TCA Investors help
startups scale up

Premkumar S

Hcl Infosystems Ltd.

Premkumar S

Hcl Infosystems Ltd.

Prem has been one of the key business leaders of HCL. His association with the group spans many years in various capacities across HCL Limited, HCL Frontline, Deutsche Software, HCL Technologies, and presently HCL Infosystems Ltd.

He is the Executive Vice-Chairman of HCL Infosystems Ltd. and focuses on building and executing a robust transformation agenda to augment the pace and sustainability of profitable growth at HCL Infosystems. His specific focus is around a robust ‘turnaround’.

Between 2012 and early 2014, he was with Apollo Hospitals Group, as the Group CEO. Prior to that, Prem was the Senior Corporate Officer and President for HCL Technologies, where he led the Financial Services vertical from USD 100 M business to over USD 1 Billion in a quick, profitable, and organic way.

He is the Chairman of the CII National Committee on IT &ITeS and is actively involved in strategic and policy-making agendas to promote and shape the Industry. He is a Charter Member of TiE Chennai, involved with their various activities. He is also the Corporate Advisory Board member of edX, an online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT.

He is a sports enthusiast and a much sought out speaker. He is also a member of many young start-ups.

Priyamvada Balaji

Director, Lucas Indian Service Ltd

Priyamvada Balaji

Director, Lucas Indian Service Ltd

Priyamvada Balaji is a whole-time director of Lucas Indian Service Ltd, an auto aftermarket company. She is also a director on the board of Lucas TVS Ltd where she plays an active role in the control and finance functions. In addition, she is also on the board of trustees for Aim for Seva ‘a charitable organization focused on running student homes across the country’.

Prior to her joining the TVS group in 2014, she spent over 11 years in the financial services industry. Having worked in companies like Fitch Ratings, HSBC and Arthur Andersen. In Fitch ratings (now India ratings) she was the analytical head for Western India and part of the National rating committee, in addition to leading rating exercises for some key international bond ratings.

She has completed her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad (1998-2000) and holds a Bachelor in Economics from Stella Maris College Chennai.

About Lucas Indian service Ltd (LIS):

Lucas Indian Service Ltd (LIS) is a leading automotive aftermarket player with a turnover of over 500 cr and a part of the TVS group. It has a strong pan-India national network as well as a deep connect within tier 3 and 4 cities and towns in India. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lucas TVS Ltd.

Raghu Rajagopal

CEO and Co-Founder, Energeate Business Solutions Private Ltd

Raghu Rajagopal

CEO and Co-Founder, Energeate Business Solutions Private Ltd

Raghu Rajagopal is actively involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem with entrepreneurs and investors. He has been involved in IT services, software products, BPO businesses in the US.

In India, he has been involved in incubating start-ups and advising companies. He is currently involved with Ivy Mobility, an enterprise mobile solutions company as head of global strategy and with The Green Peppers, a millet focused food business, as a co-founder and director.

Raghu is the co-founder and CEO of DATRI a not-for-profit organization that is an unrelated donor registry that helps in creating awareness and facilitates peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donations from the donors in India to help any patient anywhere in the world. He is also the Managing Trustee of Punarjanmam Foundation Trust.

Rajeev Mecheri

serial entrepreneur and Angel investor in technology start-ups.

Rajeev Mecheri

serial entrepreneur and Angel investor in technology start-ups.

Serial entrepreneur and Angel investor in technology start-ups.

He co-founded one of India’s largest Security, Safety & Building Automation companies, which was acquired by Siemens. He is currently the co-founder of Invicara & TwinIt, a Digital Twin Platform.

He is an Executive Committee member of The Chennai Angels & Charter Member of TiE Chennai. He is the also Founder President of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Chennai and former Regional Chair of the Young Presidents’ Organization in South Asia. Rajeev is an alumnus of Loyola College and University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Rajesh P Surana

Managing Director, Aradhyaa Infra & Holdings Private Ltd

Rajesh P Surana

Managing Director, Aradhyaa Infra & Holdings Private Ltd

Rajesh P Surana has an array of cross-functional skills and an international perspective with a keen understanding of global standards pertaining to the Healthcare Industry.

He has diverse experience in Marketing, Strategic Finance management, process management, and all aspects of Project Planning/Implementation, Monitoring Control.

After successfully selling Visionary RCM to the Carlyle Group in Dec 2019, incorporated Aradhyaa Infra Holdings Pvt Ltd in March 2020, to focus on investing in startups Infra projects.

He is very intrigued & excited about Angel investing as it gives him an opportunity to leverage his experience.

Rajiv Sampat

Managing Director, Samson Lighting Private Ltd

Rajiv Sampat

Managing Director, Samson Lighting Private Ltd

Rajiv Sampat has an experience of close to 30 years in the field of Lighting. He heads Samson lighting, pioneers of energy efficient lighting in India.

It is a pan India company with a distribution network covering 12000 retailers and has a significant presence in projects. 

Rajiv also has experience in construction and leasing of commercial places.

Rajiv is a firm believer in Sunrise Enterprises for the reason of excitement of venturing into uncharted territory and the opportunity to reap first mover advantages.

He himself has pivoted speedily into manufacturing and selling new products throughout his career.

 Ram Mohan

Chief Operating Officer, Afilias Ltd

 Ram Mohan

Chief Operating Officer, Afilias Ltd

Ram Mohan is Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer of Afilias Limited.  Ram oversees key strategic, management, and technology choices for Afilias in support of the company’s various lines of business.  

Ram has led the strategic growth of the company in product sectors such as new gTLDs, Managed DNS, and Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).

Ram serves on the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in a non-voting capacity. Ram is a pioneer in both Internet security and Internationalization. He is a founding member of the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), which consists of Internet pioneers and technical experts who provide guidelines and advice on matters concerning Internet security and stability. 

He serves on the steering committee of the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and is on the Advisory Committee of the Internet Society (ISOC). Ram led both the GNSO Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Working Group and the ICANN Board IDN Working Group; he is the co-founder of the Arabic Script IDN Working Group (ASIWG). 

He advises several governments on Internet security and Internet globalization issues as part of the Afilias ccTLD portfolio.

Before joining Afilias in September 2001, Ram was at Infonautics Corp., a pioneering online database and content distribution company. He held various leadership positions at Infonautics and led the company to market leadership through product innovation, co-founding the award-winning CompanySleuth product, architected the Electric Library product line, now used in schools and libraries worldwide, and built Encyclopedia.com, the internet’s first free encyclopedia.

Prior to joining Infonautics, Ram worked with First Data Corporation, Unisys Corporation, and KPMG Peat Marwick in a variety of leadership, engineering, and technology positions. Ram is also co-founder of the technology behind TurnTide, an anti-spam company acquired by Symantec.

Ram was previously named one of the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and is a recipient of InfoWorld’s CTO 25 Award. 

He is a founding member of the ISOC Philadelphia Area Chapter and serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies, as well as the Lifeboat Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board. Ram is also actively involved in cancer-related nonprofits.

Ram’s educational background reflects his belief that technology is best used for business advantage and market leadership. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mangalore, an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from Bharathidasan University, and left most of the way through his second Master’s in Computer Science at Philadelphia’s Drexel University in order to take Infonautics public. 

An inventor, he is also the author of several patents.

Ram Sukumar

Co-Founder and CEO, Indium Software

Ram Sukumar

Co-Founder and CEO, Indium Software

Ram co-founded Indium Software in 1999 to subsequently build a technology solutions company which offers Application Engineering, Low Code, Data & Analytics and Data Assurance solutions.

He has spearheaded Indium’s growth from a start-up to being one of the fastest growing Digital Engineering companies with a 3-year CAGR of 50%+ and over 2000 associates.

His vision has seen Indium grow to serving SMEs and Large Enterprise clients in the US, Europe, India and APAC Markets with a strong roster of strategic clients.

Indium’s gaming division known as iXie Gaming which specializes in game testing servicing several game studios across the globe for PC, Mobile and Consoles. Ram also founded Noah Data, a Big Data & Analytics firm which he in due course merged with Indium Software to achieve a broader focus across Digital Engineering.

Ram has also seeded IP ideas within Indium in Ai, NLP and Computer Vision and teX.ai is one such solution from this stable and Indium is planning a non-linear revenue model leveraging this.

Ramakrishnan K (Ramki)

Spark Capital Advisors (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Ramakrishnan K (Ramki)

Spark Capital Advisors (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Ramakrishnan K (Ramki) is Senior Managing Director Strategic Relationships at Spark Capital Advisors (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Ramki is a veteran investment banker, with close to thirty years of experience across the entire spectrum of corporate finance and investment banking, covering private equity capital raising, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, and capital market transactions.

As part of the founding leadership at Spark Capital, Ramki has actively co-led and contributed to the growth and transformation of Spark Capital from an advisory boutique to a leading mid-market full-service investment bank.

Prior to Spark Capital, Ramki headed the investment banking business for ICICI Securities in southern India. Apart from being on the Executive Committee of The Chennai Angels, Ramki sits on the General Committee of the Madras Chamber and the Managing Committee of the Madras Management Association.

He is a founding fellow of The Chennai International Centre. He is a mechanical engineer with a post-graduate in Management.

Ramaraj R

Senior Advisor, Elevar Advisors Private Ltd

Ramaraj R

Senior Advisor, Elevar Advisors Private Ltd

R Ramaraj is a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in ventures in IT cellular and Internet. His last venture was Sify, where he was the Co-Founder and CEO and was the first Indian Internet Company from India to list on NASDAQ National Market in the US (NASDAQ SIFY).

He was recognized as the Evangelist of the Year at the India Internet World Convention in September 2000 and was also voted the IT Person of the year 2000, and in 2001, in a CNET.com poll in India,

Currently, he is the Senior Advisor at Elevar Advisors Pvt Ltd. He is also associated with a couple of funds focusing in the social sector. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

He is on the board of Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) a Not for Profit organization. OGQ is committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and the best athletes in the world thus helping Indian athletes to win Olympic Gold medals. He is the Co-Founder and Director of Coaching Foundation of India, an organization that trains and certifies CEO Coaches.

He is the first Indian to be invited to the Board of Directors of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)where he served for 6 years as an Independent Director. He was a member of the Global Board of Trustees of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs).

In 2010, CII recognized him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for nurturing the Spirit of Entrepreneurship and inspiring and mentoring numerous entrepreneurs.

He worked in Johnson & Johnson in Sales & Marketing for over 7 years and subsequently co-founded Computer Point & Microland.

R.Ramaraj holds a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras and an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Ramkumar  L

Angel Investor & Mentor

Ramkumar  L

Angel Investor & Mentor

L Ramkumar currently lives in Chennai. He is on the Board of Shanthi Gears Ltd, and the Board of Igarashi Motors India Ltd as an Independent Director. He is a Member of the Board of Governors of IIM Bodhgaya. He is member of The Chennai Angels (TCA) network. He has been mentoring startups at TCA as well as IITM Incubator Cell.

Ramkumar retired from a full-time role as Managing Director of Tube Investments of India Ltd in August 2018 after a successful stint for over 10 years in the position. He has been heading businesses or companies over the last 25 years of his career. He was CFO of TII before moving onto a business role. He has been a part of the Boards and the committees of listed companies over the last 25 plus years. His experience has been in sectors such as bicycles, supply chain partner in auto industry, industrial products such as gearboxes and gears, chains and belts, polymer products, telecom cables and optical fiber.

Ramkumar’s contribution has been in the areas of financial turnaround, fundraising, investor relations, market share improvement, export growth, creating a customer centric culture, setting up greenfield projects, M&A, development of leadership pipeline, innovative marketing strategies for the bicycle business, like the retail focus and driving the concept of cycling for fitness and as a sport.

Ramkumar was the President of The Madras Management Association (2018/19). He was awarded the Business Leader of the Year 2018 by Loyola Alumni Association. He has played a key role in mentoring senior leadership as well, in the various assignments His interests are Music, Cricket, Films and Bridge.

Ranganathan CK

Cavinkare Private Limited

Ranganathan CK

Cavinkare Private Limited

Mr. CK Ranganathan was born in Cuddalore to parents with a primary interest in education. He took up his Bachelors in Chemistry and after a short stint in the family business, he set up Chik India. The Company began its journey as Chik India and was renamed CavinKare Pvt. Ltd (CKPL) in 1998 with a starting investment of Rs. 15, 000/-

The Company manufactures and markets many products under the brand of Chik, Spinz, Fairever, Meera, Nyle, Raaga Professional, Karthika, Indica, Ruchi, Chinnis, Maa, Garden and Cavins etc both in domestic and international markets.

The Company has pioneered the concept of Family Salons in India with its specialist brands Limelite and Green Trends, and hence started Trends In Vogue Pvt. Ltd a Group Company which has a clear-cut focus on providing personal styling and beauty solutions to everyone in the family.

Mr. Ranganathan was the Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry, Tamil Nadu State Council for the year 2009/10. He was also the past President of the Madras Management Association.

CK Ranganathan is one of the founder-members of the Ability Foundation, an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the disabled.

He instituted CAVINKARE ABILITY AWARDS to celebrate annually the exemplary spirit of a rare breed of individuals who have risen above their physical limitations to display that attitude is everything.

He also instituted an annual Chinnikrishnan Innovation Awards to encourage small and tiny entrepreneurs in memory of his father Shri. R Chinnikrishnan, the man who pioneered the sachet revolution.

Mr. Ranganathan was conferred the prestigious ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award by the Economic Times in 2004. He was also conferred the award of ‘CEO WITH HR ORIENTATION’ by the Employer Branding Institute which recognizes Asia’s Best Employer Brands in Singapore.

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We have leaders who have successfully built,run and in many cases exited enterprises across multiple domains and industries.

Become An Angel

Membership is by invitation only. A new member should be referred and recommended by a current TCA member (sponsor). Any current rolex datejust mens m126300 0015 41mm oyster bracelet automatic member can sponsor a candidate for Membership by sending a profile of the candidate to the secretariat with a short cover note explaining why he/she considers the candidate a potential member.

Interested candidates can view the list of TCA members above and approach us through them or send an email to connect@thechennaiangels.com.