Monisha Varadan

Background

About Monisha Varadan

If you are looking for a linear progression of my experience over the last 25 years, perhaps you should stop. I’ve worked in 5 different industries, in 4 different countries and played myriad roles for a number of organizations. I’ve read the news, and produced TV shows. I have structured acquisitions, created investment funds and raised money, designed go-to-market plans for a tech giant on products that have impacted billions (Search, Assistant, News, Health). And now I enjoy solving some fairly meaty challenges in privacy and data protection, doubling down on my skills as a privacy engineer. There are few common threads. I enjoy collecting experiences. I love narratives and knitting people together. I am most at ease in global settings. I am known for getting things done and I often have an unwavering sense of direction. I pick my projects and jobs based on the experience it offers – if it’s fun, demands my passion, involves interesting people and offers a blank canvas to start from – I am your woman. My role is sometimes described as a “corporate entrepreneur”. I am often brought in when there is complete ambiguity that needs to be turned into a new compelling reality, where chaos needs to re-arrange into structure. Nascent projects catch my fancy as they offer unending possibility. I co-founded Zephyr Ventures to tap into a space where ideas turn into reality – the world of startups and small businesses is filled with untethered hope, ambition, drive but sometimes lacks a realistic plan and the right people. We step in to help businesses by investing two of our most precious resources – time and cash, in that order. I have recently discovered the joys of motherhood and spend my time looking after three delightful girls. My husband and I bring yoga and mindfulness into our lives and hope that one day we can end up spending more time disconnected from the digital world. When I am not at my desk you will find me in the thick of the forest, swimming in the river, cooking up a storm in the kitchen or hanging with my girls.