National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) Board

Aziz Gilani

General Partner/Managing Director, Mercury Fund

Aziz Gilani is a Managing Director at Mercury, where he focuses on investments in enterprise SaaS, cloud, security, and data science startups.

Prior to joining Mercury, Aziz was a Senior Engagement Leader with Infosys Consulting, an early executive at ABB Performance Services, and a Senior Consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Aziz received his BBA from the University of Texas where he was a TILF Scholar, and his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where he was an FC Austin Scholar. Aziz is a graduate of the Kauffman Fellows Program through the Center for Venture Education, where he completed industry-defining field work on Seed Accelerators. Aziz is a recognized expert in Seed Accelerators and has been quoted in several national publications.

Outside of Mercury, Aziz serves in advisory roles for Houston Exponential, The Black Founders Matter Fund, and SXSW Interactive. He is also a Lecturer at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business where he teaches entrepreneurial finance.

Aziz received the 2021 National Venture Capital Association Service Award for his work with public policy makers to help startups gain access to COVID relief programs.