Narayanan, Christopher R.

Head shot of suited businessman (Christopher Narayanan) against skyline
Name: 
Narayanan, Christopher
Title: 
President and CEO, GA Capital
Texas A&M Class: 
1996
Inducted: 
2017
Deceased (Silver Taps)

Biography:

Christopher R. Narayanan ‘96 moved around much during his childhood, but considers Dallas, TX home. He graduated from Manalapan High School (Englishtown, NJ) in 1992. Taking some time away from his studies between his sophomore and junior years to begin his service in the US Marine Corps, Chris graduated from Texas A&M University in 2000 with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics, focusing his studies in Farm and Ranch Management. Continuing his service in the Marine Corps Reserve, he next obtained a Master’s Degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management at Texas A&M, graduating in 2003.  

While attending Texas A&M, Chris competed on the Texas A&M Rodeo Team as a bareback bronc rider and was active in the Texas A&M Veterans Association, helping the effort to bring the flags of the US Armed Forces to the MSC Flag Room. While in school, Chris worked for E. Art Smith III '71, learning the commodities brokerage business and its application for farm risk management.

Following the end of his military service, Chris began his civilian career as a market research analyst for College Station-based AgriLogic, Inc. It was there that he honed his economic analysis skills and utilized his management and leadership experiences. During his time at AgriLogic, Chris designed, submitted, won, and organized the team for a contract with USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) to develop a cow-calf decision support tool. During this time, he began his Master of Business Administration studies at the University of Texas on the weekends while continuing to work full-time. Chris left AgriLogic to work for John Deere in Illinois where he helped to develop risk management tools for John Deere's non-equipment customers and assisted in the financial feasibility analysis of proposed projects. Shortly before completing his MBA, Chris transitioned to the "Wall Street" community, first working for a hedge fund in Dallas and later at Morgan Stanley in New York as an agricultural analyst.

From 2011 to 2016, Chris was a director and Head of Agricultural Commodities Research at Societe Generale (Soc Gen) Corporate and Investment Bank in New York. During his time there, he more than doubled the bank’s agricultural commodities coverage to 13 commodities, up from six. These efforts have increased the bank's standing on Wall Street as Soc Gen is currently ranked #1 in agricultural commodities research across all Wall Street banks, brokers, and dealers, up from #2 in 2015 and #5 in 2014, as per the annual Commodities Rankings survey conducted by Risk & Energy Risk Magazine. He is also regularly interviewed and quoted in the media, including the Wall Street Journal, Agrimoney.com, CNBC TV, and Bloomberg TV. In his career, Chris has gained considerable experience in both commodity and equity analysis.

Chris also served as a Key Account Manager for Informa Economics (IEG) in Memphis. Specifically, he assisted investor and agribusiness clients in navigating the agricultural markets and the complexities of agribusiness, particularly the connections to the outside markets. 

In 2017, Chris founded GA Capital, LLC, a middle market advisory for the agribusiness supply chain. GA Capital advises companies in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and financing.

Chris is actively involved with the Department of Agricultural Economics, assisting with the Agribusiness Entrepreneurship and agricultural commodities marketing program. He is also involved with the Finance department at the Mays Business School, mentoring students and guest lecturing in both undergraduate and graduate classes. Chris is a member of the Texas A&M Foundation College of Agriculture Development Council and the Marine Executive Association that helps newly or soon-to-be discharged Marines network with the business community.

Chris lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Click Below for Video Interview: 
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Transcript - Christopher R. Narayanan Interview.pdf135.89 KB