Harvard-educated investment leader Mala Gaonker spent part of her childhood in Bengaluru, India. Becoming one of the most remarkable figures when it comes to global finance, she is known to have built a hedge fund that has completely redefined normality when it comes to markets.
Born in the United States in November 1969 to a family of doctors, Gaonkar spent much of her childhood in Bengaluru before returning to the U.S. for her education and career. After earning her bachelor’s degree in 1991 from Harvard College, she also later completed an MBA at Harvard Business School in the year 1996, where she equipped herself with a foundation in analysis, which later defined her career.
Gaonkar began her professional journey at the Boston Consulting Group and later worked briefly at Chase Capital Partners. She became a founding partner at one of the most respected hedge funds in the world, Lone Pine Capital, in 1998; she worked there for over two decades. Building her reputation as a top portfolio manager by helping steer investments throughout various sectors such as media, technology, the internet, and also telecommunications.
But the height of her career began when she cofounded Soroca Partners in January 2023. Established with $1.8 billion under management, SurgoCap’s debut was the largest hedge fund launch ever, which was led by a woman, marking one of the most major milestones in an industry that is traditionally dominated by men.
What sets SurgoCap apart is not just its size at launch, but how quickly it has grown. The fund’s assets under management have tripled in just under three years to $6 billion. This is impressive growth in market where new hedge funds usually find it hard to get investors.
Gaonkar’s investment philosophy blends rigorous data science with a deep understanding of how technology drives broader economic change. Rather than focusing only on well-known tech names, SurgoCap looks at how innovation can reshape entire industries, from financial services and healthcare to industrials and enterprise data. This “big‑picture” approach has helped the firm uncover opportunities that more conventional strategies might miss.
Not depending her success on numbers alone, Gaonkar’s leadership and vision have made her a role model for women as well as Indian‑origin professionals when it comes to finance, breaking barriers in an industry where gender imbalance remains significant. Profiles of Gaonkar highlight not only her financial cleverness but also her perseverance and determination in navigating and redefining a competitive global space.
Beyond hedge fund management, Gaonkar has also encouraged philanthropic and social impact work. She co‑founded the Surgo Foundation in 2015, which is an organization that uses data and behavioral science to tackle public health challenges, and later expanded these efforts through Surgo Ventures, a nonprofit focused on scalable solutions to systemic social problems.
At 56, Mala Gaonkar stands as an example of how deep and great knowledge, strategic thinking, and also bold leadership can entirely reshape industries. From her early days in Bengaluru to leading a multi‑billion‑dollar hedge fund in New York, her journey highlights both personal achievement as well as the broader shifts under global finance. For inspiring investors and young professionals, Gaonkar’s story is a reminder that barriers in elite sectors can not only be challenged but also rewritten.
Mala Gaonkar’s journey from Bengaluru, which is a prominent city in a highly populated Commonwealth country, to leading a multi‑billion‑dollar hedge fund highlights her extraordinary vision as well as determination. Going beyond her financial success, she serves as an inspiration for women and aspiring investors worldwide, showing that talent, determination, and bold leadership can break barriers and create lasting impact across both business and social ventures.
