We are thrilled to welcome Rajeev Chand, long-time friend of Wing, as our Partner and Head of Research. At Wing, Rajeev will drive Wing’s thought leadership, connections, and visibility. He will conduct and present proprietary research, host exclusive summits and meetings, and build and manage a differentiated founder and executive network.
Over 17 years, Rajeev built and led the research and events franchise at Rutberg & Company, the most visible boutique investment bank in mobile and wireless. Rutberg was Rajeev’s third startup, which he joined three months after founding, and grew it into a premier, global, influential network and brand. He co-created the Rutberg summits in 2005, including the flagship Wireless Influencers. He is well known for heading the summits and interviewing many of the most influential leaders in global business and technology.
Research has always been part of Wing’s Founding Ethos. Wing’s core tenet is focusing limited resources to deliver maximum impact. A small set of founding principles, translate this into action, including:
- Early-stage investing in ventures with the potential to be Consequential Companies
- Supporting Founders Long Term as they build enduring profitable businesses
- Thesis driven – we pursue investments in areas about to see tectonic transformation, which we understand deeply, where we have some experience, and a network. This allows us to manage the material uncertainty associated with investing pre-adoption; i.e. before success is obvious via customer adoption metrics and data.
Research is intimately associated with these founding principles. Proprietary Research will drive our understanding of fresh investment areas and refresh existing ones. Presentation of this research drives thought leadership. Exclusive summits and meetings contribute to gathering and testing research, to building and fostering a deep meaningful network of experts, as well as exposing and connecting our portfolio and other companies of interest to experts and business partners. This is exactly what Rajeev executed so successfully at Rutberg and will now prosecute at Wing. One could say that Rajeev has been the prototype for our Head of Research role since Wing was founded.
I have been attending the Rutberg summits since they started in 2005. Rajeev has been a friend and trusted business partner since then. His research coverage included companies such as Aruba Networks, RingCentral, Jawbone, Jasper Wireless, Ruckus Wireless, and MobileIron—where I was an investor, advisor, or board member. I recall with fondness some of Rajeev’s masterful moments on stage—including an infamous interview with the CEO of a major device OEM on the future of his business post-iPhone and Android.
Over the years, I have introduced Rajeev to many companies, and have developed an appreciation and regard for his focus on first order issues. He often asks questions founders and board members wish weren’t asked, or ones we hadn’t thought about. His talents for persuasion were no small part of the franchise he helped build at Rutberg. These qualities and strengths amongst others are a significant addition to our DNA at Wing.
His first initiative is the Wing Summit on Security, which includes 100 CSOs and CISOs in a closed-door, invitation-only setting and will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco in March 2019. In addition, he is holding a private dinner and a private academy for our portfolio company CEOs, and he is building a daily briefing on technology and venture trends.
Rajeev, Welcome to Wing!
