Waterfield Advisors

Soumya is the Founder and CEO of Waterfield Advisors, which is the largest multi-family office and wealth advisory firm in India. With over 30 years of experience in private banking and wealth advisory, Soumya commenced her career at ANZ Grindlays Bank, which later became Standard Chartered Bank. She worked for 17 years with the Bank in both India and Singapore, with her last role being the head of the Private Banking division of Standard Chartered in India. In 2011, she founded Waterfield Advisors. As one of the earliest advocates of fee-only investment advisory in India, Soumya founded Waterfield on the principles of an alignment of interests with clients in the wealth advisory space. Today, Waterfield advises on financial assets exceeding $5 billion on behalf of India's leading and some of the most iconic business families. She also provides guidance to these families on non-investment issues such as succession planning, corporate and family governance, business strategy, and philanthropy. Soumya's leadership has contributed to Waterfield's reputation as one of India's largest and most-awarded wealth management firms. In recognition of her contributions to the wealth management industry and as an entrepreneur, Soumya has received several awards and honours. She is listed in Forbes 50 Over 50 Global List 2026, and in Fortune India's 100 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2026 and 2025. She was awarded Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (Finance Category) by Financial Express in 2023, featured in Forbes India's Women Trailblazers in 2021, won the Private Banker International's Outstanding Private Banker (Asia Pacific) award in 2021 and has served on the global jury of the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Soumya serves on two regulatory committees in India: as a member of the Advisory Committee of BASL, the regulatory and supervisory body for Registered Investment Advisors, as designated by SEBI, and as a Member of the Expert Committee for Fund Management for the International Financial Services Centres Authority in GIFT City, India. Soumya also serves as an Independent Director on the Private Equity backed boards of two listed companies, Aavas Financiers and Vishal Mega Mart. Soumya is also a Board member of several non-profit organizations in the education and healthcare sectors. She was awarded the Radhakrishnan Scholarship to study at Oxford University, UK, where she earned her Masters in Mathematics, in addition to holding a B.A (Hons) in Mathematics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.

Amit Patni serves as Director at Waterfield Advisors and brings entrepreneurial leadership and strategic governance experience.

Riddhiman is a seasoned investment professional with over 15 years of global experience in wealth management, spanning senior leadership roles across Singapore, Hong Kong and India. He most recently served as Executive Director and Head of Investments & Products at UBS Wealth Management India, where he led discretionary and advisory mandates, alternative investments, mutual funds and listed securities across asset classes. Earlier, he was Head of Advisory Solutions for APAC at Credit Suisse, where he scaled the award-winning CS Invest Advisory platform across the region, managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios and driving digital innovation. A CFA charterholder with an M.Sc. in Economics and a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS Pilani, Riddhiman has consistently spearheaded differentiated offerings in alternatives, hedge funds and AI-enabled client servicing, while leading cross-border teams to deliver scalable, client-centric investment solutions.

Abhishek Damani is a Managing Director and Head of Private Equity & Venture Capital in Waterfield Advisors' alternative investments team, where he leads the expansion of the firm's private market capabilities through the development of new offerings such as secondaries and separately managed accounts tailored to the evolving needs of both domestic and global investors. He also plays a pivotal role in advancing Waterfield's Fund of Funds platform, overseeing portfolio construction, due diligence, and strategic engagement with GPs and investors. With more than 10 years of experience across private markets and investment banking in Hong Kong, Singapore and India, Abhishek brings a strong global outlook and deep sector expertise. Prior to joining Waterfield, he was Managing Director and Head of India & Southeast Asia at Quilvest Capital Partners, where he led private equity and venture capital investments across funds, co-investments and secondaries, and helped shape the firm's regional strategy. He began his career in investment banking at Nomura.

Saurabh is a senior HR professional with over two decades of experience in financial services. Previously held leadership roles at Russell Investments, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and American Express.

With over 25 years of experience, Kartik has worked with Avendus, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch India. He brings strong operational expertise and has led major process and technology transformations.