Leadership Team
The Board of Directors
Brad Buser
Brad has more than fifteen years of private equity investment experience and has spent much of that time in an operationally focused manner across a wide variety of industries and situations. Prior to joining Aspect, he was a Principal at Insight Equity, a Dallas area-based operationally intensive middle-market private equity firm with over $1 billion in capital under management. During his nearly 7 years at Insight, Brad helped to lead transaction sourcing and execution efforts and spent considerable time on Boards and on the ground advising and managing portfolio companies via Insight’s “hands-on” investment strategy.
Before Insight, Brad was an investment professional at Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, where he helped to execute Wind Point’s strategy of backing experienced, industry-focused CEOs in acquiring established businesses. Earlier, Brad was an Associate at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago.
Brad holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. While at HBS, Brad was a Summer Associate with the private equity team of The Blackstone Group. Brad graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame where he received his BBA in Finance. Brad is a CFA Charterholder and CPA.
He and his wife, Erin, and their two children reside in Charlotte. Brad’s commute to the Dallas office (which he carries out frequently) has become a little longer.
Stephanie Warner
Before joining Relay, Stephanie was Chief People Officer, with both external and internal responsibilities, at Continental Grain Company, a privately-held company that invests globally in the food and agribusiness sectors. Prior to Continental Grain, Stephanie held senior positions in human resources including Head of External Talent Acquisition at Bridgewater Associates, Senior Vice President of Human Capital at General Atlantic, and Head of Investment Banking Practice Group at Egon Zehnder.
Hiten Varia
Hiten currently serves as Chairman and Founder at Autoplant Systems, a Mumbai-based technology firm blending AI, machine learning, advanced analytics and mobility platforms to help companies improve supply chain and operational efficiency. Additionally, he is an active Board Member with Efrac, a leading Testing Services company based in India; Cleo, a B2B-led cloud integration category leader (Chicago), Riverside Insights an education assessments cos (Chicago), an AI platform cos DeepBay Technologies China; and Omatic Software, which provides data and integration software tailored for non-profit organizations (Charleston, S.C.). He also serves as an operating partner with Singapore-based Tembusu ICT, a software venture capital fund; and Mandala Capital, an investment fund that helps food and agriculture companies on the Indian subcontinent scale to realize their full potential.
Bioactive Services Management Team
Mayur Desai
Founder
Mayur Desai is the co-founder, and he came on board full time to helm the sterilization services unit in 2015. Bringing his licensed engineering background to the task, he continues to customize and fine tune the process, expanding and honing its capabilities in scope and safety.
Pratham Naik
CEO
Pratham is the CEO of Bioactive Services. He has a proven record of building P&L’s and delivering transformational business initiatives across small and large businesses in North & South America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa. He formerly served as the Global Director of Operations, Integration, Planning & Performance Management at Anheuser Busch and served as a Board Observer on several Anheuser Busch Inbev portfolio companies with overall responsibility for their strategic direction, operating structure and performance. Pratham earned his MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management where he was awarded the Legatum Fellowship and Sloan Social Impact Award. He is a dedicated husband , father of two girls and an active member within the global TED ( ted.com ) community.
Dr. Kris
Vice President
He has completed a mini-MBA in Biopharma Innovation and Food Safety from Rutgers University. Dr. Kris has managed numerous regulatory and certification audits and has audited over 60 vendors and suppliers globally. He has led international technical delegations and worked on projects with the World Bank, SDC, JAICA, and FAO, focusing on international training programs for developing countries.
In his career, Dr. Kris has significantly contributed to quality system management, regulatory compliance, product diversification, and market expansion in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors. He continues to advance botanical globalization in the food sector at Bioactive Services, LLC, and is committed to meeting market demands. His personal interests include travel, music, and advocacy for environmental and social causes, emphasizing quality, ethics, and social justice.