Growing companies with advanced AI

Dr. Romesh Wadhwani is the founder, chairman, and CEO of SAIGroup, a fast-growing operating group of leading AI companies that deliver a new generation of advanced AI solutions to transform the enterprise. SAIGroup companies focus on driving revenue growth and operational excellence for customers in their vertical sectors, including retail, CPG, life sciences, payer/provider, manufacturing and process industries, defense, financial services, and media.

Prior to founding SAIGroup, Dr. Wadhwani was the founder and CEO of Symphony Technology, a strategic private equity firm that builds great software and technology-enabled services companies. Dr. Wadhwani founded STG in 2002, growing it from startup to $ 2.5 billion in combined revenue and 15,000 employees. Dr. Wadhwani was the founder and CEO of Aspect Development Inc., a B2B software firm. Aspect Development was acquired in 2000 for $9.3 billion, the largest software acquisition at the time.

Dr. Wadhwani established the Wadhwani Foundation in 2001 to accelerate job creation and economic development in India and other emerging economies through large scale initiatives in entrepreneurship, innovation, and skilling. Today, the Wadhwani Foundation is active in India and more than 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Wadhwani Advantage, Wadhwani Entrepreneur, and Wadhwani Innovate are three large initiatives for helping hundreds of entrepreneurs start new businesses and grow existing SME businesses each year, creating a large number of new jobs. The Wadhwani Advantage initiative allows tens of thousands of students each year learn employability and soft skills and get placed in high-quality jobs.

Dr. Wadhwani and his brother Sunil Wadhwani have established the Wadhwani Institute for AI for Social Good in Mumbai, a research institute and global hub for developing AI solutions for social good in public health, education, skilling, job creation, and infrastructure. Indian Prime Minister Modi inaugurated WIAI in 2018. The institute was awarded the Google Prize in 2019 for one of its innovative initiatives.

In January 2020, the Government of India awarded Dr. Wadhwani the Padma Shri honor, the fourth-highest civilian award in the Republic of India. President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Wadhwani to the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center. Dr. Wadhwani is a board member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and is a member of the Gates Buffet Giving Pledge.

Dr. Wadhwani holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and a master’s of science and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Wadhwani received an honorary doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in August 2018.

Pradyut Shah is a senior investment partner at SAIGroup and oversees all investment and acquisition activity at the firm. He has led the acquisitions of multiple companies at SAIGroup, notably the acquisitions of Get Well, CancerLinQ, 1010data, NetReveal, Proceedix, ReTech Labs, Savigent, TeraRecon, Azima, Ayasdi, and MAI.

Pradyut was previously a Managing Director and founding member of Insignia Capital Group, a middle-market private equity firm where he served as a Director on the Boards of portfolio companies in the consumer sector. Prior to Insignia, he was a Vice President at Behrman Capital where he was significantly involved with a number of private equity investments from 2004 to 2011, including Athena Diagnostics, Brooks Equipment Company, Peacock Engineering Company, Pelican Products and WIL Research Laboratories. Prior to Behrman, Pradyut spent 3 years at Credit Suisse First Boston’s Technology Group.

He attended the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.S.E. in Computer Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and a B.S. in Economics with a major in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.

Eshwar Belani is an accomplished executive and a pioneer in the AI and technology space. He has a proven track record in transforming innovative ideas into ground-breaking products and services, fueling exponential growth, and reshaping the business landscape.

Eshwar is currently a founding partner at SAIGroup, where he identifies strategic investment opportunities and works with portfolio companies to spur innovation and growth.

Before SAIGroup, he held pivotal roles in several successful ventures. At Rubrik, he was instrumental in launching an innovative suite of IT infrastructure products, propelling the company to an annual run rate of $100M in just six quarters. As a founding executive at Rocket Fuel, his contributions were instrumental in the company’s meteoric rise from a start-up to earning over $400M in annual revenue and clinching the #1 spot on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™ list.

Earlier in his career, Eshwar founded Sensact Applications, focusing on IoT solutions, and iLeverage, which was acquired by Epiphany, where he later worked on its flagship CRM marketing and analytics platforms.

Eshwar serves as an advisor to emerging companies nurtured by Singularity University and Alchemist Accelerator. He’s also a charter member of TiE Silicon Valley. His academic accomplishments include a bachelor’s of technology degree from IIT Madras, a master’s degree in computer science and management of technology degree from U.C. Berkeley. He has authored several academic publications and holds six patents.

Sam Osman is a healthcare technology executive, board director, and former CEO with more than two decades of experience building and scaling data-driven healthcare and life sciences businesses. Throughout his career, he has helped pharmaceutical, care-delivery and manufacturing companies modernize clinical development and commercialization through the application of software and technology-enabled services. He has led multiple private equity-backed and public organizations through transformational growth, strategic acquisitions, and successful exits.

Most recently, Sam served as Chief Executive Officer of Endpoint Clinical and Neovance, two global pharmaceutical services businesses that he sold to private equity in 2024. Endpoint Clinical was one of the industry’s leading providers of real time technologies necessary for managing patient randomization, trial blinding, and drug supply optimization across thousands of global clinical trials. Neovance provides technology-enabled patient support, specialty pharmacy, reimbursement, and field services that improve access and adherence for therapies ranging from blockbuster oncology medicines to GLP-1s.

Prior, Sam served as President of Enabling Solutions at Fortrea, where he led a global $600 million technology and services business delivering clinical technology, data solutions, patient engagement and commercialization services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. As a member of Fortrea’s executive leadership team, he played a key role in the company’s separation from Labcorp and successful IPO.

Earlier, Sam served as Chief Executive Officer of Science & Medicine Group, a leading provider of market intelligence, research, and analytics serving the life sciences ecosystem. The organization delivers data and strategic insights across laboratory diagnostics, precision medicine, molecular biology, instrumentation, and pharmaceutical markets.

Previously, Sam served as Chief Executive Officer of Cenduit, where he transformed the company from a focused point solution provider into a broader clinical technology platform supporting global trial operations. Under his leadership, the business expanded internationally, diversified its software portfolio, and increased enterprise value before its acquisition by a Fortune 500 healthcare organization.

Earlier in his career at Quintiles (now IQVIA), Sam helped shape many of the digital capabilities that have since become foundational across modern clinical research. He led the Connected Devices business, developing one of the industry’s earliest enterprise platforms for collecting and analyzing wearable, sensor, and medical device data in clinical trials. He also led the Digital Patient organization, advancing technologies that enabled remote participation and decentralized clinical studies years before virtual trials became mainstream.

In addition to his executive leadership experience, Sam has served on the boards of numerous healthcare technology and life sciences companies, including LabConnect, Cumulus Neuroscience, QuartzBio, DrugHunter, CREO, and others. Sam has advised and presented to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the application of connected devices, wearable technologies, sensors, and digital endpoints in clinical research. He has been recognized as one of PharmaVOICE’s Top 100 Leaders in Healthcare, named among the North Carolina Business Journal’s Top 40 Leaders, and recognized as one of Pennsylvania’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs.

Jason Williams is a principal for SAIGroup, focused on executing acquisitions across several verticals. Prior to joining SAIGroup in 2018, Jason worked as an investment professional at Golden Gate Capital and at The Gores Group, where he focused on investments in the industrial and technology sectors. Previously, he worked as a consultant in the Dallas office of the Boston Consulting Group, where he conducted numerous projects in the technology media and telecom industries.

Jason has a bachelor degree in neurobiology with a secondary degree in economics from Harvard College.

Nick Balay is a vice president on the SAIGroup investment team, responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing acquisitions across healthcare and other vertical sectors.

Prior to joining SAIGroup in 2022, Nick was a project leader in the Minneapolis office of the Boston Consulting Group, where he served healthcare, public sector, industrial goods, and private equity clients on various topics, including strategy, data & analytics, organization design, and buy-side due diligence. Previously, he worked in corporate development at Optum/UnitedHealth Group where he evaluated and executed M&A transactions in healthcare information technology, services, and delivery.

Nick earned his MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago with a minor in Near Eastern languages and civilizations.

Senjie is an associate on the SAIGroup investment team, responsible for evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup, Senjie was an investment banking analyst at Needham & Company, where he worked on M&A transactions in the software, internet, digital media, and consumer technology sectors. Previously, Senjie worked at Macquarie Capital as an investment banking analyst.

Senjie holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and statistics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Alec is an associate on the SAIGroup investment team, focused on evaluating and executing acquisitions. Prior to joining SAIGroup, Alec was an associate in Citigroup’s investment banking division where he worked on M&A, debt, and equity transactions in sectors including software, internet, consumer technology and property technology sectors. Previously, Alec worked in Citigroup’s debt capital markets group, advising on corporate financings in technology, media, and telecommunications markets.

Alec graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Connecticut, School of Business.

Alec can be reached at alec.pisanelli@saigroup.ai.

Justin Zhao is an investment associate on the SAIGroup investment team, where he is responsible for evaluating and executing acquisitions.

Before joining SAIGroup in 2025, he was an investment professional at HGGC, focused on the technology, consumer, and business and financial services sectors. Prior to that, he worked as an analyst in Wells Fargo Securities’ technology investment banking division.

Justin holds a degree in managerial economics from the University of California, Davis.