Ajay Kavan Joins KKR as a Senior Advisor in Europe
21.6.2021 10:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announces the appointment of Ajay Kavan as a Senior Advisor in Europe, effective immediately. Based in London, Mr. Kavan will support KKR’s pan-European investment activities in technology and digitally-enabled businesses and will advise KKR’s portfolio companies. In particular, he will focus on the consumer internet sector in eCommerce and direct-to-consumer offers, as well as companies undergoing major digital transformation programmes.
Ajay most recently served as CEO of Matches Fashion, where he supported the business through the impact of the pandemic, strengthened the leadership team and improved customer experience, technology and operational performance. Prior to joining Matches he spent nine years in senior roles at Amazon including VP International Special Projects, VP Amazon Fresh International and VP UK Consumables. He was responsible for launching Amazon Fresh across Europe and Asia, developing strategic partnerships with retailers (including Morrisons in the UK), developing its international physical stores, led Amazon’s subscription businesses across the EU and scaled Amazon businesses across multiple categories. Ajay has over 20 years of online experience and prior to Amazon, he led the launch of the online channels and multi-channel capabilities for three different retail businesses. Previous roles included Marketing and Strategy and Multi-channel Director roles within Home Retail Group plc and Kingfisher plc. Ajay is also the Vice Chair of In Kind Direct, a UK charity that distributes consumer goods to charitable organisations globally.
KKR’s Senior Advisors bring leadership skills, knowledge-sharing and deep industry expertise. They help drive value creation by providing advice and best practice to KKR’s investment teams and the executives, entrepreneurs and management teams of its portfolio companies. Mr. Kavan’s appointment follows that of TMT Senior Advisors Diego Piacentini in 2019, and Adam Warby in 2020.
Tim Franks, Partner and Head of EMEA Consumer & Retail at KKR, Jean-Pierre Saad, Partner and Head of EMEA Technology at KKR, and Philipp Schaelli, Principal in EMEA Private Equity at KKR, said: “Ajay will be a fantastic resource for our executives and our portfolio company management teams, bringing decades of experience in digital transformation, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer product development. He joins at an exciting time for KKR’s technology investment platform in Europe, with digitalisation a critical part of every business’ strategy and operational agenda.”
Ajay Kavan said: “KKR builds strong relationships with founders and management teams and has a track record of supporting them to deliver exceptional value creation. KKR is deeply committed to continuing to build its technology platform and I’m really excited to work with the KKR team and with leaders in their portfolio companies.”
KKR has invested over $25bn in tech companies in the past ten years across over 140 investments. Since the start of 2020, KKR has made over 20 tech investments globally, investing over $5bn in equity. Major recent EMEA technology investments include Cegid, Exact, Devoteam and Zwift.
--ends--
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210621005048/en/
Contact information
Media Contact: International
Alastair Elwen / Sophia Johnston
Finsbury Glover Hering
Telephone: +44 20 7251 3801
Email: kkr@fgh.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Grid Dynamics Appoints Industry Veteran Nikita Ivanov as Head of AI26.8.2026 23:05:00 EEST | Press release
Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GDYN) (“Grid Dynamics”), a premier AI transformation partner for the Fortune 1000, is advancing its AI strategy under the leadership of Nikita Ivanov, Vice President, Head of AI. Ivanov is responsible for leading the transition efforts of Grid Dynamics’ clients toward an AI-native software delivery model, and he oversees all elements of Grid Dynamics AI Native (GAIN) platforms. Ivanov brings more than two decades of experience founding and leading technology companies to his role as Vice President, Head of AI. He founded and led GridGain, a distributed computing company built for in-memory data processing. During his 15-year tenure at GridGain, Ivanov also founded the natural language processing framework Apache NLPCraft and, later, Humatron AI, an AI workforce platform. He then served as Field CTO for GenAI at DataStax. That same pattern of building foundational tools now runs through Grid Dynamics’ own AI-SDLC tools, Allium, Rosetta, and SpecFlow
Arc'teryx Introduces System 0™, a New Framework for the Future of Product Design and Circularity26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Arc'teryx Equipment, the global design company specializing in technical high-performance apparel and equipment, today introduced System 0™, a new framework that reimagines how products can be designed, manufactured, used, repaired, and ultimately regenerated. System 0 represents the next evolution for sustainability in the outdoor industry, as it embeds circular thinking across an entire product lifecycle while maintaining the uncompromising performance standards that define the Arc’teryx brand. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826686539/en/ Arc’teryx athlete, Craig Murray, wearing the Sperro SV, a multisport mountain-grade hardshell built with circular design principles, available September 4, 2026. The first product being introduced as part of the System 0 platform is the Sperro SV jacket, a multisport mountain-grade hardshell engineered for durability, repairability, and disassembly at end of life – the
Xsolla Announces Five-Year Partnership With the Global Esports Federation26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a global commerce company, today announced a landmark five-year strategic partnership with the Global Esports Federation (GEF), the world-convening body for esports. As GEF's exclusive partner for commerce, payments, wallet, loyalty, and distribution, Xsolla will power the entire GEF ecosystem, including the flagship Global Esports Games, pro-series Global Esports Tour, global GEFcon, and 180+ Member Federations across five continents. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826948844/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The announcement comes as GEF marks 100 days to go to the Los Angeles 2026 Global Esports Games (GEGLA26), adding further momentum to the road to Los Angeles and GEF’s flagship global esports celebration this December. The partnership launches at the GEGLA26, where Xsolla will begin serving as the unified commerce and payments layer for the GEF ecosystem. Across GEF properties, in more than 200 markets, Xso
FlightSafety International Reaches Agreement to Acquire Acron Technologies’ Commercial Training Solutions26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI), a leading global provider of aviation training and simulation technology, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Acron Technologies, a portfolio company of TJC LP, to acquire its Commercial Training Solutions (CTS) business, including its Training Systems, Training Services, Aviation Academy, and Driver Training portfolio. The agreement marks a significant expansion of FSI’s capabilities in the commercial aviation market, broadening and complementing its simulator manufacturing capabilities and global training footprint. CTS brings over eight decades of experience in commercial aviation training and simulation. With a long-standing heritage in commercial airline simulator manufacturing, CTS has delivered more than 850 training devices throughout its history, with over 300 full-flight simulators currently in operation worldwide today. Its training and manufacturing locations across the U.S., U.K., and Thailand support pilot and d
NABEP Appoints Sara Chouraqui as General Counsel26.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) has appointed Sara Chouraqui as General Counsel, with Elizabeth Collery and Victoria Jacobson each joining as Deputy General Counsel. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260826168543/en/ Sara Chouraqui joins NABEP as its General Counsel, bringing decades of legal expertise. These additions significantly strengthen NABEP’s senior leadership team and legal expertise as the company improves its operations, increases production and develops new strategic and commercial partnerships. As General Counsel, Chouraqui will lead NABEP’s global legal function and advise the company’s leadership on its legal, regulatory and corporate priorities, including major transactions and partnerships, governance, compliance and the management of legal and regulatory risk across the company’s operations. Her experience navigating complex cross-border legal and regulatory matters will be particu
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom