Episode #7 – Nayan Srivastava, Co-Founding Managing Partner of RootBridge

In this episode of the RootBridge Talks, Louisa Clark sits down with Nayan Srivastava, Co-Founding Managing Partner at RootBridge, to explore the personal journey behind Zurich's only private equity firm with a sole investment focus on India. Nayan grew up in Germany, shaped by Indian parents who built businesses on evenings and weekends. He went on to study Management and Finance at Warwick Business School, before joining UBS, first in equity research and later on the trading floor. When the global financial crisis hit, he realized that the opportunity cost of setting up one's own firm would never be lower. In 2008, he joined forces with Alpesh Patel and Dr. Ajay P. Singh, and together they built their first asset management company out of the UK, investing in India from day one. In 2023, Nayan Srivastava and Dr. Ajay P. Singh co-founded RootBridge, with the mission of bringing the opportunity that India currently represents to the Swiss investor. At the heart of the conversation is a conviction Nayan returns to throughout: what used to be the American dream is now the Indian dream. He describes the unique energy in India, a “buzz,” as he calls it, where ambition is both visible and contagious. He looks at India through an investment lens: explains why the real growth sits in the SME space, the importance of family in business, and unpacks RootBridge's investment thesis. Note: This episode is not intended as investment advice.