Arif Damji

Arif Damji is a Principal at Conductive Ventures with $250M in AUM focused on investments in the areas of software, hardware and technology enabled services. He co-leads investments across both the software and hardware spectrum and works with existing portfolio companies on special initiatives.

Prior to Conductive Ventures, Arif spent his career in operating and advisory roles. He most recently led innovation at Kosta Browne, an allocation-based, private equity-owned winery. His mandate spanned across marketing, sales (direct and wholesale), and analytics to drive acquisition and retention metrics. Kosta Browne was acquired by Duckhorn in 2018.

Prior to Kosta Browne, Arif worked at 500friends, a VC-backed startup that built a SaaS retention marketing platform for retailers. He owned marketing, finance and strategy during his tenure, and helped the company grow to more than 50 clients with a total of 40 million active members. The company was successfully acquired by Dentsu, where Arif continued to help sustain the growth of the client base.

Arif started his career at McKinsey & Company, where he helped senior executives solve strategic issues and uncover possible growth avenues. He focused on the marketing and sales practice across hospitality and financial services industries.

Arif has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and an M.L. from Penn Law at the University of Pennsylvania. He also graduated with an M.S. in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Cambridge.