Background

I was born and raised in a small town called Nagpur in central India. I went to study at an even smaller town called Pilani because it is home to one of India’s best engineering schools, BITS Pilani, where I earned my B.E. with Honors in Mechanical Engineering. I spent most of those formative years being the official grease monkey (formally called the Vice-Captain) of Inspired Karters Racing – one of the top-five racing teams in India – and leading educational projects in surrounding villages for the National Service Scheme. I did my engineering capstone project with Tata Motors (yes, my work did involve some Land Rovers and Jaguars). Upon graduating I went back to the Tata Group as a Business Development Engineer at one of its other companies, Voltas Limited. Here I got the opportunity to not only apply my engineering education, but also learn the finer aspects of managing a business. Over the next four years I led projects in business development, project planning, process improvement and corporate strategy, and ended up being a part of the Tata Group’s elite internal consulting team.

Career Path

Working on high-impact business assessment and consulting projects helped me understand the complex interconnectedness of business processes; how processes are conceptualized, deployed, learned, and integrated with the other processes to achieve the result the company aims to achieve. These experiences also made me realize the importance of actively broadening my perspective. I learned that good ideas on their own are not enough to create a positive impact, and strong, effective leadership is crucial in driving teams and projects to success. My desire to build on my business skills, broaden my perspective, and become an effective leader brought me to UNC Kenan-Flagler. Being a Leadership Fellow at the Kenan Institute is an ideal platform to translate the knowledge and skills that I learn here into a positive impact in the real world. Upon graduating, I wish to continue helping businesses understand the big-picture and solve complex problems.

Interests and Hobbies

I love to read, and there is no telling what might interest me next; everything from biographies to behavioral economics and fantasy to science-fiction is on the table. I enjoy playing basketball and soccer (the real football), but I also like to learn sports that I have never played before (baseball and “American” football are next). I am a gearhead and love everything about cars and motorbikes. I am also an adventure enthusiast; I’ve snorkeled in the Andaman Islands, para-sailed over the Arabian Sea, and camped for a night at one of India’s most famous haunted castles.