Mr. Deepak Devraj instituted Shri Deva Raj Chair in his father's name. This chair is open to all departments of science & engineering at IIT Kanpur. Mr. Devraj (BT/EE/1970) is the managing director of private investment firm Rush Brook Partners in the US. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of the New Jersey-based private investment firm, Raj Associates with investments in real estate and public and private securities. He spent 24 years at Merrill Lynch, leading a team of 700 investment professionals and retiring as Senior Vice President and a member of the executive management committee.
He serves on the Board of Directors of Pratham USA. On his appointment, he said, "For two decades, Pratham has been singularly focused on improving the quality of education for India's poor. I believe it represents our single brightest hope for educating India's children, and I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to help Pratham achieve its mission to have 'every child in school and learning well."
Mr. Devraj also founded the Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies at Columbia University. He holds a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from Northeastern University, Boston.