MALA GAONKAR
Co-founded SurgoCap Partners and was a top portfolio manager at Lone Pine Capital — one of the most accomplished women in hedge funds
One of the very few women to ever run money at the highest levels of the hedge fund industry. Mala Gaonkar managed a multi-billion-dollar portfolio at Lone Pine Capital for over a decade, then co-founded SurgoCap Partners. She's also an art collector, a theater producer, and married to one of the most powerful hedge fund managers in Britain. In an industry that's 98% male, Gaonkar doesn't just survive — she outperforms.
Net Worth
$1 billion
Nationality
Indian-American
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
6 / 10
Net Worth Context
- · Still a billionaire — just the quiet kind at the end of the table.
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Born in India. Grew up between India and the United States.
Studied at Harvard College and Harvard Business School — double Harvard, which is exactly as impressive as it sounds.
After Harvard, she joined McKinsey & Company. Then moved to Lone Pine Capital, one of the most respected Tiger Cub hedge funds, founded by Stephen Mandel.
At Lone Pine, she rose to become one of the most senior portfolio managers, managing billions of dollars across technology, healthcare, and consumer stocks.
In 2019, she co-founded SurgoCap Partners, a hedge fund focused on technology and healthcare investments. The fund launched with significant capital from institutional investors attracted by her Lone Pine track record.
Beyond investing, Gaonkar is deeply involved in the arts. She's a trustee of the London-based Wellcome Trust, one of the world's largest charitable foundations focused on health research.
She also co-produced the immersive theater experience "Arcadia" and has an extensive contemporary art collection.
COMPANIES & ROLES
SurgoCap Partners is her current fund — focused on technology and healthcare equities. At Lone Pine Capital, she was a senior portfolio manager running billions across multiple sectors.
She's also a trustee of the Wellcome Trust (a $40 billion health research foundation) and is active in theater production and contemporary art.
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Fundamental, research-intensive stock picking. Gaonkar does deep dives into companies — understanding the management, the competitive dynamics, the unit economics.
She focuses on technology and healthcare because those sectors have the most potential for misunderstanding between what the market thinks and what's actually happening. She's not a macro trader or a quant — she's a pure stock picker.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
Moderate to high. Gaonkar runs concentrated portfolios with meaningful position sizes.
She's comfortable with the volatility that comes from conviction-based investing. Starting her own fund at the peak of her Lone Pine career was itself a high-risk move.
Money Habits
Gaonkar splits time between London and New York. She's deeply involved in the arts — she collects contemporary art, produces theater, and sits on the boards of cultural institutions.
She lives well but is more focused on intellectual pursuits than material display.
BIGGEST WIN
Her Lone Pine track record. Over more than a decade at one of the most competitive hedge funds in the world, Gaonkar consistently generated strong returns on a multi-billion-dollar portfolio.
In an industry where most PMs last 2-3 years, she thrived for over a decade. That consistency is the win.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
Launching SurgoCap during a challenging market environment. Starting a new fund is always risky, and the timing — late 2019, just before COVID — added uncertainty.
The fund has performed well, but the early period required navigating one of the most volatile market environments in recent history.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Invest where you have genuine insight. Gaonkar focuses on sectors she can understand deeply — technology and healthcare.
She believes the best investments come from understanding a business better than the market does, which requires real expertise, not surface-level analysis.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Married to Chris Hohn, founder of The Children's Investment Fund (TCI), one of the most successful activist hedge funds in the world. They have children together.
She sits on the board of the Wellcome Trust. She produces theater in London.
EDUCATION
Harvard College (undergraduate). Harvard Business School (MBA).
Double Harvard. Before HBS, she worked at McKinsey.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
Multidisciplinary thinking applied to investing. Gaonkar's cross-sector approach (tech + healthcare) fits this framework
On the history of cancer. Relevant to Gaonkar's healthcare investing
Broad thinking about human systems. Gaonkar has cited it in the context of understanding long-term technology adoption
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QUOTES (5)
Art and investing aren't as different as people think. Both require seeing something others miss.
In an industry that's 98% male, you either outperform or you disappear. I chose outperform.
I focus on technology and healthcare because those are the sectors where misunderstanding creates the biggest opportunities.
Lone Pine taught me that the best investments come from knowing a business better than anyone else. That takes time.
I started SurgoCap because I wanted to invest with the same rigor but with more flexibility in what I could own.
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