Sunny Kantha T'09

Mr. Kantha is an associate at MissionPoint Capital Partners, a private investment firm capitalizing on high-growth opportunities in clean energy and environmental finance. At MissionPoint he actively participates in developing the firm's investment strategy and in the investment process. His responsibilities include transaction evaluation and modeling, structuring, diligence, sourcing, financial monitoring, capital raising and support of the investment portfolio.

Previously Mr. Kantha was an investment banking analyst in the Global Industrials Group at Morgan Stanley from 2009-2011, where he assisted in the execution of a variety of M&A, IPO and other financing transactions for a broad range of industrial companies.

Mr. Kantha earned a B.S. in Economics and a B.A in Public Policy Studies from Duke University in 2009. At Duke he was active in Duke Student Government, the Women's Institute for Secondary Education and Research (WISER), Gente Aprendiendo por Nuevas Oportunidades (GANO) and the DukeEngage Student Advisory Board. Kantha served Duke Student Government as a senator from 2005-2007, as Vice President for Athletics and Campus Services from 2007-2008 and as Executive Vice President from 2008-2009. He served as Vice President of Microfinance for WISER, which was an extension of his trip to Muhuru Bay, Kenya during the DukeEngage pilot summer of 2007. Through GANO, Kantha taught English to low-income Hispanics in the Durham community.  Mr. Kantha served on the Facilities and Environment Committee as a student representative from 2007-2008.

In 2008 Mr. Kantha was awarded Duke Student Government's Paul Edwin Harner award for notable leadership and his dedication to the student body. Additionally Mr. Kantha was awarded the Mead Undergraduate Scholarship for contributions to improving student life on campus and the Steve A. Fris Memorial Scholarship for notable campus leadership. Though a native of Nepal, Kantha grew up in Columbia, Missouri, where he graduated from David H. Hickman High School in 2005.

Mr. Kantha was elected Young Trustee by the undergraduate student body in 2009, serving as an observer in 2009-10 and voting member in 2010-12.  He currently serves as a member of the Business & Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees, and has previously served on the Facilities and Environment Committee and the Undergraduate Education Committee. 

July 2011