Private equity investor LDC has strengthened its support for management teams in the South West with the appointment of a new value creation partner.
Prashant Selvaratnam, pictured, joins as VCP director, data strategy & AI, based in the firm’s Bristol office. 
In his new role he will help the management teams of LDC’s portfolio companies build and execute data strategies that unlock value and mitigate risk, including through the use of artificial intelligence.
Prashant spent his early years as a structural engineer, before moving to management consultancy firm Newton Europe.
More recently he has held data leadership roles at UK scale-ups such as digital security specialist Onfido and data analytics consultancy QuantSpark, in addition to airline Condor.
The VCP team at LDC, part of Lloyds Banking Group, operates nationally and now has more than 100 years’ combined experience in board-level operational roles and consultancy.
It works alongside LDC’s investors and in partnership with the management teams of portfolio businesses to unlock new avenues for sustainable growth.
The team collaboratively helps to identify and deliver improvements to portfolio companies’ commercial, operational and technological capabilities, whilst improving ESG (environmental, social and governance) maturity, throughout the whole lifecycle of the investment partnership. 
Prashant said: “AI and data analytics play an important role in growth and whilst many businesses already have strong foundations in these areas, translating that into real value isn’t always straightforward.
“I’ll be supporting the management teams of LDC’s portfolio companies here in the South West, and further afield, in everything from developing trusted data to creating practical AI solutions that deliver real results, so they can confidently drive their businesses forward.”
He joins alongside new VCP director, commercial, Mustafa Khanbhai and Lizzie Meadowcroft, VCP director, operations, carve out & integration, who are both based in LDC’s Manchester office.
LDC partner and head of value creation partners Richard Haynes said: “We know from our experience that private equity partnerships are most successful when focused on value creation, especially in challenging market conditions.
“This is exactly why we’ve continued to invest in our VCP team and by welcoming Prashant, Mustafa and Lizzie to LDC we’re not only expanding the geographic spread of our team, but really ensuring we have the right expertise and people on board to support management teams in key growth levers such as digital marketing, AI and operational M&A support.
“Our portfolio businesses come in all shapes and sizes, and as they grow it’s important that we provide the support and skills they need to help them achieve their ambitions, especially if they don’t already have this in-house.
“Having additional resource to help unlock the value can be transformational, and I believe our team has the right combination of skills and real-world experience to work alongside management teams and provide practical hands-on help as they grow their business, their way.”
