2 Indian-Americans appointed to NYC Mayor's Fund Board of Advisors

Two Indian-Americans from New York, including a venture capital industry executive, are among 19 people appointed to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City Board of Advisors by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The appointment of Deven Parekh, Managing Director, Insight Venture Partners, and Vijay Dandapani, President & CEO, Hotel Association of New York City and 17 others, were announced by Mayor de Blasio May 18.

For more than 20 years, the Board of Advisors has provided expertise and critical support for the Fund as it pursues its goal of creating innovative and evidence-based approaches to address the City’s most pressing challenges. The members act as advocates for the work of the Mayor’s Fund and are committed to making the City more equitable.

“To address the challenges facing our city, we need all New Yorkers pushing for progress together – including those in our robust private sector,” de Blasio said while announcing the appointments. “I welcome these new members to the Mayor’s Fund board and thank them for their commitment to making New York City the fairest big city in America.”

Parekh manages investments in vertical and horizontal software and consumer internet companies globally. He serves as Board Chair for Bullhorn, DrillingInfo, Turnitin and Ministry Brands. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Appriss, Campaign Monitor, Fanatics, Diligent, 1stdibs, Vela, Chrono24, LetGo, and Wallapop.

Parekh is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of NY and the Greater NY Partnership. He was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Board.

Besides, Parikh is chairman emeritus of Publicolor, a New York City based non-profit organization that focuses on inner city schools, and a member of the Board of the Tisch New York MS Research Center and the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee for the Ethical Culture Fieldston, a private independent school.

Vijay Dandapani is a hotel industry veteran, recognized in 1998 as one of Crain’s New York Business top 100 minority business leaders in New York City. In 2002, the Asian American Business Development Center, New York, selected him as one of 50 outstanding Asian Americans in Business. He is an alumnus of the grad program at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and an Aga Khan Foundation Scholar.

Founded in 1994, the Mayor’s Fund is a not-for-profit organization which annually works with an average of over 80 City programs, projects and initiatives; over 300 institutional funders; and more than 100 community-based organizations.

"We depend on New York City's civic leaders to partner with government to make our city more vibrant and equitable,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray, Chair of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

“Today, I'm excited to welcome true New York citizens, some of the best and the brightest, to help us continue the tremendous work of civic engagement promoted by the Mayor's Fund."