Mr. Prashant Pathak, President and CEO of Ekagrata Inc., a principal investment company, is a leading name in Canada. Known for his expertise on international management and operations, strategy and product development, he has advised numerous global corporations on a wide range of operational issues across North America, South America and Europe. He also serves as the Managing Partner of ReichmannHauer Capital Partners, a Canadian private equity firm and Chairman of the Venture Capital and Investments Committee, BDC Venture Capital, Canada's largest VC program. The Government of Canada has also appointed Mr. Pathak on the Board of BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada). In 2008, he was listed as one of the Canada's Top 40 Under 40 by Caldwell Partners. "If you can think unthinkable thoughts, you can do unthinkable things."
Mr. Prashant Pathak obtained his B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, where he won the best all-rounder student award of his batch. Further, he completed his MBA with distinction from INSEAD. He also pursued a diploma in fuzzy logic from IIT Kanpur.
Mr. Pathak relocated to Canada in 1998 and now lives in Toronto with his wife and children. He began his career with Halliburton India (HLSI) where he assisted in their upstream exploration business and spearheaded the special project team. Later, he joined Schlumberger Geco-Prakla and was responsible for overseeing the seismic navigation operations for Asia Pacific. After spending around seven years in the industry in multiple management and operations capacities at Halliburton and Schlumberger, he became a Partner at McKinsey & Company Inc. At McKinsey, he was responsible for leading the North American Telecom Practice, the Financial Services Practices and the Strategy & Corporate Finance Practice. He has also mentored accelerator and incubation program at the Singularity University Labs. Owing to his immense experience in international operations and relationship management, he has successfully helped several Canadian companies in building strong export and international linkages and has been quite instrumental in building bridges with Asian countries, especially in India and China.
Besides being an Indo-Canadian investor and a businessman, he is a philanthropist who actively contributes to several non-profit institutions and public causes. Currently, he is involved in a Project named Beyshick, a social venture capital fund initiative encouraging entrepreneurship among First Nations youths and communities to strengthen prosperity and financial independence. Prior to this, he provided his generous support for the successful implementation of UNICEF $3 million HIV/AIDS program campaign in Canada. He always endeavors to give back to the society by actively participating in various social activities and says, "I essentially derive meaning from pursuing social activities that, at the core, enable young children and people to become more independent through entrepreneurship, innovation and technology." In one of his interviews, he shared that the inspiration to work for the cause not the applause comes from his wife and children.
Mr. Pathak is on the boards of several community institutions and companies including the board of North York General Hospital and has worked as the Director of OSI Geospatial Inc. for a brief period. He is a distinguished alumnus of the core team of Vartana, a bank facilitating financial support to organizations, communities and individuals involved in charitable activities. He is a charter member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.
