Sumukh Rao

Partnerships and Alliances professional with 10+ years of experience across education, B2B SaaS, and enterprise ecosystems. Proven track record in building and scaling strategic partnerships with universities, system integrators, and technology partners to drive revenue, adoption, and long-term value. Strong expertise in go-to-market partnerships, channel strategy, consultative sales, and stakeholder management primarily across APAC and North America but primarily in the Indian sub-continent.

Senior Associate at Amit Ray & Company (2023-08 – Present)

• Coordinated verification of statutory and financial records during internal audits for state and central government agencies.
• Reviewed fixed assets, inventory, and stock registers for completeness and reconciliation to ensure accuracy and regulatory compliance.
• Scrutinized voucher files and verified Statements of Expenditure (SOE) and Financial Monitoring Reports (FMR) against supporting documentation to ensure adherence to prescribed financial guidelines.

Associate Director – Sales & Partnerships at Ziroh Labs (2021-03 – 2023-06)

• Built and scaled the Academic Alliance Program, onboarding 40+ university partners across private, state, and central institutions.
• Drove GTM initiatives, contributing to 50+ qualified opportunities across education and SME segments via direct, channel, and co-sell motions.
• Established joint pipelines with system integrators and ecosystem partners to support institutional digital transformation initiatives.
• Led 20+ partner-led webinars, workshops, and co-branded programs with universities, enterprises, and government stakeholders.
• Aided 20+ academic and industry-linked projects per quarter, overseeing partner onboarding, enablement, software demonstrations, and commercial negotiations.

Analyst-in-Residence at IIIT Bangalore (2019-08 – 2020-09)

• Assisted with operations, marketing, and ecosystem partnerships for the Innovation Centre.
• Identified collaboration opportunities with domestic and international organizations.
• Organized hackathons, conferences, and corporate deal-sourcing initiatives for startups and enterprises.

Head of Strategy & Partnerships at LXG (2018-05 – 2019-07)

• Supported the CEO in driving corporate strategy, partnerships, and go-to-market initiatives.
• Engaged enterprise clients including Logitech, NVIDIA, Dell, and BenQ.
• Coordinated internal teams and operations in collaboration with the COO.

Manager – Strategic Partnerships & Alliances at Synup (2017-02 – 2018-04)

• Generated over USD 30K in revenue from outbound sales while managing a pipeline of 100+ B2B customers across the USA, Canada, and Australia.
• Owned the full sales cycle from lead qualification and demos to negotiation and contract closure.
• Maintained accurate forecasting and consistently built a high-quality opportunity pipeline.

Account Manager at Livprop (2016-01 – 2016-12)

• Managed relationships with 40+ existing customers through in-person and executive-level engagement.
• Achieved upsell revenue from 20+ clients via direct sales efforts.

Manager – Startup Ecosystem Development at IIIT Bangalore (2013-09 – 2015-12)

• Served as primary liaison for academia–startup collaborations.
• Presented institutional vision to 500+ undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• Enabled collaboration between startups, investors, enterprises, and academic stakeholders.

Management Trainee at MentorSquare Advisors (2012-04 – 2013-07)

• Supported webinars, conferences, and SME-focused events.
• Helped in building relationships with 120+ mentors across India and internationally.

Web Marketing Consultant at Nispaara Solutions (2011-07 – 2012-02)

• Primary point of contact for B2B clients across multiple verticals.
• Assisted 20+ clients with a combined contract value exceeding USD 1M.

Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science & Engineering – SASTRA University (2011)

Executive Program in Strategic Sales Management – Indian Institute of Management Indore (IIMI)—Executive Education (2023)

Executive Program in Strategic Digital Marketing – University of Cambridge, Judge Business School (Executive Education) (2020)