Rakesh K. Kaul is the Senior Advisor to Carlyle’s Consumer and Retail Group. He assists Carlyle in the acquisition, management and disposition of investment opportunities within the consumer sector. He is based in New Jersey.

He is the Chairman of SPHERENOMICS LLC an Indo-US Marketing and Outsourcing Solutions provider for Consumer Branded companies. He serves on the Board of Directors for Oriental Trading Company (a Carlyle company).He also is the Chairman of Valley Paints based in Bangalore, India.

As a Global executive Mr. Kaul has worked extensively in Japan, China, India, Canada and the US for 30 years. His range of senior corporate experiences include: Chief Executive Officer of Hanover Direct, Inc., a catalogue marketing business; Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Fingerhut Companies, a general merchandise direct marketer, where he created Metris credit card companies; Chief Strategy / Corporate Development Officer of Shaklee Corporation, a direct seller of nutritional products and also a direct marketer of gift foods, under the Harry and David brand name; Director of Corporate Development of Beatrice/Hunt-Wesson, Inc., a marketer and manufacturer of branded grocery and restaurant food products.

Mr. Kaul received his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, India. He received his M.S. from Brown University and was awarded his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.