Venkat has been leader in private capital for more than two decades in different capacities. Delivering value for GPs with extensive diligence work to make investment decisions and transformation work for portfolio companies to enhance returns – getting rewarded for “value creation and performance not just advise”. Most recently as a joint fund investor in broader tech space and specifically in AI, invested in 28 companies, realized 10 outcomes and 5 of 10 with positive returns.
With his current role as the CEO and Managing Partner of SanTuri Ventures and role as a Senior Partner and Global leader of McKinsey’s Tech and Telecommunications Practice and prior operating roles at GE and 3M, Venkat brings a unique blend of analytical horsepower, strategic perspectives and operating expertise. He has extensive global leadership experience across multiple continents (across more than 40 countries) in articulating a clear vision and attracting, inspiring, motivating, and building teams with unparalleled talent. He has deep expertise in turning around and transforming companies of various shapes and sizes by setting company direction, growth priorities and transformation paths – emphasis on value creation for all stakeholders. He leveraged a performance-based model he pioneered, getting rewarded for delivering tangible value and measurable results to a wide range of companies, rather than a traditional fee-for-advice model.
Venkat partners with entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and boards to create value through new business building from scale-up to initial public offerings (IPO), programmatic mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and end-to-end performance transformation. Keenly interested in the future of technology, Venkat brings a special focus on the cross-sector opportunities at the intersection of new technologies (AI and Gen AI) and emerging business models. Led deals of varying scale and scope (millions to billions), from diligence to post investment and merger integration to value realization.
Venkat is a leading expert on the vast and emerging opportunities—created by the network connectivity of devices, systems, platforms, and people—powered by AI software and hardware. He draws on this expertise to guide clients through the design and deployment of network and ecosystem-based businesses across sectors leveraging AI. A thought leader at McKinsey, Venkat is a prolific author and sought-after speaker at industry events. He recently published a book on The Ecosystem Economy: How to Lead in the New Age of Sectors Without Borders.
He has held many leadership positions throughout his tenure at the firm. He recently led global tech/telecom practice. Venkat cofounded and led McKinsey’s work in Internet of Things (IoT). As the founding member of our New Ventures group, he helped to incubate new analytics, AI and digital assets, develop innovative client offerings, and build alliances and partnerships with innovators. Recently, he spearheaded digital, analytics (AI and Gen AI), and tech-enabled transformations for clients in advanced industries. Venkat also led efforts globally for the TMT Practice to help clients fast-track and sustain transformational impact through leadership alignment, execution support, capability building, and leadership development; with a distinctive set of assets and exceptional AI driven digital-learning programs.
Venkat Atluri earned master’s degree in business administration from Booth School of Business from University of Chicago in 2001, where he teaches as an Adjunct Professor. He also teaches as an Adjunct at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
Outside of McKinsey, Venkat serves on the board of 1871 – a leading start-up incubator in the world. He is a founding member and chairman of the board for Current Water, a nonprofit with a mission to nurture companies that are developing innovative water technologies to solve the world’s water challenges. Current Water is a recipient of the recent Great Lakes ReNew NSF grant of $165 million.