Bala C Deshpande

Of her 30 years of experience, Bala has over two decades of investing experience. She started her investing career as Director Investments in ICICI Venture in 2001 & in 2008 she joined NEA at a General Partner level to set up & head their India Practice.

At NEA, she has invested and backed many disruptive companies in the mid-market space. In 2018, NEA gave the India team an opportunity to buy-out the India platform given their shift in geography strategy. Bala leveraged this opportunity to set up an independent practice with the help of 7 global reputed investors. Over the years she has held close to 40 Board positions in companies across a wide spectrum of industries. Her experience as a Board member is also variegated in terms of size and stage from young, high involvement companies to large listed companies.

She has held the position of an Independent Board Member in Info Edge (India) Ltd. for over 15 years and has participated in the meteoric rise of the company with a market cap of USD 8 bn. For MegaDelta in the coming years, she is keen to back entrepreneurs who redefine markets & create lasting economic value. Prior to her investing experience, she has had deep operating experience with reputed multi-national firms such as ICI, Cadbury’s and BestFoods. She is a Management Graduate from Jamnalal Bajaj and has a Master’s degree in Economics.