Aakash Shah

Aakash Shah is an entrepreneurial executive with rapid business scale-up experience in the industrial value-added distribution and asset light manufacturing space. More specifically, he has experience in specialty chemicals and ingredients through a platform business that he sold to private equity on two separate occasions, most recently in December of 2021 for a nine-figure exit. Aakash is also a longtime private investor in direct-to-consumer startups, sports technology funds, and emerging technologies, like blockchain.

Business Highlights:

• Turned around struggling family business from declining revenue of $3 million to $100 million in sales at exit.
• Started a grassroots asset light manufacturing plant making value-added, higher-than industry-average gross margins.
• Scaled and professionalized a specialty chemicals/ingredients business and sold to private equity two times.
• Completed acquisitions and successfully integrated them into platform company.

Aakash has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA in International Business and Marketing from the Kellogg School of Management. He has recently started guest lecturing at Kellogg and at Columbia Business School (NY) on topics of Family Business, Private Equity, and Mergers and Acquisitions. In addition, Aakash is an active member of YPO globally and attends many continuing education programs, most recently having completed an executive program at London Business School.

In his free time, Aakash is an active tennis player and runner, currently hoping to run his first marathon this fall. He lives in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife of 21 years and a 15-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl.

Featured Podcast:

Listen to Aakash Shah’s podcast episode – 4 Keys to Preparing Your Business for Sale to Private Equity