Deven Parekh is an American venture capitalist, philanthropist, Democratic fundraiser and public servant. He is managing director at Insight Partners, a New York City venture capital and private equity firm.[1][2] Parekh is a noted donor and fundraiser for Democratic politicians.[3] He has served in multiple government advisory roles, and is currently a member of the board of directors for the Council on Foreign Relations and the US International Development Finance Corporation (previously the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Board).

Deven Parekh
Born (1969-07-18) July 18, 1969 (age 55)
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania, BS Economics
Children2

Early life and education

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Parekh was raised in Livingston, New Jersey.[4]

He graduated in 1991 with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.[5]

Career

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Private sector

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Parekh began his career at The Blackstone Group and Berenson Minella & Company before joining Insight Partners (formerly known as Insight Venture Partners) in 2000.[6]

Parekh's investments include Twitter, Alibaba, Calm, and Saks.com.[7][8][9][10]

As of June 2022, Parekh serves as board chair for Appriss[5][11] and serves on the board of directors for companies including Fanatics,[12] Within3,[13] 1stdibs,[14] Checkout.com,[15] and WeWork.[16]

Parekh was selected to the Forbes Midas List from 2014 through 2018.[17][18]

Board Membership

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From 2010-2012 Parekh served as a member of the advisory board of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.[19] He also served on the Technical Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission from 2011-2018.[20]

Parekh served as a member on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation board from 2016-2018.[21] He was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2016.[22][23] In June 2020, President Donald Trump nominated Parekh to the board of directors of the US International Development Finance Corporation, which succeeded the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Board.[24][25] Parekh was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2020.[26]

Parekh was appointed to the board of The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City in 2018, and served until 2020.[27]

In July 2021, Parekh was named one of four winners of the 2021 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, also known as the Ripple of Hope Award, citing both his business and charitable work.[28] Fellow winners included politician and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams.[29]

Philanthropy

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In 2021, Parekh and his wife Monika donated $10 million to found the Parekh Center for Interdisciplinary Neurology at NYU Langone, which focuses on research into treatments for neurodegenerative diseases including multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.[30][31]

Fundraising and political donations

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Parekh is a major fundraiser for the Democratic party, having raised a total of $988,590 for Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaign, with $606,000 of that raised in 2011 and 2012.[32] In 2016, he became the first Indian American to raise more than $100,000 for then-candidate Hillary Clinton.[33][34]

In 2020, Parekh was named to a list of Joe Biden’s bundlers who raised at least $100,000 for his presidential campaign.[35]

In October and May 2020, Parekh co-hosted virtual fundraisers for president Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign with Roger Altman and Blair Effron.[36][37] The fundraiser was held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns. In 2023, he co-hosted a fundraiser for the Joe Biden 2024 presidential campaign.[38]

Board positions

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Parekh is a member of the board for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, NYU Langone[5] and the Tisch MS Research Center of New York.[39][40] Parekh is a board member of the Council on Foreign Relations[29] and member of the Economic Club of New York.[41] From 2007 to 2012, Parekh served as chairman of the board of Publicolor, and he was previously a member of the board of trustees and executive committee for the Ethical Culture Fieldston School.[5][42]

In 2006, Parekh was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.[43]

Personal life

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Parekh lives in New York City with his wife and two children.[44]

References

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  1. ^ Kim, Eugene (2017-08-27). "Three ways to beat Amazon in e-commerce, according to an Alibaba investor". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  2. ^ "Insight Partners' Deven Parekh Reflects on Tech Investing With $20 Billion to Spend". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  3. ^ "Ten big Silicon Valley money players behind this November's U.S. midterm elections". Vox. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  4. ^ "WEDDINGS; Monika Parekh, Deven Parekh". The New York Times. 1998-07-12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  5. ^ a b c d Staff Writer. "President Trump to nominate New Yorker to key finance agency | News India Times". Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  6. ^ Reporter, India-West Staff. "Trump Plans to Nominate Indian American Executive Deven Parekh to IDFC Board". India West. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  7. ^ Thomas, Lauren (2021-03-05). "Saks Fifth Avenue owner spins e-commerce site into separate business". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  8. ^ "Clinton supporters Mahinder Tak, Deven Parekh become first Indian American 'Hillblazers'". The American Bazaar. 2015-07-19. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  9. ^ Ravet, Hagar (2020-02-27). "The Market Is Far From Saturation, Says Insight Partners Director". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  10. ^ "How COVID-19 has changed investing, according to VCs at Sequoia, Insight, Forerunner, 500 Startups, and more". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  11. ^ Mann, David A. (Aug 10, 2021). "Appriss sells business unit in $1.8 billion deal". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  12. ^ Moin, David (2021-06-14). "Pro-Basketball Star James Harden Joins Saks Board". WWD. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  13. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (24 September 2020). "Ohio-based collaboration service for biotech and pharma research, Within3, raises $100 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  14. ^ Griffith, Erin. "Exclusive: 1stdibs quietly raised $50 million from Insight Venture Partners". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  15. ^ "Payments firm Checkout fundraising values it at nearly $2 billion". Reuters. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  16. ^ Turner, Giles. "WeWork agrees to $9 billion SPAC deal in new path to go public". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  17. ^ "11 Indian-Americans in Forbes Midas's best venture investors". The Indian Panorama. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  18. ^ Ravet, Hagar (2020-02-27). "The Market Is Far From Saturation, Says Insight Partners Director". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  19. ^ "Trump intends to nominates Indian American to IDFC Board". The Week. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  20. ^ Nagesh, Gautham (2011-02-15). "FCC adds six to Technical Advisory Council". TheHill. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  21. ^ "Trump taps Indian American Deven Parekh for key post". The American Bazaar. 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  22. ^ "US Senate Confirms Indian-American Deven Parekh For Key Post In OPIC". The Indian Panorama. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  23. ^ "Barack Obama names two Indian-Americans for key posts". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  24. ^ "Trump Nominates Entrepreneur Deven Parekh to US International Development Finance Corporation". INDIA New England News. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  25. ^ "Trump Redirects Foreign Aid Agency To Work On Pandemic. Congress Has Questions". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  26. ^ "User Clip: Deven Parekh DFC confirmation | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  27. ^ Mozumder, Suman Guha. "2 Indian-Americans appointed to NYC Mayor's Fund Board of Advisors". IndiaAbroad.com. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  28. ^ "What a top global tech investment firm sees in its home city". Crain's New York. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  29. ^ a b Reporter, India-West Staff. "Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Names Insight Partners Managing Director Deven Parekh a 2021 Ripple of Hope Award Laureate". India West. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  30. ^ "Northwell drops UnitedHealthcare as employee health benefits administrator". Crain's New York. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  31. ^ "NYU Langone Health Launches Parekh Center for Interdisciplinary Neurology to Accelerate Scientific Discovery". NYU Langone Health. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  32. ^ "Obama's Top Fund-Raisers". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  33. ^ "Indian Americans raise millions for Biden-Harris ticket". The American Bazaar. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  34. ^ "2 Indian-Americans Raise US $100,000 Each for Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign: Report". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  35. ^ Schwartz, Brian (2020-11-02). "Joe Biden's fundraiser list includes more than 30 executives with Wall Street ties". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  36. ^ "Biden Campaign Limits Press Access During Wall Street Fundraiser". Time. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  37. ^ Schwartz, Brian (2020-10-14). "Joe Biden tells donors he spoke with Warren Buffett about how America can lead the world". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  38. ^ "Centerbridge Co-Founder Gallogly to Host Biden Fundraiser in NYC". Bloomberg.com. 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  39. ^ "Barack Obama names two Indian-Americans for key posts". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  40. ^ "People in the News (06/09/19): Appointments, Promotions, Obituaries". Philanthropy News Digest. 2019-06-04.
  41. ^ Reporter, India-West Staff. "Executives Vijay Dandapani, Deven Parekh Named to NYC Mayor Advisory Board". India West. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  42. ^ West, Melanie Grayce. "Helping Schools Make a Splash". WSJ. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  43. ^ "Obama campaign raises $86m with help from desi fundraisers". Firstpost. 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  44. ^ "Deven Parekh". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
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