iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The federal Investment Capital Advisory Committee (ICAC) has an Indian American as its chairperson. Formed to increase the access of small businesses and startups to investment capital, the ICAC consists of members with diverse perspectives, experiences, and occupational backgrounds in and related to the U.S. private investment industry.
Arjun Gupta, an Indian American executive, has been appointed as the chairperson of the newly established ICAC. The committee’s main objective is to promote, expand, and strengthen the ecosystem of private funds financing U.S. small businesses and startups, to fund entrepreneurs and small business owners from traditionally underserved communities.
Administrator and head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Isabella Casillas Guzman, who is the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s 33 million small businesses, announced the appointment of Gupta and 13 other members to the ICAC. The committee will advise the SBA in the development of a more inclusive and accessible ecosystem for small businesses nationwide.
“The launch of SBA’s inaugural Investment Capital Advisory Committee with its distinguished membership will serve as a critical resource to the Biden-Harris Administration as we strengthen our policies and programs to foster a more inclusive investment ecosystem,” said Guzman. “ICAC’s insights and recommendations will help the SBA expand access to investment capital, increase public awareness of SBA resources, and identify and fill capital gaps facing small businesses and the fund managers seeking to support them.”
Gupta is the Chief Believer and Founder of TeleSoft Partners, a venture capital firm focused on high-tech startups. Over the last 30+ years, Gupta has worked with technology companies in venture capital, software engineering, applications engineering, business development, strategy consulting, and customer success roles. He has directly or indirectly invested in and helped build over 250+ tech companies of which over 150+ companies have been acquired or gone public, including 60+ Unicorns. Gupta has raised over a billion dollars in capital commitments and has established corporate partnerships with Bechtel, Saleforce.com, and Symphony Technology Group. In 2013, he became a member of the new ownership group of the Sacramento Kings NBA team. In 2001, Gupta started a family foundation to support community projects in education, medical research, the environment, and the arts. He was featured in the Forbes Midas List of the Top 100 Venture Capital Investors from 2006 to 2009.
Gupta earned his MBA from Stanford University; MS and BS in Computer Science from Washington State University; and BA (Honors) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in India. He is an advanced leadership fellow (ALI) from Harvard University and a Henry Crown fellow and trustee of the Aspen Institute. He is also co-founder and former co-chair of YPO Aspen.
“We are delighted by the overwhelming interest and support for the establishment of this important federal advisory committee and look forward to hosting an inaugural meeting in the coming weeks,” said Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation Bailey DeVries.
Investment Capital Advisory Committee Members:
ICAC Chair: Arjun Gupta, Chief Believer, TeleSoft Partners of Aspen, Colo.
ICAC Vice Chair: Carl Kopfinger, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, TD Bank, N.A. of Philadelphia, Pa.
Alice Beverly Cole, Managing Partner, Cole Renwick, LLC. of Little Rock, Ark.
Brett Palmer, President, Small Business Investor Alliance of Washington, D.C.
David Corpus, EVP-Bank President, Stellar Bank of Houston, Texas.
Derek Schmidt, Director, BlackRock of Chicago, Ill.
Jane E. Veron, CEO & Co-Founder, The Acceleration Project (TAP) of Scarsdale, N.Y.
JoAnn H. Price, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Fairview Capital Partners of Hartford, Conn.
Maria Kim, President & CEO, REDF of San Francisco, Calif.
Melissa Bradley, General Partner, 1863 Ventures of Washington, D.C.
Michael Staebler, Retired Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP of Ann Arbor, Mich.
Richard Moser, Former Principal, Phoenix Management Partners, LLC of San Rafael, Calif.
Sharon Heaton, CEO & Founder, sbLiftOff of Herndon, Va.
Stacy Swider, Vice President Investments, MassVentures of Waltham, Mass.
