About

Lathika Pai is a proven leader in the global start-up, corporate, angel investing, and non-profit arenas with expertise in the MENA, APAC, India/SAARC regions. She is currently the Country Head at Microsoft for Venture Capital and PE Partnerships and an Independent Director at dcx cable assemblies pvt ltd - India. Lathika has a track record of scaling start-up programs globally. She envisioned and implemented Microsoft's "Highway to a 100 Unicorns" across 16 countries in India, APAC, and MENA regions to identify and nurture high-potential start-ups. She also initiated Project Amplify in partnership with Accenture for engaging with start-ups focused on impact and sustainability. As the Founder of Sonder Connect - Powering Female Founders, Lathika has empowered close to 120 female founders from eight countries to help them accelerate the work they are doing, and collectively raising over $100M in funding. She is also a founding board member of CXXO, a Kalaari initiative to invest in female founders. Lathika is a serial entrepreneur who has raised capital successfully in both debt and equity as well as provided profitable exits to investors. She was the COO of B2K Corp, where she grew the firm to 600 employees before the sale to Allsec Technologies. As the Managing Partner at Tekinroads Consulting LLP, Lathika helped tech companies from the US and Europe to expand sales and operations in India, SE Asia, and the Middle East. Lathika has also founded JobSkills, a social impact company that partnered with the government to skill and enhance the employability of young Indians. She has led training programs for over 12,700 people to help them join the workforce, including working with the Indian Army for re-entry of veterans into civilian jobs and with the Government of Tibet in exile to re-skill and find job placements for Tibetan refugees. Lathika holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from Bangalore University, a Master’s Degree in Software Telecom for Rochester Institute of Technology, and is an alum of the INSEAD Program for Social Entrepreneurship. She is also a Co-Chair of India Internet Day, Aug 2020 (TieNCR) and Co-Chair, Sri Lanka Internet Day, April 2021, and a Board Member of TiE Delhi NCR.