
Sustainability vs. Profitability – A Leadership Dilemma
Introduction For many years, business leaders have viewed sustainability and profitability as competing priorities. While most organizations recognized
Ajit is a business consultant based in Pune, India, whose early years were shaped by a nomadic upbringing as his father’s profession took the family across various cities in the country. Coming from a family with a strong legacy of engineers, academics, public servants, and freedom fighters, he developed a broad perspective and deep appreciation for diverse cultures and communities from an early age.
While maintaining a strong connection to his agricultural roots, Ajit pursues a wide range of interests and derives immense satisfaction from both his personal passions and professional work. His extensive travels across India and internationally—for business as well as leisure—have enriched his understanding of people, markets, and cultures. This global exposure has been instrumental in developing his expertise in managing geographically dispersed businesses, leading remote teams, and driving growth across multiple locations and diverse markets.

Corporate Experience
Start Up Experience
Consultancy
Extensive cross-border business experience
Market entry, business expansion, and operational execution
International growth and partnership development
two startups
completed acquisitions in India and overseas
in both the start-ups
Technology
Fintech
Agriculture
Infrastructure
Medical devices and healthcare
Ajit’s extensive knowledge equips him to navigate emerging markets and technologies, whether for startups or established companies seeking to enter new territories. Ajit has played a pivotal role in spearheading various revenue and business models across a wide range of industries, including Information Technology, FMCG, Textile, Smart cards, renewable energy, Healthcare, Big data analytics, Digital Media, and entertainment. His hands-on approach involves offering guidance and overseeing capacity development to deliver and enhance solutions in fields such as business intelligence, big data platforms, large data warehouses, and data analytics. Ajit has a distinct inclination for pioneering new technologies, consistently evaluating their potential, and skillfully executing tactical strategies.
Ajit has executed, expanded, and divested from two startup ventures. Throughout this entrepreneurial journey, he successfully secured multiple rounds of funding, executed acquisitions in both the Indian and international markets, and achieved profitable exits for both startups. Ajit also executed pivots to the business models whenever necessary and kept the venture on a profitable journey. His startups were extremely data-intensive and he was instrumental in creating new revenue models using data analytics. His startups were funded by venture capital funds like Nexus, Sequoia, and Intel Capital.
During his corporate career and start-up journey, Ajit has substantial international experience in the form of dealing with parent companies in Europe and the USA. He understands the intricacies of different operating styles of the world and the challenges that are encountered while operating as subsidiaries of foreign companies. He is well exposed to different work cultures and management ethics of the international corporate world. As part of the start-up, he successfully ventured out beyond the boundaries of the country and established operations in the Middle East, Indonesia, and Africa. Ajit has experience in building the international strategy and also the road for execution of the same. He is well-versed in managing international teams and their culture.
Ajit has the unique advantage of having worked in nine different industries and two starts ups and therefore he can effortlessly understand the client’s industry and his business model. While there is typically a predefined path agreed upon with investors, its successful implementation or refinement remains crucial. This involves seizing opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, expanding internationally, and adapting the business model to address sudden changes in the external environment. In this capacity, he plays a pivotal role in helping SMEs and startups navigate these multifaceted challenges. His contributions encompassed a range of activities, including business process re-engineering aimed at cost reduction, devising strategies for product launches, facilitating international expansion, evaluating M&A opportunities, and conducting financial due diligence.
Accredited Mentor,
Business Mentors
New Zealand
Mentor in Residence,
Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship,
University of Auckland
Advisor, Loyal VC
(140+ portfolio companies globally)
Member, EU-India InnoCenter
Mentor Board
Independent Director on multiple company boards
Certified Company Director (India)
Advises leadership teams on growth, strategy, and governance
Board-level strategic oversight and governance expertise
Founded, scaled, and exited two startups
Delivered profitable exits for investors
Led fundraising and international expansion initiatives
Proven track record of business growth and value creation
Established and managed businesses across India, UAE, Jordan, and Indonesia
Extensive cross-border business experience
Market entry, business expansion, and operational execution
International growth and partnership development
Renewable Energy
Smart Cards
Technology
Media, Agriculture, Mobile, Digital Health & Medical Devices, Manufacturing
Global business perspective
Strategic leadership and governance
Entrepreneurial execution
Sustainable business growth and value creation

Introduction For many years, business leaders have viewed sustainability and profitability as competing priorities. While most organizations recognized

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