General Partner
Dr. Massand is an accomplished and versatile, multi-specialty physician, with capabilities and experience in all areas of Anesthesiology practice. He is currently a practicing multi-specialty anesthesiologist, President and chief of medical staff, Associate Chairman of the department of anesthesia, Co-Director of the department of pediatric anesthesia and Chairman of Credentials Committee for Good Samaritan Hospital in New York.
Bimal also has extensive investing experience funding startups over the years and founded the Piton Group, where he is a General Partner. He believes in funding entrepreneurs and enabling the growth of their concepts, using professional industry experts. His underlying belief in caring for people has made him a household name in the medical and investment communities.
Bimal earned his medical degree at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
Expert Advisor
Partha is an experienced physician with over 30 years of service. He has been part of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the past 12 years, serving various countries as the Medical Officer for Tuberculosis in the South-East Asia Regional office of the WHO
His past includes senior positions in the Ministry of Health and FW, Government of India (Deputy Program Manager, National TB Control Program of India). His extensive international experience in working with international non governmental partners, (International Union against TB and Lung Disease, as Regional Coordinator responsible for managing public health interventions under the Bloomberg Global Initiative, in Bangladesh, Indonesia & India), gives him a unique perspective on large transformational initiatives and he brings this expert lens to bear on Piton’s International clients. Partha is based in New Delhi, giving Piton Group presence in emerging markets
Partha earned his medical degree at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.
General Partner
Rishal is a strategic technologist who excels at transforming complex problems into concrete, integrated solutions. His work spans the demanding fields of AI, Robotics, Finance, and Logistics, giving him a multidimensional perspective on innovation.
Rather than simply creating demos of novel technology, Rishal architects and builds robust platforms designed for immediate impact. This approach ensures that his solutions are not just impressive, but practical and scalable for real-world application.
Strategic Advisor
Zarir is an advisor and guide to the team at Piton Group, as it grows and scales.
Zarir is currently President of Allen Interactions, an e-learning and engineering firm, and has been President & CEO of Sun Country Airlines, CIO of Hallmark Business Connections, among other senior leadership roles. He specializes in making the complex simple and ensuring that the team has a clear purpose/vision and roadmap to achieve operational excellence and revenue growth. As a client facing leader, he begins with a focus on people and culture, leveraging this approach to bring the strategy to life. He has expertise and passion for e-business technologies, particularly SaaS based systems, along with strategic planning, market positioning, talent management, operations management & optimization.
For the past twenty years, Zarir has been responsible for providing executive leadership at several organizations ensuring horizontal integration within those companies, by specializing in digital transformation and pivoting organizations for relevancy and growth. He has worked on numerous projects for industry-leading Fortune companies and is often appreciated for being an inspirational change agent.
Zarir has a B.S in Computer Science, Finance, & Marketing from Minnesota State University – Mankato and an MBA with specialization in Management Information Systems from the University of St. Thomas.
Senior Partner
Chanda Varma is an executive with experience in enterprise transformation, P&L ownership, finance leadership, operational strategy, investment banking and private equity. Chanda’s focus commonly involves business model development, scaling start-ups, M&A activities (acquisitions/divestitures), business synergy creation and growth acceleration.
Chanda has worked to incubate and grow several start-ups in the Greater Midwest, United Kingdom, and India. Efforts have extended across phases such as due diligence, valuation, restructuring, angel investing, leadership team selection, organizational development, performance management, and vendor partnerships. Client delivery and transaction outcomes have been achieved in fintech, SaaS hedge fund trading platform, insurance & retirement, telecommunications, and airborne platform industry segments.
Previous commercial experience includes leadership roles with Fortune 500 brands in investment banking, insurance, risk management, transportation, retail, and financial services. Various roles with private equity and start-up firms have included founder advisory, portfolio management, and executive leadership roles as CSO, CFO, and COO.
Chanda earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Delhi and a Master’s degree from the University of Delaware.
Senior Partner
Stephen Davis is a general management and marketing executive with experience in P&L ownership, strategy, and innovation. Mr. Davis’ focus commonly involves growth acceleration and margin expansion through end-to-end strategy, planning, consumer insight, customer analytics, predictive modeling, marketing optimization, and sales force effectiveness efforts. Previous commercial experience includes Associate, Principal, and Partner roles with leading consulting firms as well as leadership roles related to corporate strategy, planning, and turnaround efforts with several Fortune 50 brands.
Mr. Davis is also a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Bosnia. His command and functional leadership roles include experience in Europe, Middle East, Africa, AsiaPacific, and Latin America as well as military and commercial consulting experience with all U.S. military services, the Pentagon, The Joint Staff, and each of the national intelligence agencies. Mr. Davis earned his BA at the University of Minnesota, an MBA from Boston University, and MS in Strategic Intelligence from National Defense Intelligence College. He is also a Six Sigma Black Belt and Project Management Professional.
Senior Partner
Ishan is a talented brand strategist with over a decade of experience delivering creative holistic customer solutions. His pedigree includes consumer and B2B marketing with a strong emphasis on Omni channel campaigns, acquired at agencies in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Minneapolis. Ishan has a wide industry experience having created innovative strategies for CPG, healthcare, food and beverage, financial services, technology and non-profit organizations.
Ishan’s exuberance and his continuous strive for brining innovative solutions to his customers in a way that engages people to deliver the impactful, simply. He has a holistic mindset which allows him to deliver an approach of creating simplicity from the complex. Ishan completed his Bachelors at the University of Minnesota.
Senior Partner
Travis is a results-driven, analytical sales leader fueled by a passion for challenge and adventure. He thrives in a fast-paced, customer responsive environment. His experience spreads across a broad range of industries including financial services, CPG, retail, wholesale, distribution and medical devices.
Travis’ small-town, Iron Range roots followed by growth phases in Washington, DC and Minneapolis afford him the unique ability to communicate with everyone in an organization from the hourly employees powering a team to the C-suite members driving it.
The diversity of his organizational experience spans from global financial services giants to family-owned intergenerational businesses. He’s grown market share with established, name-brand products and helped develop markets and even categories for new product launches.
Travis excels at bridging differences and aligning stakeholders. His cognitive empathy and critical thinking skills are a tremendous asset in implementing solutions for businesses that can benefit from a fresh perspective. Travis started off in the engineering program at Michigan Technological University and finished his Bachelor’s degree in Economics at Georgetown University.
Marketing Strategist
Maya Mandal draws from her interest in arts and technology to manage a diverse range of ad hoc projects, business operations, and technology at Piton. With her marketing experience spanning several fields such as real estate, event planning, and customer relations, Maya brings a unique blend of strategic reasoning and hands-on experience to her role.
Detail and logic oriented, Maya excels in scientific and critical thinking. She is very perceptive and quick to grasp new concepts. A fan of puzzles, she is able to apply her problem solving skills to real world issues.
Maya is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, with an emphasis in Ethics.
Intern
By combining a strong analytical foundation with diverse, hands-on leadership experience, Logan brings a unique perspective to solving complex challenges and driving strategic improvements. He possesses a dynamic range of interests, from the disciplined strategies of finance to the boundless creativity of the arts.
Logan is currently a student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in Computer Science.