NetSAP October Dinner Circle

Peer Networking and Mentoring

Have you been searching for the opportunity to meet and get to know other South Asian professionals in the Boston area?

Are you the type that prefers small dinners with friends over raucous nights out at clubs? Do you want to know more about different career fields, and didn't know who to ask?

Well, then come participate in the Dinner Circle.
These small group dinners are designed to provide comfortable, intimate settings where young professionals with similar interests can have meaningful conversations and expand their social and professional relationships. In addition, they present an opportunity to meet experienced and successful professionals from the industry of your choice, who can guide you, and answer your questions.

• Havell Rodrigues, Vice President, Venus Capital
     (Area: Business Development, Entrepreneurship, Medical Device Start-ups)
  
• Nirav G. Desai, Managing Director, Sparta Group LLC
     (Area: Finance, Business Management, Non-profits)
  
• Deepa Soni, NeuroSurgeon, BMC/BU
     (Area: Healthcare, Medicine)
  

Where:	Bombay Club 57 JFK Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA Directions: click here
When:	6:30pm - 9:00pm, Thursday, October 25th
Cost:	$20 for the meal
Registration:
Advance registration is required. *NO Walkins*. Last Date to Register: October 24th, 2007!
Contact:	Shobhit Chugh, Socio-Professional chair at dcircle@netsapboston.org
October Dinner Circle Mentor Bios Havell Rodrigues , Vice President, Venus Capital Havell focuses on institutional sales and business development at Venus. He has a strong background in business development with experience in the Medical and IT industries in Asia, and more recently, in the Risk Management and Electro-Optic Engineering industries in the US. Havell is the co-founder of the Forum on Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Babson College and his published research projects include "Venture Capital Investments in Massachusetts Medical Device Start-ups" and "Russia and the WTO: A National Business Systems Perspective." Havell earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Statistics and completed Masters-level education in Financial Economics and Econometrics at the University of Mumbai. Havell earned his MBA at Babson College, where he was selected for Babson's Finance Immersion Program and served as Chairman of the Northeast Regional Venture Capital Investment Competition. Havell is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst charterholder. Nirav G. Desai, Managing Director, Sparta Group LLC Nirav Desai has been a successful as an investment professional and executive. He brings broad talent to a wide range of investments in public/hedge funds, private equity, and international areas. He is currently the Managing Director of Sparta Group LLC, the private investment office for Gururaj "Desh" Deshpande, where he manages a broad investment portfolio across asset classes including hedge funds, private equity, direct investments, real assets, and public securities. Prior to Sparta, Nirav was a Principal at Paladin Capital Group, a DC-based private equity group focused on general middle market transactions and homeland security technologies. At Paladin, he invested in six companies including board positions at Application Security, Inc. and Courion Corporation. In addition, he has experience in the investment banking group at Adams, Harkness & Hill, and fixed income group at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in NY. Nirav started his career as a naval intelligence officer in the US Navy with assignments at the NSA, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative. Nirav earned his MBA from The Wharton School and BA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is a Charter Member of TIE-Boston, where he co-chairs the mentorship group and an active member of the Wharton Private Equity Network. Deepa Soni, NeuroSurgeon, BMC/BU Dr. Deepa Soni is Director of Cerebrovascular Neurosurgery at Boston Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine. She studied biochemistry and French at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor before completing her M.D. at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC. Dr. Soni then completed seven years of neurosurgical residency training at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) / Children's Hospital / Harvard Medical School, making her the 2nd woman ever to complete the BHW / Harvard neurosurgical residency program, in its entirety, in the history of the program. Following neurosurgery training, Deepa spent a year in Sydney, Australia completing a cerebrovascular fellowship under the mentorship of Professor Michael Morgan. Dr. Soni has an extensive basic science and clinical research background, and classifies herself as a true translationsist. Her interest in clinical research and health policy prompted her to obtain a Masters of Public Health (MPH) at the Harvard School of Public Health, which was the launching point for her interest in the design and implementation surgical clinical trials. Dr. Soni has a diverse variety of professional interests spanning from studying the molecular properties of brain tumors to developing standardized clinical practices for the surgical treatment of brain tumors and cerebral aneurysms. She is vocal on gender issues, especially as it relates to women in science and the gender gap in her profession. In her free time, Deepa enjoys singing (specifically karaoke), traveling, and creative essay writing.