Raja Kaul

Raja Kaul is EVP and Head of International at Sundial Brands. Raja also sits on the SFO Portfolio Management Committee which oversees SFO’s investments in SFO operated funds, including the New Voices Fund and New General Market Partners Fund. As part of the SFO leadership team, he helps to lead the effort to capture the impact of SFO’s Community Commerce business purpose and “PACE” investment approach across SFO’s portfolios and investments. “PACE” is SFO’s investment model to support entrepreneurs of color who have purpose-driven businesses with access, capital and expertise.

Prior to the founding of SFO and Essence Ventures, Raja worked for Sundial Brands LLC, manufacturers of SheaMoisture, a lifestyle cross-category personal care brand, and a leading provider of multicultural beauty products. As a member of the Liberian immigrant family that started Sundial Brands, Raja held various positions at Sundial including Advisory Board Member, Head of International and Chief Operating Officer. In 2017, Unilever acquired Sundial in what has been described as the largest US multicultural beauty deal done to date.

Before Sundial, Raja was country director for the Millennium Challenge Corporation in Malawi and Zambia. Prior to that, he led the United Nations Development Programme’s project in Senegal to provide technical support to 11 African governments on negotiating natural resources contracts. Raja has also held a number of executive and senior positions at US multinational companies and with a leading non-profit focused on African development.

Raja holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Quebec, and a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School in New York. He is married and has two sons.