Senior Technical Advisor - Value Chains at Chemonics International (FHM-Engage) (2023-08 – Present)
Address access barriers to quality health products, services, and information through market-based approaches while enhancing local private sector capacity and resources. Lead market-shaping activities and develop integrated campaigns for health products and services.
- Address access barriers to quality health products, services, and information through market-based approaches while enhancing local private sector capacity and resources
- Identify, engage, and manage new partners across women's livelihoods and health value chains to achieve project objectives, including joint work plans, field program monitoring, and reporting consolidation
- Expand product and service offerings by local private sector actors, including service providers, distributors, and retailers, by facilitating access to finance, capacity building, and quality improvement to enhance the availability of high-quality health products and services
- Conducted market trend analysis and develop strategic insights on corporate sector developments, CSR regulations, and category opportunities for Family Planning products and services
- Lead market-shaping activities by guiding market assessments, negotiating supplier agreements, building consensus among stakeholders, and executing term sheets and agreements with partners
- Conceptualize and execute integrated campaigns for distributors, retailers, and marketers, collaborating with creative agencies to develop brand messaging and communications that align with product objectives and brand ethos
- Design marketing collateral such as brochures, catalogs, and promotional materials
- Drafting the SoW and activity description for local partner organizations in India and work with the HQ Partnerships Team to create teaming and partnering arrangements
Director Value Chains at Drishtee Development and Communication (2020-02 – 2023-07)
Developed comprehensive value chain frameworks and business models focused on livelihood development, product development, and market-based approaches.
- Developed Value Chain framework: fostering consensus among senior and middle management for value chain workstreams
- Created an assessment framework for livelihood business models, with success metrics for new value chain businesses
- Developed costing conventions for product development, conceptualized stage-wise roadmaps, and managed product lifecycles
- Led branding discussions, developed packaging guidelines, and ensured regulatory compliance
- Formulated go-to-market strategies and customer acquisition plans, while presenting annual business plans focused on sustainability and profitability
- Developed a self-sustaining, community-based social business model focused on group collaboration, co-creation, and clear purpose, driven by effort-based incentives and supported by program governance and peer group affinity
- Created a compensation structure for VLE payouts, where compensation is linked to effort and volume, fostering sustainability through cohesive community collaboration
- Established a knowledge base on frugal innovation and leveraging local expertise, building institutional memory to institutionalize knowledge management and internal training systems
Business Specialist at Jhpiego (2017-02 – 2020-01)
Developed sustainability strategies for quality improvement-driven accreditation of private sector maternity facilities and enhanced operational efficiency through business planning and digital solutions.
- Developed sustainability strategies for implementing quality improvement-driven accreditation for private sector maternity facilities in key high-priority states in India
- Developed institutional capacity and led the Program Management Unit to execute the business plan, establishing structures, systems, and aligned processes to meet objectives
- Created a governance framework and explored digital solutions to enhance strategic and operational workflows
- Enhanced scalability by shifting from a high-touch to a lean operating model in Quality Assurance and HR for Health programs
- Established a cycle of network effects through a platform that supports multi-stakeholder transactions, improving program acceptance and value proposition
- Fostered collaboration and partnerships with innovators, practitioners, thought leaders, think tanks, and academia, while mobilizing resources through these alliances
- Pressure-test interventions to ensure that they deliver cost-effective impact at scale without unintended consequences
- Run fit-for-purpose experiments to find appropriate models for scaling
Consultant - Financial Inclusion at Enclude (Formerly Shore Bank International and Triodos Facet) (2013-12 – 2017-02)
Provided implementation support to partner organizations for digital payments and branchless banking across 24 states in India through a franchisee-based model.
- Provided implementation support to partner organizations, ensuring the adoption of a results-based approach in a franchisee-based branchless banking model across 24 states in India to drive digital payments and branchless banking
- Provide leadership to continuous improvement, strengthening, and mainstreaming of accountability and risk management system
- Trained project teams on customer engagement and retention strategies, reducing churn through gamification and incentives
- Enhanced response times by developing issue escalation systems, improving customer query resolution and feedback turnaround
Country Project Manager at Grameen Foundation (2010-02 – 2013-10)
Supported partner organizations in offering comprehensive financial products and services in rural India through microfinance groups and mobile phone platforms.
- Supporting partner organizations to offer a whole suite of financial products in rural India
- Key Result Areas included leading organizational change management, training, and capacity building, developing key marketing and financial education messages, risk management, internal controls, channel structure, and service delivery design
- Conceptualized and implemented programs to induct women from microfinance groups to act as trusted intermediaries for promoting financial services
- Over time, this initiative has matured to include WATSAN, adolescent hygiene products, eye-care referral programs, maternal and child care products, and health advisory services all offered through the mobile phone platform
- Supporting program implementation through the operating hierarchy of the partner organization
- Influencing and leading the discussion for buy-in from the partner organization, holding the partner organization accountable to a mutually agreed level of performance through periodic review mechanisms
- Set up the organization to handle multiple products and services, requiring distinct service delivery needs
- Developed performance-based culture by bringing in role clarity and introduced more objectivity in performance evaluation
- Developed business case for low margin high volume business, by adopting innovative approaches in channel design, service delivery, and operations management
- Worked up a consistent pace of engagement with practitioners and regulators to highlight limiting issues about the sector, drawing the attention of regulators on important policy changes required for mass-scale uptake of financial inclusion initiatives in India
Regional Manager (SME Business Development) at Kotak Mahindra Bank (2006-02 – 2010-01)
Managed SME business development across regional operations, building sourcing channels and scaling business from 3 to 9 centers with significant growth in monthly business volume.
- Developed conventional & non-conventional sourcing channels
- Aligned resources with output and measured output, conceptualized and executed campaigns & outreach programs, and harnessed up-sell & cross-sell opportunities
- Mentored credit team to interpret the policies and develop a holistic view of the small producer business eco-system, nurtured credit teams' capacity to base their credit decisions based on the broader direction of the economy, like government's monetary policy
- Responsible for recruiting the right candidate, training, setting up clear goals, monitoring, and facilitating the achievement of targets
- Coaching, guiding, and grooming employees and promoting leadership development through performance appraisal and developing career paths for staff
- Operating as profit-center head, managing budgets & business equations
- Contributed by developing regional business from 3 centers with a monthly business volume of 3.5 Cr, to 9 centers with a monthly business volume of INR 18 Cr
- By Dec 2009, maintained a Net Interest Margin of 6 to 7 percent consistently
- Ensuring administrative compliance and systems audit for field offices and franchisee network, payout and wage administration of outsourced staff, generating productivity reports, managing communication, and maintaining process hygiene
- Developed dashboards to document changes in performance over time, published and stimulated discussion regarding positive changes in performance
- Undertook team development and capacity building on functional and leadership axis
- Conducted periodic systems audits, assess patterns in data for determining unusual transactions and ascertain whether appropriate mitigates are considered for any deviations
- Implemented the concept of loan franchisees at locations outside bank branches, managed a team size of 20 business and credit managers, with more than 50 field and back-office staff on third-party payroll
National Head (Social Business) at Hindustan Lifecare Limited (2004-06 – 2006-02)
Managed pan-India operations for social business division, establishing rural distribution networks and implementing social marketing projects for contraceptive products.
- Company Overview: HLL today is a multiproduct healthcare company, primarily into contraceptive manufacturing, marketing, and social project management through their subsidiary HLFPPT
- Established an extensive rural distribution network, ensuring market penetration and product availability across conventional and non-conventional outlets through community-based organizations
- Managed pan-India operations with an annual sales turnover of ₹93 crores
- Implemented social marketing projects, evolving specific communications to trigger behavior change to promote uptake and usage of contraceptives in rural markets
- Analyzed consumption patterns, identified target markets and demographic segments, and projected demand estimates
- Allocated resources proportionately, monitored product uptake, gathered feedback through evaluation, and implemented policy realignments as needed
- Handled social projects across priority states, pitched for Social Marketing projects with national and international organizations like DFID, UNFPA, SIFPSA, SACS, NACO, developed project proposals, concept notes, and white papers
Regional Manager (Marketing) at Hindustan Lifecare Limited (1998-12 – 2004-06)
Responsible for business and market share growth in the western region with annual sales of 47 crores. Developed internal controls and financial discipline policies.
- Responsible for achievement of business and market share growth through the western region
- (Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra) handled sales of 47 crores annually
- Developed internal controls to achieve financial discipline, designed credit policy, and debtor management policies, and defined productivity parameters for channel partners
- HLL today is a multiproduct healthcare company, primarily into contraceptive manufacturing, marketing, and social project management through their subsidiary HLFPPT
