Meet Our Leaders

BV Jagadeesh is a seasoned investor, entrepreneur, and technology leader with a proven track record of guiding startups to successful exits. As Managing Partner at KAAJ Ventures, he has been instrumental in the success of companies like Nutanix and Yodlee, with several others acquired by industry giants such as VMware, Dell, and Juniper Networks.

Previously, Jagadeesh was the founding investor and CEO of NetScaler, leading it to a $325M acquisition by Citrix. He also co-founded Exodus Communications, where he helped shape the concept of Internet data centers and took the company public in 1998.

Jagadeesh remains an active investor and board member for startups in Silicon Valley and shares his expertise as an adjunct faculty member at Santa Clara University. Beyond business, he supports education and social welfare initiatives through nonprofits like the UVCE Foundation, One School at a Time, and Akshaya Patra.

Abhijit Phanse is the CEO of UnitedLayer and UnityOne.AI, driving innovation and growth in hybrid cloud solutions. UnitedLayer, headquartered in San Francisco, is a leading provider of colocation, software-defined private cloud, managed cloud services, and multicloud management solutions, operating across 25+ core and 150+ edge data centers worldwide. UnityOne.AI is a cutting-edge hybrid cloud management SaaS platform, offering Data Center Infrastructure Management, AIOps, Cloud Management, Cost Optimization, and Sustainability solutions.

With over two decades of leadership, operating, and investment experience in the technology sector, Abhijit is known for his visionary approach and entrepreneurial drive. He also serves as Managing Partner at Accelon Capital, a private equity firm that invests in high-growth technology companies.

Before leading UnitedLayer, Abhijit co-founded and served as CEO of Scintera, a provider of high-performance chipsets for wireless base stations and networking, which was successfully acquired by INPHI and later Maxim Integrated (MXIM). He also held key leadership roles at National Semiconductor, where he oversaw the development and commercialization of multiple generations of Ethernet networking products.

Abhijit holds a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida, and an MS in Management from Stanford Graduate School of Business. A prolific innovator, he has authored numerous publications and holds over 50 US patents.

In his free time, Abhijit enjoys playing his Fender Stratocaster.

Mr. Peterson brings over thirty years of experience in founding, managing, and advising high-growth companies across a diverse range of industries, including high-tech, real estate, investment management, and tech-enabled services. Early in his career, he was a partner at the world’s largest private real estate development and management company. Throughout his career, Mr. Peterson has been a founding partner and investor in multiple venture capital, private equity, and real estate investment funds, managing assets exceeding $2 billion.

He has played a pivotal role in numerous transactions and financings, collectively worth billions of dollars. Mr. Peterson continues to serve on the boards of both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including Fifth Partners.

Mr. Peterson graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Brigham Young University and earned his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He is a proud father of five and a grandfather of two. He currently resides in Millcreek, Utah, with his wife of nearly thirty-five years.