In this episode of View From The Top, Ganesh Nayak, Head of Global Capital and Fundraising at Avataar Ventures, speaks with Kevin Edwards, Managing Director of Investments at Carnegie Mellon University. CMU's multi-billion-dollar endowment invests across global private and public markets.

Kevin shares insights from decades of managing institutional portfolios, reflecting on lessons from the Great Financial Crisis, how liquidity truly works, and what allocators look for in long-term partnerships.

Together, they explore:

• How India became one of the world’s most investable growth stories
• The evolution of its digital infrastructure and capital markets
• Why entrepreneurial energy and regulatory reform make India unique among emerging economies
• What global allocators want from Indian GPs raising capital abroad
• How universities and endowments balance preservation with growth
• Why discipline, risk-awareness, and humility are timeless investor traits

Kevin also offers a rare inside look into how large institutional investors evaluate conviction, liquidity, alignment and what “boots-on-the-ground” investing really means in markets like India.

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