Brings over a decade of experience in private equity investing and portfolio management to PurpleRock. Prior to founding PurpleRock, Varma was a member of the investment team at First Reserve, the largest energy focused private equity firm with over $30 billion in assets under management. He has evaluated and executed investments in the wellness, education, industrial, business services, infrastructure, midstream, downstream and upstream sectors. In addition to investment due diligence and structuring activities, Varma led a variety of industry research and deal sourcing initiatives at First Reserve. Prior to First Reserve, Varma worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Natural Resources Group. Varma has also previously worked for BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and Egret Capital Partners. Originally from India, Varma grew up in New York City and holds a BBA from the Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College, City University of New York, where he also served as a Trustee of the Baruch College Fund.

Brings a decade of operating experience and e-commerce expertise to PurpleRock. Patel has founded five branded companies: Founder and Chairman of InstaNatural (nature-inspired beauty and cosmetic brand), Zenwise Health (human nutritional supplements brand), Zesty Paws (pet health & wellness brand), Smooth Viking (men’s beard & hair care brand) and Trinova (home, automotive and boat care products, sold to GoldEagle at the end of 2016). Patel was named 2016 Florida Finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year®. Patel has an invaluable toolkit for brands looking to grow and expand their e-commerce operations. Originally from India, Patel grew up in Orlando and holds a BBA from the University of Florida.

Brings around three decades of experience at Bayer Consumer Health to PurpleRock. Smith is a results-driven marketing, sales, and business development executive with a broad and long history of creating high-performing teams and delivering market leading growth. Smith led all aspects of Bayer’s $1 billion Nutritionals & Digestive Health portfolio. Among his accomplishments, Smith also drove One A Day to the #1 position in the adult multivitamin market. Preceding positions included VP Marketing OTC Brands, VP Sales for the National Drug Team, VP Marketing for Nutritionals, and VP Market Research for the US. In addition to serving as a Partner at PurpleRock, Girard is an Executive Vice President Client Lead for Market Performance Group (MPG).