How Renuka Ramnath re-established herself after quitting ICICI
As part of our special on the most powerful women in Indian business, the MD and CEO of private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management shares how she tread on a journey of metamorphosis from a successful corporate leader to a budding entrepreneur.
Renuka Ramnath, Multiples Alternate Asset Management <em>Photo: Nishikant Gamre/www.indiatodayimages.com</em>
In life seldom does one get the opportunity to reset to zero and reboot all over again. Stepping away from the ICICI group and treading the entrepreneurial path to create Multiples was a journey of metamorphosis from my past identity of a successful corporate leader to one of a budding entrepreneur.
The past four years as an entrepreneur have been immensely exciting and highly rewarding. While at ICICI I had never even imagined how life would be outside the large institution, the mental transition from an employee to an entrepreneur had to be made overnight. What helped me do so successfully was my complete acceptance of the new situation and readiness to mould my life accordingly. Every decision I took professionally was consistent with the new reality. The idea was to make a new beginning with a clean slate to build a brand new institution. An institution that would embrace values which were consistent with my beliefs and appropriate for the business Multiples was embarking on - managing long-term institutional capital in a fiduciary capacity.
It took me a year to put together the foundation for Multiples. I was very clear that Multiples would be built with a long-term perspective - which meant no short cuts, no compromise of the long-term prospects for quick wins. The choice of investors and the choice of team members are the cornerstones of private equity. The decisions I took related to these were extremely deliberate. The idea was not to be tactical in building Multiples but to be strategic. In the rather challenging fundraising environment of 2009/2011, there were several occasions when I could have taken an easy path. The clarity of purpose of Multiples and excellent guidance from friends and well-wishers enabled me to stay on track of the core principles.
The result was that Multiples was born with the backing of 15 Indian and international institutional investors - clearly the first for an independent private equity platform in India. This was also the moment of truth for me as large global pension funds, international development finance institutions and several Indian financial institutions reposed confidence in my ability to put together a competent team and build an institution from scratch.
I was aware that every baby step I took at that stage was a leap ahead for Multiples. If we falter along the way, the platform will be compromised. I carefully chose each member of the Multiples team. The team came together with a determined purpose of being a worthy partner providing long-term risk capital to entrepreneurs and create wealth for all stakeholders. The mindset in every relationship and dealing is one of win-win. Unlocking the fullest potential of human resources both within Multiples and within the portfolio companies, the focus on capital productivity and growth with good governance are guiding the team as we take our journey forward.
Looking back at our last three years since the Multiples ship has been set to sail, I can say with confidence that Multiples is on the right path to become a respectable private equity institution born in India. The endeavour of Multiples is to generate superior financial returns from our investments alongside the success of all stakeholders in our ecosystem of companies.
The past four years as an entrepreneur have been immensely exciting and highly rewarding. While at ICICI I had never even imagined how life would be outside the large institution, the mental transition from an employee to an entrepreneur had to be made overnight. What helped me do so successfully was my complete acceptance of the new situation and readiness to mould my life accordingly. Every decision I took professionally was consistent with the new reality. The idea was to make a new beginning with a clean slate to build a brand new institution. An institution that would embrace values which were consistent with my beliefs and appropriate for the business Multiples was embarking on - managing long-term institutional capital in a fiduciary capacity.
| The choice of investors and team members are the cornerstones of private equity. Those decisions were extremely deliberate. |
The result was that Multiples was born with the backing of 15 Indian and international institutional investors - clearly the first for an independent private equity platform in India. This was also the moment of truth for me as large global pension funds, international development finance institutions and several Indian financial institutions reposed confidence in my ability to put together a competent team and build an institution from scratch.
I was aware that every baby step I took at that stage was a leap ahead for Multiples. If we falter along the way, the platform will be compromised. I carefully chose each member of the Multiples team. The team came together with a determined purpose of being a worthy partner providing long-term risk capital to entrepreneurs and create wealth for all stakeholders. The mindset in every relationship and dealing is one of win-win. Unlocking the fullest potential of human resources both within Multiples and within the portfolio companies, the focus on capital productivity and growth with good governance are guiding the team as we take our journey forward.
Looking back at our last three years since the Multiples ship has been set to sail, I can say with confidence that Multiples is on the right path to become a respectable private equity institution born in India. The endeavour of Multiples is to generate superior financial returns from our investments alongside the success of all stakeholders in our ecosystem of companies.
