Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute names Lakshmi Narayanan as the chairman of the board

Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute names Lakshmi Narayanan as the chairman of the board

Mumbai, 26th October 2022: The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI), the most popular and trusted source on institutional investors and global capital, has announced the appointment of the Indian-born impact investor and entrepreneur Lakshmi Narayanan to the position of Chairman of the Board.

The SWFI includes sovereign wealth funds, public pensions, central banks, and other long-term public investors from different countries. Since the last few years, members of SWFI have invested in or evinced interest in investing in Indian companies.

Narayanan possesses more than 20 years of experience in capital markets, venture investing, and real estate, and is widely respected among the global financial community for being a responsible, successful, and purpose-driven business strategist and a champion of transparency and ESG.

As Chairman, Narayanan will work closely with President and CEO Michael Maduell to accelerate the growth and expansion of SWFI’s platform, including its research, data, and subscription verticals, as well as its transparency index and events business. Moreover, Narayanan will leverage his deep relationships with domestic and international business leaders, financial professionals, and government officials to build stronger connections and drive greater benchmarking, transparency, and accountability across the entire asset management industry.

Narayanan commented, “It’s an honor to join this prestigious organization. Since 2008, SWFI has served as a trusted advocate, monitor, and partner for the asset management industry and has been a driving force in enacting greater transparency among its decision and policymakers. I look forward to helping Michael build upon what he has created, expanding the platform to serve as the go-to source of public fund data globally and the top connector for institutional investors and investment managers.”

Commenting on the appointment of Lakshmi Narayan, President and CEO Michael Maduell said, In the past few years, we have witnessed a growing demand from global investors to invest in India. With our service offerings of SWFI Subscription (research product) and SWFI Membership, we will be catering to the needs of Indian customers. We plan to build a research center in India focused on the institutional investor community and asset management industry and creating an office in India will help customers know about investments, lead to the creation of jobs and help contribute to the growing asset management industry within the country. It gives us immense pleasure to have Lakshmi as the chairman of SWFI. With his immense experience and knowledge in the capital market, he will guide us in building a robust strategy in achieving our mission of expanding in the capital market and leveraging the true potential of India.” 

Narayanan is an impact investor and serial entrepreneur with experience building businesses and investing in real estate and startups in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. He has built a strong global network and serves as a Certified Senior Executive Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Lakshmi is a responsible business strategist who has helped numerous entrepreneurs in India in establishing profitable ventures with purpose-driven objectives for over two decades. He is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at the recently-launched Homz Global, the first national housing company dedicated to building a portfolio of sustainable, wellness-focused communities centered around branded attainable housing in key markets across the U.S.

In the past, he has also founded Real Estate Fund in the Asian market (exited in 2011), one of India’s largest Real Estate underwriting companies (exited in 2012), underwrote and managed $8 billion in assets, one of India’s leading education entities (partially exited in 2017) and one of India’s leading franchising advisory companies (exited in 2014).

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