Mid-market private equity firm Lighthouse Funds has appointed PK Hariharan, a veteran of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, as an operating partner.
Lighthouse said in a statement that Hariharan will offer his expertise in sales, distribution, marketing and leadership training to its ecosystem.
Hariharan has 40 years of professional experience, including 35 years at consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble. He spent at least three years at multinational beauty major Coty.
At P&G, Hariharan held leadership roles across sales, market strategy and planning. He also spent more than six years in Singapore and oversaw the pan-South Asia business.
More recently, Hariharan set up US-headquartered Coty’s operations in India and was heading the India and South Asia business as general manager for both the professional and consumer beauty segments. He retired last year.
“Hari brings decades of experience, and our team and entrepreneurs will benefit greatly from his guidance and know-how,” said Lighthouse founding partner Sean Sovak.
Founded in 2006 by Sovak, Sachin Bhartiya and Mukund Krishnaswami, Lighthouse has made several investments in consumer brands. It is currently making investments from Lighthouse India Fund III, for which it marked the final close at $250 million earlier this month.
Lighthouse’s portfolio includes consumer-centric brands such as snack-foods firm Bikaji Foods, luxury Ayurvedic brand Kama, ethnic-wear retailer FabIndia, home improvement brand Cera Sanitaryware, healthcare products company Tynor Orthotics, online beauty firm Nykaa.com, and QSR chain Wow!Momo.
Earlier in the day, VCCircle reported that Lighthouse had earned high returns by paring its stake again in snacks maker Bikaji Foods International Ltd.
Apart from Bikaji, Lighthouse had exited Unibic Foods in February 2017 by selling its stake to Peepul Capital..
Last year, it exited Miles Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd when the Mumbai-based company was acquired by Ebix Inc. The PE firm had invested in Miles Software in 2008, according to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital.
