EY veteran Ajay Shah to join ace investor Madhu Kela’s family office

Mumbai: Ajay Shah, a partner at EY India who led marquee M&A mandates in the media, education, and technology sectors, is joining veteran investor Madhusudan Kela’s family office to develop a full-scale financial services platform across asset management streams.

Shah, who spent nearly two decades at EY, was most recently heading the audit firm’s investment banking practice across the technology, media and entertainment, telecom (TMT), education, business services, and communications sectors.

Over the past three years, he has advised companies including Byju’s, Aakash Educational Services, PVR, Inox Leisure, Mastek, and PhysicsWallah on more than a dozen transactions, many valued at over $100 million.

Shah’s appointment at MK Ventures Capital Ltd, Kela’s family office, underlines the rising demand for dealmakers with deep sectoral expertise and trusted institutional networks.

Industry executives familiar with the development said Shah will be responsible for setting up a new platform focused on financial services, potentially spanning advisory, lending, wealth-tech, and embedded finance.

Shah confirmed to Mint that he will be joining Kela but declined to share more details.

The move signals an ambitious turn for Kela, who has largely operated as a public markets investor since setting up MK Ventures in 2018 after stepping down as chief investment strategist at Reliance Capital Ltd.

A market veteran with more than 27 years of experience, Kela is best known for building Reliance Mutual Fund’s equity portfolio from scratch and taking it to over ₹1 trillion in assets under management by the time he exited in 2017.

Over the past few years, Kela has built a sizable portfolio across listed and unlisted companies through his family office. According to public filings, he holds significant stakes in MK Ventures (formerly known as Moneyboxx Capital), Choice International, Sangam India, Niyogin Fintech, Nazara Technologies, and other firms.

While much of his recent exposure has remained on the equity side, industry insiders say Kela’s family office has been actively evaluating opportunities to build platforms across financial services, including lending, fintech, and distribution.

Shah’s entry is expected to catalyse that expansion.

Kela’s big bet

Shah has advised on some of the most complex transactions in India’s edtech and media space. These include Byju’s high-profile acquisitions of Aakash Educational Services and Gradeup, PVR’s merger with Inox Leisure, and PVR’s earlier acquisition of SPI Cinemas.

He also played a key role in Great Learning’s acquisition of Northwest Executive Education and Bodhi Tree Systems’s $600 million investment in Allen Career Institute. Shah has been instrumental in multiple fundraises, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and strategic restructuring deals involving global and Indian players.

While it is not yet clear whether MK Ventures intends to raise external capital or stay proprietary, the firm intends to build a full-stack operating entity rather than function as a passive investor, said a person aware of its plans, requesting anonymity.

“Madhu has always backed high-conviction ideas early, and he has capital to deploy. What he needed was someone who understands how to build structure, manage governance, and stitch together ecosystems. That’s what Ajay brings,” this person said.

Shah’s move reflects a broader trend of seasoned consultants and dealmakers moving from global advisory firms to entrepreneurial or investor-backed ventures. With markets flush with liquidity and many mid-sized firms looking to scale or consolidate, family offices are increasingly looking to build operating arms with domain specialists rather than just write cheques.

For Shah, this marks a significant career pivot—from advisory to ownership and execution. And for Kela, the move potentially sets the stage for his next big bet—not just picking winners, but building them from scratch.