Prakash A. Melwani

Prakash A. Melwani is a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and is based in New York. He is Chief Investment Officer of the Private Equity Group and chairs each of its Investment Committees. Since joining Blackstone in 2003, Mr. Melwani has led Blackstone’s investments in Kosmos Energy, Foundation Coal, Texas Genco, Ariel Re, Pinnacle Foods, RGIS Inventory Specialists, Performance Food Group, Crocs and Ascend Learning. He serves as a Director of Ascend Learning and Blackstone strategic partner, Patria. Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Melwani was a founding partner of Vestar Capital Partners and served as its Chief Investment Officer. Prior to that, he was with the management buyout group at The First Boston Corporation and with N.M. Rothschild & Sons in Hong Kong and London. Mr. Melwani received a First Class Honors degree in Economics from Cambridge University, England, and an MBA with High Distinction from the Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar and a Loeb Rhodes Fellow. Mr. Melwani sits on the Boards of St. Bernard’s School in New York City and The Akanksha Fund. He serves on the Board of Dean’s Advisors at Harvard Business School, the President's Council on International Activities at Yale University, and the Board of Cambridge in America. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.