Amit Chandra heads Bain Capital in India and is a Managing Director in the Financial and Business Services Vertical and a member of the Asia Pacific Private Equity team and a part of its leadership group. Before joining Bain Capital Private Equity, he spent most of his professional career at DSP Merrill Lynch, a leading Investment Bank in India. He retired from DSP Merrill Lynch in 2007 as a Board Member & Managing Director. 

Amit is also a committed Philanthropist. He and his wife Archana (CEO - Jai Vakeel Foundation and Research Centre) aim to donate 90% of their wealth to social causes. He has moved to a part-time model in Bain Capital where he devotes 50% of his time to Bain Capital and the remaining 50% to Social Impact and related topics. 

In our conversation, Amit spoke about his formative years and his early career choices including the decision to come back to India after an MBA in the  US and join Investment Banking. He spoke at length about how he was able to have a successful career in Investment Banking despite his style running counter to the prevalent “wining and dining” culture in Banking. He spoke about how he thought about the transition from Banking to Private Equity and related that to his life goals and how they had evolved over time. He spoke about how he has cultivated an apprenticeship culture at Bain Capital. Finally, he spent talking about how he has been strategic about spending his time and money towards social impact related topics. 

Published in April 2018.