About
Expert

Reena V Mithal

Former Brookings India Expert

Reena is the founder of Sankhya Capital LLC, investing in and working closely with small enterprises in skill development, financial inclusion and healthcare in India and the US. Previously, she spent over two decades working in global financial markets and investment research. Reena was on the founding team and Board of Directors at CreditSights Inc., an independent credit research firm based in New York, London, and Singapore. She was also part of US-based Emerging Markets research teams at Putnam Investments, Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers.

Reena is a faculty member and on the Advisory Council of the Vedica Scholars Program for Women in Delhi. She is also currently on the Advisory Board of Columbia University’s India Business Initiative where she will be focusing on issues related to financial inclusion. Reena is an active Member of Plum Alley Investments, a US-based investment group that supports and invests in female entrepreneurs. She has been a speaker and panelist on impact investment and social enterprise forums including Sankalp, USAID’s Workshop on Gender Lens Investing in Asia, and the Saving Lives at Birth Symposium. She is on the Board of Governors of Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, and on the Board of Trustees of Commit to Change, dedicated to educating abandoned and impoverished girls in India.

Reena has a PhD in Economics and Finance from Columbia University’s Business School, and has worked on projects for the World Bank, IMF and the Council on Foreign Relations.  She has an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a BA from St. Stephen’s College (History), Delhi University.

  • Current Positions

    • Founder of Sankhya Capital LLC, NY
    • Faculty member and Member, Advisory Council of the Vedica Scholars Program for Women, Delhi
    • Member of Advisory Board of Columbia University’s India Business Initiative
    • Member, Plum Alley Investments
    • Member, Board of Trustees of Commit to Change
    • Member, Board of Governors of Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun
  • Past Positions

    • Managing Director, CreditSights Asia Research Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India
    • Director, Head of Risk Products; Senior Quantitative Strategist, CreditSights Inc. New York, NY
    • Chairperson of the Board, Collegiate Charter Schools, New York
    • Senior Emerging Markets Strategist, Putnam Investments
    • Vice President, Emerging Markets Research, Deutsche Bank
    • Vice President, Corporate Bond Research, Lehman Brothers
    • Manager, International Marketing, AT&T
    • Member of Advisory Council of Women Effect
  • Education

    • PhD in Economics and Finance, Columbia Business School
    • Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD), The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
    • MA in International Relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University
    • BA in History, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University