VIC Tech is pleased to announce the appointment of Rajeev Nair, a seasoned global business executive with nearly three decades of experience scaling and transforming multinational organizations, to its Strategic Advisory Board (SAB). Nair brings a distinguished record of driving sustained growth, building high-performing teams, and spearheading strategic innovation across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.
Nair spent his nearly 30-year career at Merck KGaA, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of the company’s $2B Chemistry business. In this role, he delivered above-market financial performance while leading a major strategic shift toward next-generation devices, digital solutions, and sustainable platforms—positioning the business for long-term, value-driven growth. His leadership emphasized customer-centric innovation, organizational transformation, and execution excellence.
Previously, Nair led the Asia Pacific Research & Applied Solutions business, where he oversaw regional P&L and successfully scaled revenues from $750M to over $1B. He played a pivotal role in the integration of the Sigma-Aldrich acquisition across Asia, achieving accelerated growth and significant profitability gains. Over the course of his career, Nair has held leadership roles spanning P&L ownership, business transformation, strategy development, product innovation, and operations.
“We are excited to welcome Rajeev to the Strategic Advisory Board,” said Calvin Goforth, VIC Tech CEO. “His global leadership and commercial experience, combined with a deep understanding of scientific markets, will help guide our portfolio companies as they grow, scale internationally, and bring transformative technologies to market.”
Nair’s passion for advancing science extends beyond the corporate world. He actively mentors scientists and entrepreneurs in Cambridge, MA, helping transition early technologies into viable commercial ventures, and he supports STEM education for school-aged children through the SPARK initiative.
Nair joins a distinguished group of industry leaders on the VIC Tech Strategic Advisory Board, contributing global perspective and hands-on commercialization expertise that will strengthen the organization’s ability to support early-stage life science and deep tech ventures.
About VIC Tech:
VIC's unique investment model sources innovation directly from universities nationwide, offering funding to form new start-up companies and advance these technologies. In addition to the initial capital, VIC provides its portfolio companies with business and scientific resources, including interim management, accounting, marketing, engineering support, and more. For more information, please visit victech.com