L Catterton appoints Vikram Kumaraswamy as Partner & Co-Head, India
Vikram Kumaraswamy joins L Catterton following around 27 years at Unilever PLC Group, where he most recently served in London as the group’s global head of corporate development and treasury over the past five and a half years.
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L Catterton, a global consumer-focused investment firm, today has appointed Vikram Kumaraswamy as a partner and its co-head of India. He will work closely with L Catterton India executive chairman Sanjiv Mehta, partner and co-head of India Anjana Sasidharan, as well as the rest of the firm’s Asia and global leadership teams.
Kumaraswamy joins L Catterton following around 27 years at Unilever PLC Group, where he most recently served in London as the group’s global head of corporate development and treasury over the past five and a half years.
Leading the group’s strategic capital allocation and portfolio development initiatives, he spearheaded corporate strategy, deal sourcing and execution, as well as corporate venturing. In that capacity, he oversaw investments and divestments amounting to around $15 billion following rigorous evaluations of a broad variety of both well-established and disruptive business models with consideration for the group’s focus and priorities, highlighted the company in its statement.
“Vikram is a widely respected investor and operator with deep roots in India and vast experience across the world,” said Mehta.
He added, “L Catterton Executive Chair and Co-Founder Michael Chu and I have known him for many years and have consistently been impressed by his business acumen and high calibre steering of strategic initiatives. We are pleased to welcome him to the firm as we continue to build our platform in India, a key market for us in Asia.”
Kumaraswamy commented, “I am thrilled to be joining L Catterton as I have long admired the firm’s culture, industry expertise, and value creation capabilities. It is exciting to be returning to India at this time, when the country’s consumer market is becoming increasingly discerning and organised amid its rapid development. L Catterton has a proven approach to investing and driving all-weather growth, and I am confident that the firm will play an instrumental role in shaping the success of numerous consumer companies in India for many years to come.”
Sasidharan added, “Growth is evident across India, with several categories expanding on the back of long-term consumer trends and structural tailwinds. Differentiated companies with sustainable competitive advantages in these categories have the potential to not only capture market share but also enlarge the pie. Given L Catterton’s unrivalled proficiencies in the sector which are now further amplified by Vikram’s experience, we are very well positioned to be the partner of choice to founders and management teams of companies who seek to build enduring brands and capabilities.”
“Vikram has a unique background with substantial investment experience and operating know-how,” concluded L Catterton Asia managing partner Scott Chen.
He further stated, “His skill sets nicely complement Sanjiv and Anjana’s, and we actively recruited him to broaden our capabilities in Asia as we continue to capitalize on growth opportunities in the region with compelling risk-reward profiles. We look forward to leveraging our collective international and domestic insights, competencies, as well as networks to drive attractive returns for our investors.”
