Ankur Kamalia | Official Profile on The Marque

Ankur’s Biography

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Ankur Kamalia is a Founding Partner at SARSEN, a London-based organisation co-creating a new operating system for personal growth, wellbeing and mental health through their platform, Light.

With over 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector across the US, Europe and Asia, Ankur has an exceptional track record in FinTech investment.

Ankur enjoys investing in and building businesses that operate based on purpose, the people they serve, and benefitting the world. In addition to FinTech, he has been an investor in healthcare and education. He is also passionate about helping further human potential, and in addition to his role at SARSEN, he is associated with the Business Plan for Peace’s Mighty Heart programme.

During his time at Deutsche Börse he oversaw several projects, and led investment teams in venture and growth investing, that brought significant gains to the group. He was Managing Director and Head of Group Venture Portfolio Management, founded their DB1 Ventures platform and also oversaw M&A for the firm. Further leadership roles included the Product Development... Ankur Kamalia is a Founding Partner at SARSEN, a London-based organisation co-creating a new operating system for personal growth, wellbeing and mental health through their platform, Light.

With over 25 years’ experience in the financial services sector across the US, Europe and Asia, Ankur has an exceptional track record in FinTech investment.

Ankur enjoys investing in and building businesses that operate based on purpose, the people they serve, and benefitting the world. In addition to FinTech, he has been an investor in healthcare and education. He is also passionate about helping further human potential, and in addition to his role at SARSEN, he is associated with the Business Plan for Peace’s Mighty Heart programme.

During his time at Deutsche Börse he oversaw several projects, and led investment teams in venture and growth investing, that brought significant gains to the group. He was Managing Director and Head of Group Venture Portfolio Management, founded their DB1 Ventures platform and also oversaw M&A for the firm. Further leadership roles included the Product Development Lab’s Steering Committee, the Group Datafication Council, and the Group Sustainability Board.

Ankur has led a robust career in investment banking and investing, having held several high-profile roles – spanning over 14 years – at UBS Investment Bank, including Managing Director: Head of Global Strategy, where he led Global Strategy for the Investment Bank after the Global Financial Crisis. He first joined UBS in 1998, serving clients in a variety of corporate finance roles in Asia and the US, before being appointed as Portfolio Manager at Polygon, where he led private investments and convertible bonds for the APAC region.

He was recognised as one of Global Corporate Venturing’s Rising Stars in 2018 and was named on their Global Powerlist 100 in 2019. moreless

Ankur’s Background

SARSEN

Founding Partner

Aug 2020 - Present

London, UK

SARSEN is building Light, a new operating system supporting the well-being, mental health and personal growth of individuals. The mission at SARSEN is to create tipping points for positive change in the world by helping people access greater wisdom and build deeper connections.

7RIDGE

Founding Partner

Nov 2018 - Jul 2020

London, UK

7Ridge is a growth stage private investment fund that supports the FinTech industry. Ankur co-led the launch of the fund, which focused on enterprise financial services and FinTech.

Deutsche Börse Group

Managing Director | Head of Group Venture Portfolio Management & DB1 Ventures

Nov 2015 - Feb 2019

London, UK

Deutsche Börse Group is an international financial market infrastructure providing investors, financial advisors, institutions and companies with access to diverse capital markets. Ankur was a Managing Director and Head of Group Venture Portfolio Management & DB1 Ventures. He held other leadership positions in the firm and represented them on the board of several portfolio companies.

WWA PTE Ltd

Managing Director

Jan 2014 - Oct 2015

WWA Pte Ltd was a family office which had venture and private equity investments in several sectors – such as financial services, FinTech, healthcare, e-commerce and technology – in India, Asia and the USA. Ankur's responsibilities at the firm included the establishment of best practices in diligence, sourcing, execution and portfolio management.

UBS Investment Bank

Managing Director

Aug 2009 - Jul 2013

Singapore, SG

Ankur returned to UBS Group AG in London as Managing Director: Global Head of Strategy – Investment Bank, before moving to Singapore as Managing Director: Global Capital Markets.

Polygon Global Partners LLP

Portfolio Manager

Apr 2007 - Jul 2009

Hong Kong, HK

Polygon Global Partners LLP is an international investment firm. The fund's mission is alpha based, disciplined, continuous and research driven.

UBS

Executive Director | Global Capital Markets

Aug 1998 - Mar 2007

New York, NY, USA

UBS Group AG is an international financial services corporation with headquarters in Zürich and Basel. The bank is known for its discretion with clients and is the largest Swiss banking organisation in the world.

Quantum Advisors Pvt Ltd

Investment Analyst | Equity Research

Sep 1994 - Jun 1996

Mumbai, IN

Quantum is an asset management firm based in Mumbai, which was established in 1990 as a pioneer in India value-oriented investing and as India’s first institutional equity research house.

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Board Positions

AFG Partners

Advisory Board Member

Jan 2021 - Present

Hong Kong, HK

AFG Partners is a FinTech VC Fund positioned in Asia to assist and invest in the future generation of FinTech growth across the continent.

Zaprendo

Investor & Board Member

Dec 2020 - Present

London, UK

Zaprendo is an EdTech developer and school curriculum advisor. Zaprendo supplies digital educational tools to schools, governments and education advisors and entrepreneurs seeking to transform the way in which learning occurs.

Advisory Roles

Ory - Open Source Identity Solutions

Advisor

May 2021 - Present

London, UK

Ory - Open Source Identity Solutions For Everyone is an open-source digital platform. It provides access infrastructure for cloud applications and data management.

Chancellor's Global Leadership Council - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Member

Mar 2019 - Present

Chapel Hill, NC, USA

The Chancellor's Global Leadership Council at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consists of a group of alumni, friends and individuals who are aligned and committed to providing strategic financial support for the global mission of the university.

Media

Deutsche Börse Group Annual Report 2016

Contributor

2016

DB1’s Ankur Kamalia: FinTech Venture Capital Is All About Collaboration

Interviewee

Frankfurt, DE

In this interview, Ankur gives his thoughts on FinTech venture capital and how collaboration should play a major role in the direction of venture capital markets.

Publications

Future of Fintech in Capital Markets

Author

Jun 2016

Frankfurt, DE

Ankur authored 'Future of Fintech in Capital Markets' during his tenure as Head of Group Venture Portfolio Management & DB1 Ventures at the Deutsche Börse Group. The paper discusses the role that FinTech will play in the development of future capital markets and emphasises the need for traditional financial institutions to reform the ways of working.

Awards & Endorsements

Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist 2019

Finalist

May 2019

London, UK

Global Corporate Venturing is a media publication for the corporate venture capital industry. The publication – along with its sister publications, Global Impact Venturing and Global University Venturing – is operated by Mawsonia. Together they set standards for a responsible capital ecosystem. Ankur was named on the 2019 Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist 100.

Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards 2018

Award Recipient

Jan 2018

London, UK

Ankur was recognised at the Global Corporate Venturing Rising Stars Awards in 2018 for his excellent contribution to Deutsche Börse in the capacity of Managing Director.

Specialist Courses

Business Plan for Peace

Contributor, Mighty Heart Programme

London, UK

Business Plan for Peace's aim is to be the catalyst for peace, challenge the status quo and change how humanity operates within our fragile world. Ankur is involved in Business Plan for Peace's Mighty Heart programme, an online course that teaches how you can become a more effective changemaker and is completing the facilitator training program.

Speaking Engagements

GrowthCon

Speaker

2018

Frankfurt, DE

GrowthCon is a global tech conference held annually in Frankfurt. The conference connects industry leaders, advisors, entrepreneurs and investors while also providing a platform to discuss pressing issues facing the tech world.

NOAH16 Conference

Panel Member

Jun 2016

Berlin, DE

Ankur was a member of the Venture Capital panel at NOAH16. NOAH Conference is Europe’s leading networking conference for the digital ecosystem where senior industry executives, world-class investors and rising startups gather to discuss market trends, form business partnerships and explore the latest innovations.

Ankur’s Education

Kenan-Flagler Business School

Master of Business Administration - Finance

1996 - 1998

Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics

Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, Accounting and Business Management

1993 - 1995