Lopa Desai
Managing Director, Investor, Board Member, Strategist
I am passionate about bringing Decision Education to students in the K-12 learning environment. In my own life, I have come to view the application of knowledge from the decision sciences as a core skill, particularly in a world filled with change, innovation, and uncertainty. We are all given imperfect choices in life, and learning how to make the best bets based on information you have is essential. I was lucky to develop these skills informally thanks to mentors and the study of human-centered design early in my career. Today we have an opportunity to equip children with these skills much earlier and more thoughtfully. I truly believe Decision Education has the power to transform their lives and build a better future for students, their families, and their communities.
Lopa Desai is the long-time Managing Director of Niraat. There she leads a variety of initiatives for a family office, including public and private equity investments, and trust and estate planning.
In recent years, Lopa has influenced and made connections in the fields of investment and philanthropy. She sits on the Advisory Board at Transcend Wealth Partners, and on the Executive Committee at the Forge Community, which connects single family offices using a peer-to-peer network. She is also currently on the Advisory Board for Institutional Investor’s Single Family Office Symposiums. Recently she joined the Advisory Board for Fidelity Charitable focused on Next Gen donors.
Prior to focusing her professional efforts on planning and investment management, Lopa co-founded Glifft, helping to develop a consumer iOS app that utilized machine learning to engage product discovery. She also scaled operations and implemented commercial reorganization at offices worldwide at ?What If! Innovation, a company that specializes in leading innovation across markets. She also held positions in marketing and strategy with a variety of consumer brands such as Nike, Seventh Generation, Mars and The New York Times.
Lopa earned an MBA in Marketing, Management and Strategy from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in Design Management from the Parsons School of Design.