Investing in business of tomorrow
We focus on partnering with small & mid-sized first-generation entrepreneurs across sectors. The fund will seek to acquire a stake through buyout strategy, significant minority stake with co-investment opportunities, and investment in pre-IPO opportunities.
Vikram Behari Kaushal
Managing Partner & Director
Vikram Kaushal is the Managing Partner of Vardan Ceqube Advisors Private Limited and a founding director (DIN: 07744703). He brings over 25 years of experience in banking and financial services, having developed and scaled business models across private banking, wealth management, asset management, and NBFCs. His career includes senior positions at ICICI Group (DGM Wealth Management), YES Bank (President and Head of Country Wealth Management), Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Prudential Asset Management (Retail Sales & Distribution Head). He is also a co-founder of Claysquare Advisors and holds a PGDBM from IMT Ghaziabad.
Vikram Kaushal
Managing Partner
Vikram Kaushal has Industry Experience of over 25 years in Banking and Financial Services, developing & scaling business models across Private Banking, Wealth Management, Asset Management, Banking & NBFC. Incubated and led large business and cross-sell strategies in ICICI Group, YES Bank & Bajaj Finance. As President YES Bank, he anchored & incubated strategy, build & scaled business model for their Wealth Management, NRI & online – Remittance business along with Investment Advisory, Wealth management products & Key account management framework. Vikram's strength is his relationship and he has successfully leveraged them to create strategic value for his client across Aviation, BFSI, Real Estate & Renewable sectors. He is a co-founder of Claysquare Advisors and has played a key role in capital raising both in domestic & overseas markets for Indian businesses. He is an Alum of Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad.
Dinesh Kumar Mehrotra
Director
Mr. D. K. Mehrotra is an Honors Graduate in Science from the University of Patna. He is the former Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Mr. Dinesh Kumar Mehrotra has an illustrious career spanning over four decades and has occupied several pivotal positions in LIC and its associates such as LIC Housing Finance Limited, LIC Nomura Mutual Fund Limited, LIC Credit Cards and New Pension Scheme (an initiative of the Government of India). Mr. Mehrotra has attended several important knowledge forums in India and abroad and is associated with the apex training institutes of insurance in India like the National Insurance Academy and the Insurance Institute of India.
Investments in securities markets are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.
Dinesh Agarwal
Partner
Mr. Dinesh Agarwal is a law graduate and Fellow Chartered Accountant with 20 years of experience in Banking and Financial Services across Investment Advisory, Wealth Management, and Mergers & Acquisitions. He served as a Director in erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce and is founder of First Global Business Chambers, a nonprofit supporting social entrepreneurs and providing a global platform to SMEs and MSMEs.
Rina Bharat Kaushal
Director
Rina Kaushal has strategic advisory experience which spans education, infrastructure services (telecom & railways), human resource practices and social enterprises. In her experience of over 20 years, she has anchored & turned ventures in education & skill development programs. Her expertise in process re-engineering, understanding of business & seamless execution of strategies has helped in delivering optimal solutions to the surrounding ecosystem. She has led the board of several companies and is currently advising ventures like Career Valley School, TMF Institute, SHS & co-founder of a diagnostics venture. She is an alumna of the Institute of Management Studies, Indore and Columbia University, New York where she pursued a course in international relations.
Arpit Ajmera
Associate – Finance & SEBI Contact
Arpit Ajmera is the SEBI-registered contact person for Vardan Venus Investment Trust and works as Associate – Finance at Vardan Ceqube Advisors. He is a Chartered Accountant (BCom, Commerce College Jaipur; ACA) and has passed 2 levels of the CFA programme. He also holds an Investment Banking certification from The Wall Street School, New Delhi. He previously worked at S Dayma & Co on statutory and internal audits and financial advisory for companies in the foodservice, agriculture, and three-wheeler industries.
P. Pradeep Kumar
Industry Specialist Partner
P Pradeep Kumar has had a distinguished career of 39 years with State Bank of India. His last assignment was as Managing Director & Head: Corporate Banking (Large & Mid Corporate, International Banking, Project Finance and Stressed Asset Management Groups). Within the SBI group he also held positions of Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore, Chief Information Officer, Deputy Managing Director of Global Markets and Country Head – US Operations. His Board representation at SBI included, Chairman: Risk Management Committee, Member: Audit Committee, IT Strategy Committee and Asset Liability Management Committees. He was a member of the Kelkar Committee on Revitalisation of PPP model of Infrastructure Development. He is presently Director of The Karnataka Bank Limited & Sriram Transport Finance Company Limited.
Jyoti Gaud
Chartered Accountant, B.Com (Hons)
Jyoti is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a B. Com (Hons) from K.P.B. Hinduja College of Commerce. She joined Vardan in August 2024 as credit analyst. Jyoti worked as a Credit Analyst at Axis Bank Ltd, she conducted due diligence, analysed financial statements, created financial models, and prepared credit reports. At Morningstar, she collected equity fundamental data, ensured data quality, and complied with methodologies as a Data Research Analyst. During her articleship at S Panse & Co LLP, she handled trade and NAV verification, regulatory compliance, holding reconciliation, and investment valuation for mutual fund schemes and PMS.
Amit Hirawat
Chartered Accountant, B.Com
Amit Hirawat has 19 years of Investment Banking and Private Equity experience with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and India Value Fund based in Mumbai and Singapore. He last served as Managing Director – Investments, at India Value Fund (now, True North). He was involved in several M&A and financial sponsor deals across India, North & South East Asia. Has full cycle private equity experience investing in excess of Rs. 10 bn or >$150 mn (at current $ rates). During his stints, he has worked with management teams on business build, on public and private equity, on different stages of the capital structure, on Fx hedges among other aspects. He serves on the boards of Hyper Chain Private Limited (a blockchain company), Parity TrustOne Solutions Private Limited (a Fintech company) and SmartReactive Solutions Private Limited (a energy grid stabilisation company). Amit has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from St.Xavier's College, Kolkata and is a Chartered Accountant. He writes a blog on global politics and economics and enjoys swimming and reading.
Arun Agarwal
Arun has been associated with Vardan since inception of fund and Investment Manager. Arun leads operations and due diligence process of proposed investee. He is responsible for post investment monitoring of the portfolio companies. In addition to these responsibilities, he also ensures all statutory compliances and investor relations. Arun brings in rich experience of more than 25 years in sales, statutory reporting and business performance review and Board reporting in multi-national companies like Aviva and Pramerica Life. He has handled on-site inspections by the regulator (IRDAI) in his previous stints.
Surjit Basantaray
AMPBA
Mr. Surjit Basantaray is a seasoned business and technology professional with over two decades of experience spanning transaction advisory, investment banking support, digital transformation, and cybersecurity strategy. He has advised government institutions, public sector enterprises, and technology-driven organizations on complex transactions, financial structuring, and large-scale digital initiatives, bringing a strong blend of financial acumen and technology expertise. His experience includes supporting transaction advisory mandates such as structuring Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), evaluating technology partners, developing platform-based ecosystems, and facilitating strategic investments across sectors including digital infrastructure, tourism, payments, and public services. In his current role as Senior Consultant with Andhra Pradesh Technology Services Limited (APTS), he contributes to strategic technology initiatives including the development of the Andhra Pradesh Cyber Security Operations Centre (APCSOC), while advising leadership on governance, risk management, and technology-led institutional transformation. With a strong foundation in computer applications and advanced business analytics training from the Indian School of Business (AMPBA), he brings a multidisciplinary perspective that combines investment insight, technology strategy, and execution capability to support scalable and sustainable enterprise growth.
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