We require intellectual honesty and encourage debate. While we don’t always agree, we spend whatever time necessary to get to the right answer. We work hard, but strive to create an environment where it doesn’t seem like hard work. We have passion for what we do.
We are investors,
operators, and entrepreneurs
Tarsadia Investments is the private investment management vehicle of Tarsadia, which focuses on venture and growth equity, life sciences, and real estate.
Tarsadia Capital has a flexible and long-duration investment mandate that focuses on public and private equities and commodities globally.
Tarsadia Enterprises provides foundational infrastructure to optimize and streamline deal execution and portfolio company support.
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Alkesh Patel
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Andrew Yeung
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Angela Duncan
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Anju Das
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Betty Shih
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Darshan Patel
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David Browne
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Ed Coss
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Gautam Patel
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Gerard Forster
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Greg Casserly
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Gregory Caplan
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Hassina Seraj
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Jay Santoro
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Jing Chen
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Jolene Johnson
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Josh Lane
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Julian Sale
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Michael Ching
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Mitchell Caplan
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Peggy Haslip
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Rikhil Bajaj
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Rishi Reddy
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Shubhra Jain
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Sothy Tan
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Tejash Patel
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Tushar Patel
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Vikram Patel
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Wei Liu
Alkesh Patel
SVP - Real EstateAlkesh Patel is the Senior Vice President of Real Estate and oversees the firm’s portfolio of hotel, office, and net lease assets across the country. Alkesh grew up in hospitality and as a lifelong hotelier has developed deep industry expertise. He cut his teeth out of university managing the 5-year development of one of Tarsadia’s flagship assets – the Hard Rock Hotel in downtown San Diego. Alkesh’s mission is to grow the portfolio by leveraging our storied real estate experience through strategic partnerships with best-in-class sponsors focused in primary markets.
During the decade between between the Great Financial Crisis and rejoining Tarsadia in 2018, Alkesh acquired and redeveloped several distressed hospitality- and multi-family based projects across SoCal as Co-Founder and President of Daystar Hospitality Group. This entrepreneurial/owner experience provided a strong foundation to navigate our portfolio through the COVID-19 pandemic and maximize value throughout the peaks and troughs since 2018. He is now focused on strategizing with our partners to find and unlock value in their own businesses with scale in mind.
Alkesh earned a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of Southern California. His most fulfilling role is being a father to his two young boys with whom he spends the majority of his time with outside the office.
Andrew Yeung
General CounselFOCUS
Legal and Advisory (Trading, Corporate Finance and Securities)
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Paxful, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Core Scientific, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Hartz Capital, Deputy General Counsel
Barclays Capital – Investment Banking Legal, Senior Counsel and Director
Lehman Brothers, Corporate Counsel
Shearman & Sterling LLP, Senior Associate
EDUCATION
University of Ottawa, J.D. & B. Admin
Angela Duncan
Corporate ControllerFOCUS
Financial Reporting, Accounting, Internal Controls, Audit & Compliance
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE:ARE), Controller – Real Estate Development
KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Senior Controller – National Accounting
EDUCATION
Certified Public Accountant
St. Cloud State University, B.S. Accounting
Anju Das
Senior AccountantAnju Das is a Senior Accountant at Tarsadia. She is primarily responsible for reconciling accounts, processing payroll for all Tarsadia entities, and maintaining employee records. Anju also has a role in the month-end close process, including accounts receivable reconciliation, payroll and benefits-related entries/reconciliation, sales reporting, and capex review for certain entities. She is always ready for new challenges!
Anju graduated from Kerala University, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce – Taxation and received her Master’s in Business Administration – Finance from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India. Before joining Tarsadia, Anju worked at Aspire Bakeries, formerly Aryzta Baking (Sweet Life), as an Accounts Receivable Clerk, and at Block Tops as a bookkeeper.
When Anju is not at work, she likes to do vegetable gardening on her small plot, and she enjoys pencil sketches.
Betty Shih
Accounting ManagerBetty Shih is an Accounting Manager at Tarsadia Enterprises. She is responsible for various accounting functions, such as overseeing the General Ledger, coordinating the month-end and quarter-end closes, reviewing payroll, and assisting with tax and audits. Betty also prepares quarterly financials for reporting. She is passionate about cultivating teamwork and streamlining processes.
Betty is a CPA who has over 18 years of accounting and finance experience. Prior to joining Tarsadia, she worked in corporate accounting at both public and private companies, including Houlihan Lokey, CBRE and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors.
Betty graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Business Administration. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling and hiking.
Darshan Patel
AssociateDarshan Patel is an Associate in the firm’s venture & growth equity and life sciences strategies. His work primarily involves deal prospecting, diligence & underwriting, and M&A/business development support for the firm’s portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Tarsadia, Darshan worked in business development at Kashiv Biosciences, where he supported the company’s licensing efforts and crafted business cases for new pipeline product selection.
Darshan holds bachelor’s degrees in Human Biology and Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
David Browne
Chief Financial OfficerFOCUS
Financial Planning and Reporting, Accounting, Asset Management, Strategy
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Sabal Capital Holdings (Stone Point Capital portfolio company), CFO
MMP Holdings (Levine Leichtman Capital Partners portfolio company), CFO
Marwit Investment Management, Partner
Compass Group International, Vice President
Aurora Capital Group, Analyst
Merrill Lynch & Co., Analyst
EDUCATION
Kellogg School of Management, M.B.A.
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, B.S. In Economics
Ed Coss
Executive Vice President & Chief Legal OfficerEd is Chief Legal Officer for the Tarsadia family of companies. In his over 4 decades of practicing law, he has represented Tarsadia and its family members in their legal matters for more than 35 years, first through his law firm and later, commencing in 2003, as a member of the Tarsadia team. His representation focuses on hotel and real estate transactions, financings, mergers and acquisitions, complex commercial transactions, contract negotiations, legal strategy, and joint venture and corporate matters, with an emphasis today on complex transactions, strategic planning and general legal advice. Ed holds a Masters of Laws (LLM) from Boston University.
Gautam Patel
Managing DirectorGautam Patel has served as Managing Director and a member of the investment committee at Tarsadia Investments since 2012. In that role, Gautam has led a team of investment professionals to identify, evaluate and execute principal control equity investments across sectors including life sciences, financial services and technology.
Prior to joining Tarsadia, Gautam served as Managing Director at Lazard from 2008 to 2012, where he led financial and strategic advisory efforts in sectors including transportation and logistics, private equity, and healthcare. Prior to that, Gautam served in a variety of advisory roles at Lazard from 1999 to 2008, including restructuring, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization assignments in 2001 and 2008. From 1994 to 1997, Gautam was an Analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he worked on mergers and acquisitions as well as high-yield and equity financings.
Gautam is currently a Board Member of several private and public companies including Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Kashiv Biosciences, Asana Biosciences, LERETA, Envisics and AIONX Antimicrobial Technologies. Gautam also serves on the boards of Tarsadia Foundation and Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, a New York based non-profit organization which aims to empower children through arts based education.
Gautam received a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College, a B.S. from Harvey Mudd College, an MSc from the London School of Economics and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Gerard Forster
Chief Technology OfficerGerard Forster is the Chief Technology Officer at Tarsadia Enterprises. Prior to his current position, Gerard was SVP, Chief Information Officer at Aimbridge Hospitality, the largest 3rd party hospitality management company in the United States managing nearly 700 hotels and employing more than 20,000 associates. Prior to joining Aimbridge, Gerard was a founding partner and Vice President of Information Technology at Evolution Hospitality and prior to that started his career in hospitality as the VP of IT at Tarsadia Hotels.
Before his tenure in the hospitality industry, Gerard served in senior executive positions in the mortgage industry, most notably as Sr. VP of IT at Acoustic Home Loans and Towne and Country Mortgage. Gerard also held such diverse positions as general manager of the So-Cal Speed Shop, one of the world’s premier hot-rod shops, and as director of marketing and education at the Specialty Equipment Market Association.
Gerard holds a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Cybersecurity at NYU.
Greg Casserly
Chief Executive OfficerCass is our CEO and has been an integral member of the leadership team, helping to define the firm’s mission and values, since joining Tarsadia as its President 25 years ago. He has a passion for process, culture, growth and strategy.
He left his native Australia to attend Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, and after graduating (with distinction), he held various roles in hotel and resort franchising and development in the US and abroad. As a vice president at InterPacifc Resorts (General Atlantic), he developed all-inclusive resorts around the Pacific Rim, and as executive vice president at HFS, Inc. (Blackstone) he helped build that company into the world’s largest hotel franchiser. It was in that role he developed a meaningful relationship with the Patel family.
Here’s how he sums up what he believes makes Tarsadia unique: “At Tarsadia we measure success not just in results, but also by a sense of quality in everything we do. Even in the simplest interaction. Quality implies care and attention; a conscious balance between inspiration and accountability. After 25 years here, I’m still trying to survive my gratitude.”
Gregory Caplan
Vice PresidentGregory Caplan is a Vice President at Tarsadia Investments working alongside the firm’s portfolio companies in various operational capacities.
Prior to joining Tarsadia, Greg worked as an associate at PJT Partners from 2016 to 2019. At PJT, he helped to structure and execute several complex liability management transactions in a range of industries and geographies. Prior to PJT Partners, Greg began his career at Evercore Partners advising on acquisitions, sales, divestitures and recapitalizations for corporate clients and financial sponsors.
Greg graduated, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Brown University in 2010 with an A.B. in Public Policy. Greg also received a J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016, where he graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif and was a Senior Editor on the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. Greg is an avid skier, golfer, and coffee enthusiast.
Hassina Seraj
Accounts Payable SpecialistHassina Seraj is an Accounts Payable Specialist that joined Tarsadia Enterprises in December 2021. Her primary responsibilities involve handling all aspects of accounts payable duties, including month-end closures and bank reconciliations.
Prior to joining Tarsadia, Hassina worked for Donahue Schriber for over 20 years in asset management accounting and corporate accounting. She was primarily responsible for accounts payable and receivable for a portfolio of 30 properties. She worked closely with property managers in reconciliation of tenant and vendor accounts.
When she is not working, Hassina enjoys spending time with friends and family, including her two children, and gardening.
Jay Santoro
Vice PresidentJay Santoro is a vice president in the firm’s venture and growth equity strategy. His roles include business development, deal underwriting & execution, and portfolio management.
Prior to Tarsadia, Jay was an investment banking analyst at Jefferies, where he helped execute various corporate restructurings, financings, and mergers & acquisitions assignments.
Jay graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University with a B.S. in mathematics.
Jing Chen
ControllerFOCUS
Tax and Accounting
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
QVT Financial LP, Tax Director
Asset Alliance Corporation, Tax Manager
KPMG LLP, Senior Associate
EDUCATION
Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, M.S. Taxation
Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, M.S. Accountancy
Renmin University of China, B.S. Finance
Jolene Johnson
AR and AP ManagerJolene Johnson is an Accounts Payable/Receivable Manager for Tarsadia. She oversees the finance department’s payables function by ensuring the accurate execution of payment obligations, supervising timely collection of funds being paid to the organization, and maintaining accurate records for tax reporting purposes.
She is a strong believer in the firm’s ethos, to make it better than it was before, by focusing on process improvement, workflow automation and electronic documentation.
Prior to Tarsadia, Jolene worked in collections for Bryan Cave law firm and as an AP Manager for Tarsadia Hotels. She attended California State University, Long Beach and majored in Business Administration.
Josh Lane
General CounselJosh Lane is the General Counsel of The Tarsadia Group, LLC and its subsidiaries, Tarsadia Investments, LLC and Tarsadia Enterprises, LLC. Josh’s practice focuses on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, joint ventures, corporate governance, complex commercial transactions, risk management, and dispute resolution. Prior to joining Tarsadia, Josh was a corporate partner at K&L Gates LLP. Josh holds a B.A., magna cum laude, in English Literature from the University of California, Irvine, and a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Michael Ching
Managing DirectorFOCUS
Head of Research, Liquid Strategies
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Blackwells Capital, Managing Director
Maso Capital, Senior Analyst
Allen & Co., Analyst
Sun Capital Partners, Associate
Goldman Sachs, Analyst
Deloitte Consulting, Business Analyst
EDUCATION
Columbia University, B.S. Computer Engineering
Mitchell Caplan
PresidentMitchell Caplan is the President of the Tarsadia family of companies and oversees all of the firms’ investment verticals in financial services, healthcare, technology and real estate. In addition, Mitch is responsible for establishing a long-term growth strategy, business development and evolving culture. He thrives when partnering with successful companies during periods of high growth and complex turnarounds by leveraging technology, innovation, and business acumen.
Prior to Tarsadia, Mitch was a strategic CEO and Board Director with over 30 years of experience delivering multi-billion dollar impact through innovation, technology disruption and leadership in the financial services industry, including E*Trade Financial (Nasdaq:ETFC), Telebanc Financial Corp (Nasdaq:TBFC) and Jefferson National Financial Corp (acquired by Nationwide). At E*Trade, Mitch architected the first fully integrated online financial services firm, at Telebanc he built the industry’s leading and largest branchless bank, and at Jefferson National he developed a differentiated tech-enabled tax-deferred investment platform.
Mitch has served dozens of institutions as a board member in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. He earned a J.D. and MBA from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in History from Brandeis University. He is a passionate worldwide traveler and incredibly proud grandfather who loves family vacations on every continent.
Peggy Haslip
Paralegal/Legal CoordinatorAs Paralegal/Legal Coordinator for Tarsadia, Peggy supports Tarsadia’s legal counsel in their day-to-day duties. She maintains the many entities that Tarsadia manages.
When Peggy’s not at work, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family and hosting get togethers. She is also an avid cyclist. She likes to ride her bike with friends and in group rides. She also enjoys riding at charity events, both as a participant and as a bike escort/marshal. In the future, she would like to spend some time riding down the California coast.
Prior to Tarsadia, Peggy worked for the law firms of Allen Matkins and Morrison and Foerster, and in the Legal Department of Fidelity National Title. She attended Orange Coast College and received an Associate of Arts degree.
Rikhil Bajaj
PrincipalRikhil leads the firm’s venture & growth equity investments in financial services & technology and blockchain & web3; while also extensively focusing on software, healthcare, and consumer investing. Informed by his experience working with growth stage to scale businesses, Rikhil supports entrepreneurs on topics including growth, talent, and financing/M&A. He works closely with Pagos, Petal, YieldStreet and BoltTech.
Prior to Tarsadia, Rikhil was a founding member of the growth equity team at SignalFire, a $1.5B+ talent and technology-driven venture capital firm, where he invested in Stampli and Argyle and launched an executive-in-residence program. Rikhil was also part of the senior team at GTCR, a $20B+ private equity firm, partnering with companies such as Paya (NYSE: Paya), RevSpring and CAPTRUST. Rikhil also worked as a technology & healthcare investor at Warburg Pincus and Primus Capital, on investments such as Hyperwallet (acquired by PayPal) and PayScale (acquired by Francisco Partners) as well as companies such as Yodlee (acquired by Envestnet), CardinalCommerce (acquired by Visa) and G2 Web Services (Acquired by Verisk Analytics). Previously, Rikhil was a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.
Rikhil holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BBA (Honors) from the Schulich School of Business, York University where he graduated at the top of his class. He is Canadian and grew up internationally. Outside of work, Rikhil is an avid kayaker, cyclist, and hiker; besides always trying new outdoor sports for the blooper reel. He is based in New York, and travels often to the West Coast and internationally.
Rishi Reddy
Managing Director - Head of Venture and GrowthRishi Reddy is a Managing Director and leads the firm’s venture and growth equity strategy. As a former founder, he has an innate passion for working with entrepreneurs throughout the life cycle of a business. He focuses on partnering with durable transformative companies across the healthtech and fintech ecosystems.
Prior to Tarsadia, Rishi was the founder and CEO of DigiPath Solutions, an early innovator in the digital anatomic pathology space. After exiting DigiPath, Rishi joined Tarsadia where he helped build the venture and growth practice. Rishi has led the firm’s investments in CUE Health, PhilRx, Fathom, Chronus Health, AvantStay, Petal, YieldStreet, BoltTech, TrueMotion, Nvoicepay and BrightVine. He currently serves on the boards of AvantStay, PhilRx, Chronus Health, Fathom and Envisics, as a board observer on BoltTech, YieldStreet and Petal and formerly as a board observer on CUE Health (Nasdaq:HLTH).
Rishi graduated summa cum laude from Babson College with a B.S. in management and the Wharton School with an M.B.A.
Shubhra Jain
PrincipalDr. Jain leads the firm’s venture and growth equity investments in health-tech. With her experience as a Physician and her passion for leveraging technology in healthcare, she loves working with founders building businesses to enable and build a more equitable, affordable and effective healthcare ecosystem.
Prior to Tarsadia, Dr. Jain built and led a healthcare investment practice at Cota Capital where she invested in businesses like Berkeley Lights, Zymergen and Mission Bio. She also has operating experience leading product development and launch at a health-tech startup.
Dr. Jain is a Primary Care Physician by background. She also has her M.S. in Engineering from Stanford School of Engineering and her MBA from The Wharton School.
Sothy Tan
Office Manager/Project ManagerAs Office Manager/Project Manager for Tarsadia, Sothy manages all aspects of keeping our Newport Beach headquarters a world class office environment. She oversees any ongoing office construction improvements and daily maintenance. She takes a lot of pride in ensuring every guest and staff member enjoys their office experience and looks forward to returning.
In her Human Resource role, she handles the onboarding of new Tarsadia team members and credits the Executive leadership team for making everyone feel like family. Growing up in the hospitality industry and raising three sons, she understands the importance of working and playing together as a team. Her favorite part of her various responsibilities is planning the corporate leadership retreats and holiday events to celebrate everyone’s accomplishments in and out of the office.
When Sothy’s not at work, she enjoys her morning ocean view walks with her husband and traveling to different parts of the world in search of the next memorable food, wine, and cultural experience.
Prior to Tarsadia, Sothy worked as a Design & Construction Project Manager for over 20 years with T2 Hospitality, HEI Hotels & Resorts, and Interstate Hotels & Resorts. She attended California State University, Los Angeles and majored in Business Administration.
Tejash Patel
Vice President & TreasurerWith a passion for safeguarding assets, Tejash joined Tarsadia in 2001 as a financial analyst and today, as Treasurer, leads the firm’s cash management, financial reporting, banking administration, insurance and credit facilities. His primary focus is managing operating capital and investment needs through internal/external fundings for various entities, trusts and portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Tarsadia, Tejash worked as a research analyst at Indian Market Research Ltd. where he supported the company’s research work for new IPO listings on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Tejash holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce with major in Accounting and a Master’s in Management Studies with major in Finance from Mumbai University, India.
Tushar Patel
Chairman And FounderTushar Patel is the Chairman and Founder of Tarsadia. His career began in hospitality, helping run his family’s motel in Anaheim, CA from a young age. Inspired by his innate belief that dreams are achieved with deep focus and hard work, Tushar embarked on a journey to become one of the most prolific private hoteliers in the country. Together with his team at Tarsadia Hotels, Tushar owned, operated, and transacted over $1B+ of hotel assets throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
Relentlessly driven to identify and execute on value, Tushar and his team set out in the mid-2000s to create Tarsadia as it is today, a world-class investment platform diversified across real estate, life sciences, financial services, and technology. Today, Tushar continues to push Tarsadia to new heights and provide the means to enable each member of the firm to maximize their potential.
Tushar has and continues to serve on the boards of numerous companies and non-profits, including the Tarsadia Foundation. He attended California State University, Fullerton. Outside the office, Tushar enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis, and traveling.
Vikram Patel
Head Of Tarsadia CapitalFOCUS
Investing Strategies and Capital Allocation
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
Tarsadia Investments, Managing Director
Barclays Capital, Vice President
Lehman Brothers, Associate
Monitor Group, Management Consultant
EDUCATION
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, B.S. Economics