Mindtree co-founder, former Fidelity exec join CDC board
A view of the CDC office. Photo credit: CDC
CDC Group Plc, the UK government’s impact investor, has strengthened its line-up of non-executive directors with two new appointments.
Krishnakumar Natarajan, co-founder of Indian IT company Mindtree Ltd, and Kathryn Matthews, the former chief investment officer for Asia (excluding Japan) equities at Fidelity International, have joined the board of CDC.
Matthews replaces outgoing director Wim Borgdorff and becomes the chair of CDC’s risk committee, the British firm said in a statement. Natarajan replaces Keki Mistry, vice chairman of mortgage lender HDFC Ltd, on the CDC board.
Natarajan had quit Mindtree in 2019 when engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd bought the IT company.
The Mindtree co-founder is currently managing partner at Mela Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund in India. He and his wife also run the Mela Foundation, which helps girls in rural India to gain professional qualifications. He was also previously the chairman of NASSCOM, the lobby group for the country’s IT industry.
Prior to working at Fidelity, Matthews held senior positions at AXA Investment Managers, Santander Global Advisers and Baring Asset Management. She has also previously been on the board of a number of investment companies including Fidelity Asian Values and JP Morgan Chinese Investment Trust.
Matthews is currently a member of the council for the Duchy of Lancaster, and a director of the Vietnamese Opportunities Fund. She also sits on the board of Barclays UK plc and Pendal Group, a global asset management company based in Australia.
Graham Wrigley, chairman of CDC, said that her appointment helps CDC achieve the milestone of realising 50:50 gender balance on the board.
