Hitesh Thakrar

Hitesh Thakrar- Early stage investor, partner at Syncona Ltd

KQ Labs Steering Board Member

Hitesh Thakrar is an experienced technology investor, with over 25 years’ experience investing in public equities in the life sciences, information technology and innovation sectors.

Since 2015, he has moved into early stage venture investing. Hitesh is currently a Venture Partner at Syncona Limited (a Wellcome Trust backed early stage venture fund); a Governance Board Member of KQ Labs at the Francis Crick Institute; and the Chair of the Investment Committee for Newable Ventures (a pre-Series A deep tech fund).

Hitesh is also an advisor to UKRI’s Science and Technology Funding Council (SFTC) that helps early stage companies spin out from UK universities. He recently joined as a Trustee of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charity. Previous non-executive director roles include work with Desktop Genetics and Tropic Biosciences, both companies using CRISPR technology in gene editing.  

Prior to 2015, Hitesh worked at various public market institutions in global equity research and fund management including ADIA (Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund), JP Morgan, Aviva Group, Dresdner Bank and New Star Asset Management.

Hitesh has a degree in chemistry from Kings College, London, an MBA from Cranfield University and a CFA from the American Association of Investment Analysts. He has previously held a position as Innovation Fellow at the University of Cambridge.