Raj Pai

Founder & Managing Partner at GEF Capital Partners

Panellist

Mr. Pai is a Founder/Managing partner of GEF Capital Partners, where he co-leads its South Asia investment program. GEF, with presence in US, Latin America and South Asia, is an early pioneer in global sustainability and environmental investing globally. GEF manages well over $1.2 billion capital focusing on middle-market opportunities in the climate/sustainability investment spectrum.

Mr. Pai has over 25 years of professional experience spanning entrepreneurial, operational and investing activities in diverse sectors including telecom (data centers included), transportation, energy, digital and water infrastructure. He also serves on the investment committees of GEF’s South Asia, US and Latin America investment programs. In addition to general oversight, Raj also represents in the firm’s ESG & Impact committee and has been instrumental in steering GEF’s South Asia program towards being 100% Paris Climate aligned, TCFD linked and to being an SFDR Article 9 aligned platform.

Prior to GEF, Mr. Pai was a Managing Director at CID Capital, a US based mid-market venture firm, and previously, Mr. Pai worked in consulting and in operational capacities for several global Fortune 500 technology companies, including AT&T and British Telecommunications in US and in India. Mr. Pai currently serves (and has served previously) on the boards of several of GEF’s portfolio companies in diverse sectors and was instrumental in several successful growth stories and exits among them.

Mr. Pai holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, a Master of Computer Science from Arizona State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Bombay. He remains an active member and participant in various global forums including the Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN), the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI), the 2X Challenge (Gender lens investing), Task Force for Climate Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA).