Mahesh Muralidhar is the Chief Executive of Phase One Ventures, a New Zealand venture firm that supports and funds startups to grow and succeed. He mentors and invests in startups across New Zealand and serves on the board of Ministry of Awesome.
Before returning to New Zealand, Mahesh held senior leadership roles across Asia and Australia, including in Sydney where he worked at some of the region’s most prominent technology companies. He was an early executive leader at Canva, helping set the company up for scale.
Born in Kerala, India, and having spent part of his childhood in Singapore, Mahesh moved to New Zealand in the 1990s to attend high school.
He completed his schooling at Napier Boys’ High School before studying at the University of Auckland, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Statistics and a Graduate Diploma in Arts. He also holds an MBA from the University of New South Wales and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Policy from the University of Auckland and received multiple university awards.
Mahesh lives in Mission Bay with his wife Praveena.
19 February 2026
Phase One Ventures chief executive Mahesh Muralidhar has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Tāmaki for the 2026 General Election. Mr Muralidhar...