Nirav S. Patel is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of The Asia Group. He is responsible for the firm’s corporate strategy and management of a diverse portfolio of industry-leading corporate clients.

Nirav is an entrepreneur with significant experience at the intersection of business and policy. He has founded, invested in, and sold numerous companies across the UK, North America, and Asia. Drawing from experience across a diverse set of sectors, his areas of expertise include: assessing how policies and political trends enable or impact market opportunities across the Indo-Pacific; developing comprehensive market entry strategies; leading project management teams to advance business and investment licensing campaigns; implementing complex crisis management strategies; supporting client efforts to resolve regulatory disputes and mitigate policy risks; and deal sourcing for leading investment banks and private equity groups. In addition, Nirav is an industry leading advisor in advancing large scale multi-billion-dollar transactions and licensing agreements in Asia.

Nirav previously served as The Asia Group’s President (2017-2021) and the Chief Operating Officer (2013-2017), where he drove the firm’s growth from a small start-up to a dynamic industry-leading strategic and business advisory firm with subsidiaries in New Delhi, Hanoi and Shanghai (2022) and presence in Tokyo, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and Sydney. Nirav also serves concurrently as a Director of The Asia Group Foundation’s Board.

Nirav is also an experienced investor in residential real estate, distressed credit situations, and growth equity for small- and medium-sized business through his personal investment vehicle VietPoint Capital. He serves on the Board of Directors of An Phat Holdings (HOSE:APH) where he played an important role in the company’s successful July 2020 IPO and its subsidiary AFC EcoPlastics. Nirav also serves as a member of the board of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues.

Previously, Nirav served at the U.S. Department of State from 2009 to 2013, first as Senior Adviser to Assistant Secretary Dr. Kurt Campbell and then as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. In these capacities, he was responsible for the development of strategies and major policy initiatives that helped advance American strategic interests across the Asia-Pacific region, including as the lead diplomat for U.S. efforts to engage the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Prior to serving in the State Department, Nirav was a Fellow and the Director of the Asia-Pacific Strategy Program at the bipartisan Center for a New American Security and an Analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has authored numerous journal articles, op-eds, and reports.

Nirav holds a Master of Arts in International Security Studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Texas, where he was a finalist in the national cross-examination policy debate tournament. In his personal life, he is a fitness enthusiast, avid reader, and foodie. He lives with his wife, two sons, and daughter in McLean, Virginia.