Goldman Sachs veteran Sheila Patel has joined the board of Antler, as the global early-stage venture capital firm continues its international expansion.
With three decades of experience in financial asset management, Patel has become a global leader in the asset management industry.
Previously, Patel was chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management based in London, and a member of the bank’s Firmwide Management Committee, holding leadership roles in two divisions across three continents. Before Goldman Sachs, Patel headed up Trading Strategy at Morgan Stanley for seven years. As the current Vice Chairman of B Capital Group, the venture capital firm co-founded by Eduardo Saverin, Sheila brings thirty years of experience in financial markets and investment.
Patel brings deep experience in venture, private markets and asset management. In addition to Goldman Sachs’ Firmwide Management Committee, she also served on the Partnership Committee, the Inclusion & Diversity Committee, and led ESG and Sustainability initiatives for GSAM, among other leadership responsibilities. Sheila managed a variety of Goldman Sachs businesses globally during her career, and in her role as a Board Member at Antler, Sheila will leverage her experience in asset management on a global scale.
Founded in Singapore in 2017, Antler focuses on enabling and investing in the next generation of entrepreneurs by building complementary co-founder teams, supporting the teams with deep business model validation and providing a global platform for scaling. The firm is on a mission to fundamentally improve the world by enabling and investing in the world’s most exceptional people. Antler has invested in over 350 companies globally across 30 different industries. Of these companies, 40 per cent have at least one female co-founder, and the founders represent 70 nationalities. To support its portfolio, Antler has a global network of over 600 expert advisors.
Patel says: “With innovative technology continuing to disrupt every area of life, what attracted me to Antler was its unique model – particularly its global approach to investment and focus on fostering diversity.”
Patel says: “Where entrepreneurs innovate, and when the value-capture happens, is changing fast, and Antler is in a very promising position with its unique size and scale of its operations across key entrepreneurial hubs globally. The asset management industry needs to rethink traditional models of backing innovation, and Antler is among the change-makers in the industry, so being able to support the team was an opportunity I could not turn down.
“There are exciting times ahead and I’m looking forward to helping provide world-class entrepreneurs access to all the necessary tools to help grow their businesses.”
Magnus Grimeland, Antler Founder and CEO, says: “Sheila brings to our team a wealth of experience from the asset management industry and from building strong leadership teams of high performers. It is no wonder why she is regularly featured for her insights and market observations by financial media across the globe. Furthermore, she is a role model for women around the world and is passionate about helping women succeed with pursuing their dreams. We look forward to working with Sheila to enable founders across the world realise their ambitions to build the defining companies of tomorrow.”
