KKR
21.6.2021 09:02:11 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announces the appointment of Ajay Kavan as a Senior Advisor in Europe, effective immediately. Based in London, Mr. Kavan will support KKR’s pan-European investment activities in technology and digitally-enabled businesses and will advise KKR’s portfolio companies. In particular, he will focus on the consumer internet sector in eCommerce and direct-to-consumer offers, as well as companies undergoing major digital transformation programmes.
Ajay most recently served as CEO of Matches Fashion, where he supported the business through the impact of the pandemic, strengthened the leadership team and improved customer experience, technology and operational performance. Prior to joining Matches he spent nine years in senior roles at Amazon including VP International Special Projects, VP Amazon Fresh International and VP UK Consumables. He was responsible for launching Amazon Fresh across Europe and Asia, developing strategic partnerships with retailers (including Morrisons in the UK), developing its international physical stores, led Amazon’s subscription businesses across the EU and scaled Amazon businesses across multiple categories. Ajay has over 20 years of online experience and prior to Amazon, he led the launch of the online channels and multi-channel capabilities for three different retail businesses. Previous roles included Marketing and Strategy and Multi-channel Director roles within Home Retail Group plc and Kingfisher plc. Ajay is also the Vice Chair of In Kind Direct, a UK charity that distributes consumer goods to charitable organisations globally.
KKR’s Senior Advisors bring leadership skills, knowledge-sharing and deep industry expertise. They help drive value creation by providing advice and best practice to KKR’s investment teams and the executives, entrepreneurs and management teams of its portfolio companies. Mr. Kavan’s appointment follows that of TMT Senior Advisors Diego Piacentini in 2019, and Adam Warby in 2020.
Tim Franks, Partner and Head of EMEA Consumer & Retail at KKR, Jean-Pierre Saad, Partner and Head of EMEA Technology at KKR, and Philipp Schaelli, Principal in EMEA Private Equity at KKR, said: “Ajay will be a fantastic resource for our executives and our portfolio company management teams, bringing decades of experience in digital transformation, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer product development. He joins at an exciting time for KKR’s technology investment platform in Europe, with digitalisation a critical part of every business’ strategy and operational agenda.”
Ajay Kavan said: “KKR builds strong relationships with founders and management teams and has a track record of supporting them to deliver exceptional value creation. KKR is deeply committed to continuing to build its technology platform and I’m really excited to work with the KKR team and with leaders in their portfolio companies.”
KKR has invested over $25bn in tech companies in the past ten years across over 140 investments. Since the start of 2020, KKR has made over 20 tech investments globally, investing over $5bn in equity. Major recent EMEA technology investments include Cegid, Exact, Devoteam and Zwift.
--ends--
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210621005048/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Semiconductor Companies Get Tough on AI Investment, but Measuring Returns Remains a Challenge9.11.2026 12:03:00 CET | Press release
HTEC research finds semiconductor companies are ahead in scaling AI, yet fragmented measurement is making it harder to connect engineering gains to business outcomes HTEC, the global AI technology and engineering leader, today released its research on the semiconductor sector, which reveals that the sector is relatively advanced in adopting AI but faces a more difficult challenge: proving that technical improvements translate into measurable business value. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261109039341/en/ HTEC, the global AI technology and engineering leader, today released its research on the semiconductor sector, which reveals that the sector is relatively advanced in adopting AI but faces a more difficult challenge: proving that technical improvements translate into measurable business value. Nearly half (48%) of semiconductor respondents describe their organizations as scaling AI or already AI-native, comp
GoFundMe Surpasses $50 Billion Raised, Celebrating the People Powering a Global Movement of Help9.11.2026 12:00:00 CET | Press release
The inaugural Kind 50 list celebrates the people behind the milestone – and how help brings people closer together GoFundMe today announced that its global community has surpassed $50 billion raised to help individuals and nonprofits around the world. More than 200 million people have donated through GoFundMe, and nearly 40% have given more than once, reflecting the extraordinary scale of people showing up for one another – and continuing to come back to help. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261109255455/en/ Celebrating $50B raised on GoFundMe with The Kind 50. From showing up for a friend in need to mobilizing entire communities, The Kind 50 celebrates people and organizations whose acts of kindness – on and off GoFundMe – made an impact over the past year and inspired others to help. To mark the milestone, GoFundMe is introducing The Kind 50, a celebration of the internet’s kindest people. The inaugural list
Prodalim Reports Q3 2026 Results, with Growth in its Specialty Ingredients & Solutions Business and Solos Activity Net Profit and Cashflow from Operating Activities9.11.2026 11:18:00 CET | Press release
Group revenues for the quarter grew 7% reaching US$98.4 million.SIS revenues (Specialty Ingredients & Solutions) grew 30% in Q3 reaching US$20 million.Adjusted EBITDA1 for the SIS grew 37% reaching US$4.3 million, reflecting an adjusted EBITDA margin of 21.4%.Juice Solutions revenues grew 2% in the quarter to US$78 million, improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin to 11.0%.Group’s adjusted net profit grew 34% reaching US$4.2 million.Cashflow from operating activities in the quarter was strong, increasing to US$16.7 million.Last week, the Company announced a strategic acquisition, of BOK, a South African company that produces natural ingredients, high value grape based specialty using circular economy principles. Regulatory News: Tsahi Barak, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Company, commented: "We are pleased to report another quarter of growth across all key operating parameters, alongside an important strategic acquisition. We continue to make substantial investments in production i
Logistics Reply named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warehouse Management for Retail and Manufacturing9.11.2026 10:00:00 CET | Press release
Logistics Reply, the Reply Group company specialised in software solutions for supply chain execution and warehouse management, has been positioned in the Leaders Category of the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warehouse Management for Retail 2026 Vendor Assessment (doc #US53701926, October 2026) as well as in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warehouse Management for Manufacturing 2026 Vendor Assessment (doc #US53013526, October 2026). The reports evaluate vendors based on strategy and product capabilities, looking at both quantitative and qualitative criteria. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261109197861/en/ Logistics Reply, the Reply Group company specialised in software solutions for supply chain execution and warehouse management, has been positioned in the Leaders Category of the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Warehouse Management for Retail and Manufacturing. LEA ReplyTM is Logistics Reply’s cloud-native warehouse
SWISSto12 passes critical design review of dual-band 5G antennas for UNIVITY satellites9.11.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
The milestone clears the way for flight hardware production, bringing UNIVITY closer to delivering both broadband and direct-to-device 5G services from a single satellite architecture. SWISSto12, a leading enabler of the new space economy, today announced it has passed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the S- and Ka-band phased array antennas for UNIVITY’s 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) demonstration satellites. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261109823601/en/ SWISSto12's S- and Ka-band phased array antennas pass Critical Design Review SWISSto12 is developing two active antennas for UNIVITY: an S-band direct radiating array (DRA) for direct-to-device services, connecting standard 5G phones straight to the satellite, and a Ka-band DRA operating at 26 GHz for broadband services and feeder links. Both are built for 5G NTN applications, allowing one single satellite to carry both broadband and direct-to-devic
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom