Ranji Nagaswami and Sarah Pillmore joined Strategic Value Partners as managing directors of the firm. Nagaswami joins as chief strategy and chief commercial officer while Pillmore joins as head of human resources & talent. Both will serve on SVPGlobal’s 16-person management council.
Nagaswami joined SVPGlobal as an advisory council member in March 2020 and transitioned to the full-time role of chief strategy and chief commercial officer that October. As chief strategy and chief commercial officer, she will work directly with founder and chief investment officer Victor Khosla on strategic initiatives. Her primary focus will be to continue to support and partner with the firm’s non-investment areas, specifically the infrastructure and investor relations teams, including helping to broaden and deepen SVPGlobal’s strategic client relationships. In addition, Nagaswami will co-head the firm’s ESG committee and partner with Pillmore to advance its inclusion and diversity initiatives.
Nagaswami most recently served as CEO and board director at Hirtle Callaghan & Co., an OCIO platform serving endowments, foundations and high net worth families. Among her leadership positions in the investment industry, Nagaswami was the chief investment advisor to Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York. She spent 10 years at AllianceBernstein, where she served as chief investment officer of the firm’s multi-asset and retail investment businesses. Nagaswami started her career at UBS, eventually becoming a co-head of its U.S. Fixed Income Division.
As head of human resources and talent, Pillmore will lead all aspects of SVPGlobal’s human capital strategy, including talent management, development and recruiting and its existing global human resources team. She will work closely with the management council to continue to build the firm’s talent. Pillmore also will lead SVPGlobal’s diversity and inclusion initiatives to further build an organization and culture that attracts, retains and develops a preeminent team. She will transition from her current roles over the fourth quarter and be full time at SVPGlobal from the start of 2021.
Pillmore most recently supported Oxford Sciences Innovation on all aspects of People across its portfolio. She previously served as chief human resources officer at Hirtle Callaghan, where she partnered with Nagaswami when she was CEO. Prior to Hirtle Callaghan, she led all aspects of human capital for two of Expedia Group’s premier brands, Hotwire and CarRentals.com, as well as diversity and inclusion for Expedia globally.
“We are proud that Ranji and Sarah have joined SVPGlobal’s senior leadership team. In partnering closely with Ranji over the past six months, we quickly recognized her skills as an exceptional investment industry leader and, importantly for us, her fit with our culture. Sarah brings a wealth of experience as a strategic people leader and value-added business partner. She will advance the significant commitment we have made to recruiting, developing and retaining world-class talent. Ranji and Sarah bring diverse backgrounds, skills and proven leadership abilities that will complement our strong existing platform,” Khosla said.
SVPGlobal is a global investment firm focused on distressed debt and private equity opportunities with $9.8 billion in assets under management.
