led as MD & CEO until the end of 2013. Under his leadership, Enam /Axis mobilised 25% of all equity funds raised in India and was the house banker to several leading Indian business groups.

Shri Chokhani helped devise and implement the India investment strategies of several funds including the India Capital Fund, ZA Capital Fund and TPG Growth India. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the Chairman of TPG Growth in India and then as senior advisor to TPG Group until 2019.

Mr. Gautam Jain has been associated with Enam Group under diverse roles for over 25 years in the areas of Investment Banking and Advisory services. Upon the demerger of Enam's financial services business to Axis Capital, Mr. Jain also served Axis Capital as Managing Director - Investment Banking until 2014.

Mr. Jain graduated from Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences (BITS), Pilani with a degree in Master of Management Studies (M.M.S).

Mr. Ashwin P. Jain has completed his Bachelor's in Accounts from Mumbai University, in May, 1989. Mr. Jain has approximately 25 years of experience in the field of handling transactions relating Capital Markets, also areas of accounts, finance, taxation and compliances.

 Mr. Jain has been a director of a Non-Banking Financial Companies, since last 7 years and his experience has been of a great value to the Company.

Mr. C. I llango serves the board in an independent capacity. He has completed his M.Sc. (Agri) - Post-Graduate in Agricultural Economics. He started his career as an Officer in Canara Bank in the year 1980. Retired with 36 years of experience in commercial banking service including a 5 year stint in Housing Finance industry in CanFin Homes as Managing Director.

Creative and dynamic marketer with proven expertise in consistently penetrating new markets to ensure sustainable revenue growth.

Stewart Langdon is a partner at LeapFrog Investments (“LeapFrog”) and co-head of south Asian investments. A private equity specialist with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, restructuring, disposals and debt raising, Stewart combines his technical experience with deep knowledge of emerging financial services markets.

Stewart leads south Asian financial services investments and digital financial services across Asia and Africa, with a focus on deal sourcing and execution, including overseeing deal teams. He has led several of LeapFrog’s investments including in CarDekho, Zepz, Shriram Capital and also the successful exits of Mahindra Insurance Brokers and Magma Fincorp. Stewart is a member of LeapFrog’s Investment Committee and sits on the boards of a number of portfolio companies including Zepz (WorldRemit Group Limited) and BIMA (Milvik Singapore Pte Ltd). Stewart previously worked in corporate finance, investment banking and capital markets advisory as a vice president at Rothschild, specialising in the insurance, banking and telecom sectors across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Mr. H S Upendra Kamath is a distinguished banking professional with an illustrious career spanning over four decades in the Indian Banking Industry. With a remarkable tenure of 35 years at Union Bank of India (UBI), he began his journey in 1973 as a Probationary Officer and served to various departments and eventually to the position of General Manager in UBI.

Thereafter, he served in two other Public Sector Banks namely Canara Bank as ED and in Vijaya Bank as CMD. Throughout his extensive career, he held diverse roles and successfully managed operations at various levels, including Zonal Office, Branch Offices, Regional Office and the Head Office of UBI. His outstanding contributions to the banking sector have earned him numerous accolades and recognitions. Notable among these are the “Best Customer Friendly Banker Award 2012,” SIDBI’s CGFTMSE award, “National award for excellence in lending to Micro Enterprises,” and the “IT Leadership Award 2013” by Amity University. With a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) qualification and a Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com) degree, he possesses a wealth of expertise in critical areas such as MSME, Retail Banking, Priority Sector, Recovery and Legal, Risk Management, International Banking, Treasury, CreditMonitoring, and Administration.

Shri Pramod Ahuja has 30 years of experience in financial services (private equity, public equity and investment banking) in India and the UK of which 21 years are in Indian PE. He is a member of the Alternative Funding Committee at the Indian Merchants Chamber, British Business Group, Indo Canadian Business Chamber and Asia Society India.

Shri Pramod Ahuja holds an MBA from Clark University, USA and a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Mumbai.

Mr. Bhanshali leads the principal investments unit of Enam Holdings Pvt Ltd. He is recognized for identifying the potential in businesses and providing them capital and expertise to scale. Mr. Bhanshali has identified and invested in business leaders across numerous industries who have turned their companies into sector icons.

Mr. Bhanshali has been fortunate to create immense value for stakeholders and has subsequently developed one of the most impressive track records in recent times. Apart from pure investing, he has spent time building a breadth of industry relationships over the years, with especially deep relationships within his investee companies.

Mr. Bhanshali has a Master's degree in Commerce and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Mr. Vivek Saraogi holds an Honors degree in commerce and he is an Industrialist of repute. Mr. Saraogi was a past President of Indian Sugar Mills Association and had served as a Member of the Management Board of Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited until April 2005 and also as the Chairman of Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Limited.

Mr. Saraogi has been renowned for his expertise in the sugar industry. He has been on the Board of Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) since 3rd July, 1987 and is presently serving as its Managing Director.

Shri Manish Chokhani is a Chartered Accountant and an MBA from the London Business School. Shri Chokhani is one of the India's most respected financial experts and advisors.

He was CEO of Enam Securities, India's leading investment bank that was the trusted "house banker" to several leading corporates. He led its $400 million merger in 2011 with Axis Bank to create Axis Capital Limited which he led as MD & CEO until the end of 2013. Under his leadership, Enam /Axis mobilised 25% of all equity funds raised in India and was the house banker to several leading Indian business groups.

Shri Chokhani helped devise and implement the India investment strategies of several funds including the India Capital Fund, ZA Capital Fund and TPG Growth India. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the Chairman of TPG Growth in India and then as senior advisor to TPG Group until 2019.

Mr. Gautam Jain has been associated with Enam Group under diverse roles for over 25 years in the areas of Investment Banking and Advisory services. Upon the demerger of Enam's financial services business to Axis Capital, Mr. Jain also served Axis Capital as Managing Director - Investment Banking until 2014. Mr. Jain graduated from Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences (BITS), Pilani with a degree in Master of Management Studies (M.M.S).

Mr. Ashwin P. Jain has completed his Bachelor's in Accounts from Mumbai University, in May, 1989. Mr. Jain has approximately 25 years of experience in the field of handling transactions relating Capital Markets, also areas of accounts, finance, taxation and compliances. Mr. Jain has been a director of a Non-Banking Financial Companies, since last 7 years and his experience has been of a great value to the Company.

Mr. C. I llango serves the board in an independent capacity. He has completed his M.Sc. (Agri) - Post-Graduate in Agricultural Economics. He started his career as an Officer in Canara Bank in the year 1980. Retired with 36 years of experience in commercial banking service including a 5 year stint in Housing Finance industry in CanFin Homes as Managing Director. Creative and dynamic marketer with proven expertise in consistently penetrating new markets to ensure sustainable revenue growth.

Shri Akhil Awasthi has been associated with Tata Capital Growth Fund (TCGF) since 2009 and is currently Managing Partner and head of the entire business at Tata Capital Growth Fund (TCGF) and is a Member of Investment Committee of Tata Capital Growth Fund (TCGF) II and Tata Capital Growth Fund (TCGF) I. He is an alumni of Harvard Business School and an MBA from Delhi University. Prior to Tata Capital Growth Fund (TCGF) he has had a 16 years of equity investment experience of which 12 years in private equity with Baring Private Equity.

Stewart Langdon is a partner at LeapFrog Investments (“LeapFrog”) and co-head of south Asian investments. A private equity specialist with expertise in mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, restructuring, disposals and debt raising, Stewart combines his technical experience with deep knowledge of emerging financial services markets.

Stewart leads south Asian financial services investments and digital financial services across Asia and Africa, with a focus on deal sourcing and execution, including overseeing deal teams. He has led several of LeapFrog’s investments including in CarDekho, Zepz, Shriram Capital and also the successful exits of Mahindra Insurance Brokers and Magma Fincorp. Stewart is a member of LeapFrog’s Investment Committee and sits on the boards of a number of portfolio companies including Zepz (WorldRemit Group Limited) and BIMA (Milvik Singapore Pte Ltd). Stewart previously worked in corporate finance, investment banking and capital markets advisory as a vice president at Rothschild, specialising in the insurance, banking and telecom sectors across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Mr. Ishraq Ali Khan holds a masters degree in Physics - Electronics from Lucknow University. As a Strategic leader Mr. Khan drove substantial growth and innovation throughout his career in the banking sector. He oversaw comprehensive business operations encompassing Corporate Credit, Retail Credit, MSME Business, Digitization, IT, Compliance, Governance, Finance, Audit & Inspection, and Cyber Security.

Mr. Khan also spearheaded strategic planning and implementation of technology initiatives, integration of IT systems and implementation of robust risk management framework to mitigate cyber security threats. Started his career with Union Bank of India in the year 1987 and served across diverse roles and responsibilities at the Bank for 33 years including that of being CGM and CTO. He orchestrated the seamless integration of Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank's IT infrastructure into Union Bank of India. Mr. Khan also served as Executive Director of UCO Bank for two years and led the transformation of the institution into a leading digital Bank.

Mr. H S Upendra Kamath is a distinguished banking professional with an illustrious career spanning over four decades in the Indian Banking Industry. With a remarkable tenure of 35 years at Union Bank of India (UBI), he began his journey in 1973 as a Probationary Officer and served to various departments and eventually to the position of General Manager in UBI.

Thereafter, he served in two other Public Sector Banks namely Canara Bank as ED and in Vijaya Bank as CMD. Throughout his extensive career, he held diverse roles and successfully managed operations at various levels, including Zonal Office, Branch Offices, Regional Office and the Head Office of UBI. His outstanding contributions to the banking sector have earned him numerous accolades and recognitions. Notable among these are the “Best Customer Friendly Banker Award 2012,” SIDBI’s CGFTMSE award, “National award for excellence in lending to Micro Enterprises,” and the “IT Leadership Award 2013” by Amity University. With a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB) qualification and a Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com) degree, he possesses a wealth of expertise in critical areas such as MSME, Retail Banking, Priority Sector, Recovery and Legal, Risk Management, International Banking, Treasury, CreditMonitoring, and Administration.

Neeraj has completed his CA and has over 27 years of experience, he has led multi-functional roles in business and operational excellence, strategy, concept evolution, business setup, project establishment, management, and financial advisory & consultation. He formerly held the positions of founder and CEO of Trafinserve as well as MD & CEO of ISFC. His previous employers were Fulletron India Credit Company, where he served as Head of Treasury, AIG Consumer Finance, Ballarpur Industries, Media Video Limited, Fibhcom India Ltd and ACC group.

Through his inspirational leadership, he has used his skills in driving growth, developing and putting into action initiatives, and giving supervision and direction to ensure sustainable growth from the beginning. He adheres to a policy of contented and happy customers and has a successful track record in generating new business. His advice to Indian and foreign banking and finance companies on developing scoring models and product and expansion strategies is among his career-high points. He has been instrumental in disbursing nearly INR 12000 million (USD 164 million) across several states to more than 12000 schools in India, the majority of which were affordable private schools; successfully established procedures; designed a scoring model with 35 parameters to evaluate the schools & colleges to charge risk-based pricing of interest rates for effective & efficient lending. He has also managed secured and unsecured loans at an 80:20 ratio, keeping the loan amount under control at over INR 4 million (USD 550,000).

Shweta has over 18 years of extensive experience in the financial services sector. She is highly skilled in building and scaling retail asset businesses and has a proven track record of managing P&L across diverse product lines, driving growth, and leading high-performing teams.

In her role at Auxilo, Shweta manages the P&L responsibility of the Overseas Education Loan business. She directly oversees the Sales & Relationship vertical, Credit and Product vertical, and the Contact Centre operations for the EL business.

In her previous endeavour, she served as Head of Retail Asset Products Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. She was responsible for managing both secured and unsecured segments within the Retail Consumer Micro Business team, handling physical and digital portfolios of INR 27,000 Cr. Prior to that, Shweta held key leadership roles at IDFC First Bank, where she served as National Product Head for Unsecured Loans and later as National Head for Business Loans and Professional Loans. In these roles, she led teams responsible for building product strategies, managing large-scale portfolios, and expanding the business across various segments. At IDFC First Bank, Shweta played a pivotal role in expanding the Business & Personal Loans portfolio from INR 1,500 Cr to INR 6,000 Cr, achieving average monthly disbursements of INR 450 Cr. Additionally, she successfully set up the Professional Loan business from scratch, scaling it to a portfolio size of INR 2,500 Cr. She successfully set up channels and direct distribution across all these retail and MSME businesses.

Her strategic leadership helped create one of the most successful portfolios in the market. Shweta’s experience extends to her work at other prestigious institutions like Neo Growth Credit, Dhanlaxmi Bank, and JPMorgan, where she held critical positions in Product and Strategy

Shweta is an Economics Graduate and holds an MBA degree in Finance. She has also completed the Executive Education in Senior Leadership Programme from IIM Calcutta.

With 29 years of experience in the financial services industry, Anand Subramaniam leads Auxilo’s Indian Education Loan vertical, overseeing Sales, Product, and Credit teams. His expertise spans education loans, home loans, auto finance, and credit cards, making him a seasoned leader in driving portfolio growth, optimizing processes, and delivering customer-centric solutions.

Anand’s career highlights include spearheading transformative initiatives at Northern Arc Capital, where he built scalable, system-enabled processes and designed innovative business models. At Bank of Baroda, he grew the education loan portfolio by 21% in a market growing at just 1%, significantly reduced NPAs, and expanded sourcing partnerships by over 150 within a year. During his tenure at Avanse Financial Services, he launched and scaled the education loan vertical from a ₹50 crore sales volume to a ₹1,000 crore portfolio in just four years, backed by groundbreaking product innovations and over 500 strategic tie-ups.

Known for his ability to implement system-driven solutions, such as BRE-enabled underwriting platforms and advanced lead management systems, Anand has consistently improved operational efficiency, reduced customer attrition, and ensured sustainable portfolio growth.

Anand holds a Post Graduate Degree in Marketing from the Institute for Technology & Management, Mumbai, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Xavier’s College.

At Auxilo, Anand leverages his vast experience and strategic insight to strengthen the company’s market presence, empower dreams, and shape the future of domestic education financing.

Mr Harsha Saksena is a qualified CA, ICWA with 25 years of post-qualification managerial experience in Corporate Strategy, Corporate Finance, Strategic Finance, Resource Mobilisation through debt and equity, Cash flow and working capital management, Forex, Risk Management, Investor Relationship, Accounts, MIS, Legal, Mergers and Acquisition, and Taxation in manufacturing, retail, NBFC and services sectors.

He has been responsible for arranging funds and provide a sustainable capital structure for the envisaged growth. He has extensive experience of the fund through debt, equity and structured debt. As part of the core decision-making team, he has been involved in strategic planning, review and growth of various businesses. He has played a key role in structuring/restructuring businesses.

He has also played a key role in the NBFC initiative of Future Group where he played a key role in designing and implementing a closed-loop digital credit line using the consumption data/patterns of the consumers, which was the first of its kind in the financial sector in India.

In past, he has led large teams and worked at strategic levels / HOD for companies like Grasim, H& R Johnson India Ltd, 3i Infotech Ltd, Future Retail Ltd., Vedanta Aluminium Ltd, Future Ventures India Ltd, Ladderup Finance Ltd, Prism Johnson Ltd. and Reliance Capital Ltd. In his last role, he was designated as Head Strategy and Investor Relations at Prism Johnson Limited.

With over 22 years of expertise in banking and financial services, Sebastian Fernandez leads Auxilo’s risk management framework, governance practices, and regulatory compliance strategies. His deep understanding of financial & enterprise risk assessment, predictive analytics, and strategic risk governance ensures that Auxilo remains resilient and well-positioned for sustainable growth.

Prior to joining Auxilo, Sebastian spent 17 years at Credila Financial Services, where he held key leadership roles for around a decade, including Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and later as the Chief Risk Officer (CRO). As CFO, he managed debt raising, investor relations, and financial compliance, while as CRO, he spearheaded the development of predictive analytics models, early warning systems, and a comprehensive risk management framework. His strategic contributions significantly enhanced compliance, operational resilience, and governance, reinforcing Credila’s leadership in the education loan sector.

A Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst, Sebastian combines technical expertise with strategic foresight, enabling proactive risk mitigation and regulatory alignment. His leadership at Auxilo drives enterprise-wide risk intelligence, ensuring a secure and sustainable growth trajectory.

With over two decades of leadership experience in the financial services sector, Ashish Gupta is driving innovation and scalability at Auxilo through digital transformation, business process reengineering, and operational excellence.

Prior to this, he served as Managing Director and Business Head – Education Digital Loans at JM Financial, where he developed a cutting-edge digital platform that enabled seamless loan disbursals for over 60,000 learners. He also led the MSME Lending division, managing a ₹1,000 crore annual portfolio focused on working capital and capex funding for diverse industries.

Ashish’s expertise extends to strategic consulting roles at IBM, where he executed large-scale projects for global leaders, and to DHFL, where he implemented advanced technology systems and integration strategies. A graduate of IIM Ahmedabad, his skills span fintech, compliance, risk management, and business transformation.

A post Graduate in Marketing from IMDR with an overall experience of 25 years in the domains of Credit & Operations, Customer Service & Legal. Prior to joining Auxilo she has been associated with Avanse, Edelweiss, Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd, HSBC, ICICI Bank & Citi Financials.

A Post Graduate in Marketing from SIES, with cross-industry experience spanning over 20+ years. His core interest and passion lie in Marketing and consumer-led business model development. He has worked in various roles with DHFL, Adlabs Films, Shoppers Stop Ltd., ICICI Prudential, and Tracmail, and prior to joining Auxilo, was associated with Avanse.

Lakshmi is a Postgraduate in HR from IES Management College and has 15+ years of experience in core HR practices across varied sectors. In this role, she will be responsible for building talent capabilities, scaling the organisation, and to power Auxilo’s business which is on a high growth trajectory.

She has led talent strategies and synergies across Indian organisations like Reliance Energy (presently Adani group), GVK and Omkar Realtors and MNCs like Fullerton India. She comes with rich experiences in driving change in areas of Rewards & Recognition, HRMS, Learning & Development, Wellness & Employee Engagement.