A&W Capital: Sports, Gaming and Media Advisory & Investment Banking

Contact Us

Our Team

Matthew Wheeler

Founder and Chief Executive

Paroksh Gupta

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Anirban Bhar

Vice President

Arun Harinath

Vice President

Mehul Agarwal

Associate

Niki Turner

Header of Partnership

Richa Kapre

Non Executive Director

Sir Martin Broughton

Non Executive Director

Khushi Bansal

Analyst

Khushi Bansal

Analyst

Khushi Bansal

Analyst

Matthew Wheeler

Founder and Chief Executive

Matthew Wheeler has been a leading figure in the commercial and investment sector of international sport for over 25 years as a senior executive, entrepreneur and adviser working with clients in Europe, North America and Asia.

He has chaired six private equity backed businesses in the sport and leisure sector and has advised some of the largest international private equity funds (including Bridgepoint, CVC, Advent, KKR, Permira and Cinven) on billion-dollar transactions. He has sat on the boards of two professional football clubs (Eintracht Frankfurt and DC United) and in 2022 helped CVC set up the Gujarat Titans IPL team.

Matthew is a former professional cricketer with Northamptonshire and for 10 years until he stepped down in 2019, was on the board and Non-Executive Chairman of the Professional Cricketers Association in England and Wales. He lives in London but spends significant time in both Mumbai and New York

Paroksh Gupta

Co-Founder and Managing Director

Paroksh is an engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur with an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Prior to joining A&W Capital, Paroksh was working as a Principal at the global investment firm KKR and earlier in the investment banking team of BoA Merrill Lynch. He has been working in the Indian financial services space for 9 years.

At his recent role at KKR, Paroksh was directly involved in 15+ completed investments aggregating over US$ 1.5bn and covered varied sectors including consumer, education, healthcare, leisure and media.

A keen sports enthusiast (and an amateur badminton player), Paroksh comes with deep transaction experience in India and wide connections in the sports ecosystem.

Anirban Bhar

Vice President

Anirban joined A&W Capital’s Mumbai office in mid-2020 to help with our India platform build-out. Prior to joining us, he had close to 7 years of experience in the world of investment banking spread across bulge bracket (J.P. Morgan) and a couple of boutique shops. He is an MBA from IIM Kozhikode and is an engineering graduate from DCE.

An amateur sportsperson, he loves to play cricket over the weekend and has a new-found love for Frisbee and Darts. Occasionally when he is not wasting time watching Instagram reels, he can be found reading books on behavioral psychology and philosophy.

Arun Harinath

Vice President

Arun joined the A&W Capital team in 2019 having retired from playing professional cricket at Surrey County Cricket Club for over a decade. He represented the club in over 70 first-class matches, eventually earning the honour of receiving a County Cap in 2016 and winning the County Championship in 2018. Away from the field Arun has been committed to both his education and vocational journeys completing two Bachelor of Science degrees in Social Psychology and Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He is also currently undertaking the ICAEW/CISI Diploma in Corporate Finance programme. He has spent time working at an array of companies including NFLUK, CSM, FICA and now also serves as a member of the General Committee at Surrey County Cricket Club and a trustee of the Surrey Cricket Foundation.

Mehul Agarwal

Associate

Mehul is a fresh MBA graduate from IIM Ahmedabad. Mehul’s entrepreneurial spirit and his love for sports led him to found his own start-up, Mad Over Sports, at the age of 18. After running it for two years, Mehul decided to move on and pursue an MBA. Apart from being an avid cricket fan, Mehul can often be found glued to his PlayStation, playing FIFA. As the youngest member of our team, he brings a fresh perspective to the table and is always willing to take on new challenges.

Niki Turner

Head of Partnerships

Niki Turner is one of the UK’s most accomplished marketers and brand builders, best known for representing The Beckhams, American Idol, and the 007 franchise. Starting in PR with an array of artists including Paul McCartney and Tina Turner. She set up her own business and took on the Commercial Affairs and Communication for INXS and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Company. Niki then worked alongside Simon Fuller managing the commercial interests and business development of David and Victoria Beckham, American Idol, The Spice Girls, Annie Lennox, Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray and Bradley Wiggins. Starting FINCK Global in 2015, consulting to talent, sports and entertainment properties and brands on commercial partnerships, strategy and brand building. Clients include Magnum Photos, KODAK, Comfort Motion Technologies, EON Productions, the James Bond Producers, Roberto Martinez and Virat Kohli. Responsible for creating partnerships and product lines with global brands including Diageo, H&M, Adidas, Reebok, Police, Breitling, IWC, Motorola, Jaguar LandRover, Vodafone, Samsung, Pepsi, Sky, LVMH, Belstaff, Coty, American Tourister, N.Peal, Nokia, Norton, DHL and Orlebar Brown.

Richa Kapre

Non Executive Director

Richa has 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry across Private Banking and investment advisory. She was the co-founder of Altamount Capital Management in India where she was primarily responsible for the firm’s Investment management functions. She has also worked at Morgan Stanley and Lloyds TSB Private Banking in London and also with ANZ Grindlays Bank in Mumbai. Richa won the prestigious Securities Institute award for IAC certification in the UK. She has an MBA in Marketing and International Finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (Mumbai) and Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mumbai University.

Sir Martin Broughton

Non Executive Director

Former Chairman of Liverpool Football Club, Former Deputy Chairman of the International Consolidated Airlines Group. Previously Chairman of British Airways for a decade and he was CEO and Executive Chairman of British American Tobacco plc (BAT) for 11 years and was the President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) from 2007-09. Sir Martin has had significant involvement in sport for many years. With BAT, he oversaw the start-up of a Formula One team which was subsequently purchased by Honda. He also served as an Independent Director of the British Horseracing Board (BHB) before becoming its Chairman and overseeing its transformation into a regulatory board. At the BHB, he was at the forefront of pushing a more coherent strategy for the horseracing industry and utilizing his political skills to pull together the diverse interests of the primary stakeholders (owners, trainers, and operators) together. As Chairman of Liverpool Football Club he was responsible for the sale of the club to its current owners.

Khushi Bansal

Analyst

Khushi recently joined A&W as an Analyst, bringing a strong foundation in finance from her undergraduate studies in Commerce at SRCC, Delhi. As the youngest member of our team, she offers a fresh perspective. Her previous experience at a boutique investment bank has equipped her with the necessary skills to understand the technicalities of a deal. With a keen interest in the intersection of finance, sports, and media, she is excited to support innovative projects and drive success.