Kala Marathi

Kala Marathi is the Managing Director of the Cougar Venture Fund, and a Lecturer in Venture Capital Investing at the University of Houston. She is also COO of Terrapin Stone, an investment firm that focuses on income producing assets, as well as a Co-Founder and Manager for 7 Hills Pharma, an immunotherapy company. In her role as Managing Director of the Houston Angel Network, Kala has facilitated over $30M in investments in 85 deals, and co-founded the Texas Halo Fund. She has more than 20 years of operating and financial experience. Kala was formerly with Reliant Energy where she was a founding member of the corporate venture group, Reliant Energy Net Ventures. At Reliant, she led several smart grid pilots and technology initiatives, and launched a subsidiary called Texas Star Energy. She also has extensive experience in strategy and corporate finance with such firms as the Continental Airlines and Chase. Kala has served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Lyceum and the National Association of Women MBAs (Houston Chapter), and served as co-chair of the HX Cybersecurity Technology Committee. Kala has B.A. in Japanese and Economics from Wellesley College, and an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.