Ashish Dhawan
Ashish Dhawan | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1969 India |
| Occupation(s) | Philanthropist, ex-private equity investor |
| Known for | Co-founder of ChrysCapital; founder and CEO of Convergence Foundation; founder and chairperson of Central Square Foundation; founding trustee of Ashoka University; member of board of trustees for Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Ashish Dhawan (born March 10, 1969) is an Indian philanthropist and ex-private equity investor who co-established and led ChrysCapital, a leading private equity firm in India. He holds the positions of founder and CEO at the Convergence Foundation, founder and chairperson of the Central Square Foundation, and is among the founding trustees of Ashoka University.
Since 2022, Dhawan has been a member of the board of trustees for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His estimated net worth is around $800 million.
Education
Dhawan completed his schooling at St. Xavier's Collegiate School and St. James' School in Kolkata. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and economics from Yale University, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Career
Between 1992 and 1993, Dhawan worked as the sole Indian analyst at boutique investment bank Wasserstein Perella & Co. on Wall Street. Subsequently, he joined McCown DeLeeuw & Co., a smaller private equity firm based in California, starting as the most junior associate.
After obtaining his MBA in 1997, he joined Goldman Sachs within their Risk Arbitrage Group. At age 29, he chose to leave New York and return to India.
In 1999, Dhawan co-founded ChrysCapital in Mumbai alongside Raj Kondur, who was his classmate at Harvard Business School.
Philanthropy
Dhawan departed from private equity in 2012 to establish the Central Square Foundation (CSF), a grant-making body and policy research institute dedicated to enhancing the quality of school education across India. In 2014, together with fellow entrepreneurs, he played a key role in launching Ashoka University, recognized as India's first liberal arts university with standards comparable to Ivy League institutions.
He also founded India Leaders for the Social Sector (ILSS) in 2017 with Anu Prasad; initiated the Air Pollution Action Group (APAG) in 2019; and co-created the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) in partnership with economist Karthik Muralidharan.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dhawan and CSF set up the ACT EdTech Ambition Fund aimed at supporting education initiatives for disadvantaged children. Along with his wife Manisha, he established the Convergence Foundation as a parent organization and grant-making incubator addressing multifaceted socioeconomic issues in India.
Additionally, Dhawan endowed the Renu and Anand Dhawan Professorship at Yale University to promote academic research focused on India and South Asia Studies.
Accolades
In recognition of his philanthropic contributions, Dhawan was honored as a NextGen Leader in Philanthropy by Forbes India in 2012. He was also ranked 15th on the Hurun India Philanthropy List in 2014, which acknowledges India's most charitable individuals.
Selected articles
- Dhawan, Ashish (September 16, 2022). "Education policy cannot be business-as-usual after Covid". Financial Times.