Eric has over 15 years of experience in sustainability investing. In addition to working in venture capital for many years, Eric spent time working directly for startups in finance, operations and strategy leadership roles, giving him a strong blend of investment and operational experience in high growth venture-backed companies.

Eric has vast experience in corporate strategy and M&A consulting, having advised strategic and financial buy-side clients on multi-billion-dollar public and private transactions within Europe and the U.S. He is known for transforming finance departments into strategic functions, along with developing customer insights, value propositions and go-to-market strategies.

He currently serves on the boards of HydroPoint Data Systems (smart water management), FoodLogiQ (food safety & traceability) and 120 Water (water quality program management). Previous board director and observer roles include TemperPack (sustainable thermal packaging), Neura (AI for transportation), Revive Kombucha (better-for-you beverages), and Lifefactory (reusable glass beverage bottles).

Where It Began

Eric Desai grew up in Arizona, then lived in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, London, and Chicago. Today he resides in Mill Valley, California. His interest and involvement in the sustainable food & agriculture industry stems from him being a naturalist who loves the outdoors. Eric is an avid skier, hiker, mountain biker, who enjoys going on new adventures.

Eric is committed to build a world-class venture fund that invests in leading companies demonstrating a clear path towards significantly impacting climate change and adapting to its effects.

Prior Experience

Before joining Vidavo, Eric was a Partner at Greenhouse Capital, a venture growth capital firm focused on sustainability. He had a vital role in developing their investing strategy in high-growth technology companies, ultimately raising Fund II. Their strategy drove efficiency, resiliency and new means of value across legacy industrial supply chains and infrastructure, including food & agriculture, energy, waste, water, transportation and the built environment.

Prior to Greenhouse Capital, Eric was an investment professional at Robin Lane Capital, a lower middle-market growth equity family office focused on the consumer goods sector. Before that he was CFO of MobiledgeX, a mobile-edge software platform incubated within Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners. Eric was also Head of Finance and Operations at Neura, an AI behavioral intelligence platform for transportation, retail, health and other applications.

Eric served as Corporate Strategy Manager at Philips, and M&A Transactions Advisory Group Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the Netherlands.

Eric Desai earned an MBA from the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business, and also attended London Business School. He holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona, and also attended Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.