About Pankaj

Pankaj is a seasoned energy sector, sustainability and impact professional with more than 15 years' experience in the intersection of operations, finance and sustainability for value creation. He has strong background in management consulting, growing business profitably, risk assessment and mitigation, fundraising & investor relations, sustainability/ ESG advisory, policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, market research, program and project management.

He has worked extensively with private market firms helping them build resiliency in their portfolio, grow EBITDA and create value for investors. He has worked with legacy businesses as well as early-stage ventures, public as well as private entities, with investors as well as senior management of companies giving him unique background to manage an organization successfully.

Before coming to Columbia University, Pankaj was Senior Advisor with Innovation Norway - Norwegian Government’s nodal agency for the internationalization of Norwegian companies. He was deeply involved in Energy Transition & Clean Technology projects, Development of Blue-Economy, Circular Economy projects and financing in Indian Subcontinent. He was leading high visibility, high stakes and high impact projects involving strategic investments and initiatives, policies and regulatory issues, business development and trade promotion, comprehensive due diligence of companies/ projects/ people, market research, liaising with C-Suit executives and government officials, providing business advisory and management consulting services .

Prior to this, he was handling international business development, strategic initiatives & investments for the Engineering Business Division of Raymond India Limited. Some of his key responsibilities included rolling out warehousing operations in Brazil, handling more than 40 customer accounts across 24 European countries, reporting business performance to the Board of Directors. He has successfully helmed responsibility for P&L account and budgeting and forecasting for entire business division ($30M annual revenue).

Academic Journey

Inspired by the work of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Prof. Joseph Stiglitz - a Nobel Laureat Economist, he completed Master's in Economic Policy Management from Columbia University - School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA). His area of specialisation is Energy Economics & Policy with focus on Energy Transition, ESG & Sustainable Finance. Some areas that he’s been deeply involved in are: Financing of Sustainable Infrastructure, Deployment of Clean Technologies, Capital Markets & Carbon Pricing. He specializes in Emerging Economies especially the Indian Ocean Region.

University Rank Holder: International Political Economy, Emerging Capital Markets, Financing Green Transition, Renewable Energy Finance, Energy Markets, Macro-economics and Policy.

He was Activities Chair at Columbia University, Board Member & Head of Consulting Projects at Columbia Impact Investing Initiative (CI3). He organized several Panel Discussions, Roundtables and a Speaker Series involving Chief Economic Advisors, CEO of World’s Biggest Sovereign Wealth Fund, Governors/ Deputy Governors of Central Banks of Developing Countries, former & current ministers. Additionally, he was actively involved in the energy sector research and market studies during his association with Center on Global Energy Policy and the Earth Institute.

He completed first Masters in Management Studies with Finance major from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai University. He actively participated in academic research projects and business consulting assignments working with well-known business houses such as Mahindra & Mahindra, TATA, ICICI Bank and L&T Finance. He won National Level Consulting Competitions and reached the finale of debate competition.

Given his passion for operations, he completed Mechanical Engineering from College of Engineering, Pune University.

He has studied Psychology, Political Science & International Relations. Additionally, he takes keen interest in governance & policy issues, political economy, social sciences, international affairs and its impact on society in general & rural economy in particular. An avid reader and travel enthusiast, he has visited more than 45 countries.

Community Development

Pankaj is Founder Chairman of Pushpa Patil Foundation, established in the memory of his late mother, working in areas such as primary education, gender equality, skilling, environment conservation through community participation. The mission of the non-profit is to create sustainable, resilient communities in rural areas by facilitating. The foundation is signatory to the voluntary commitments on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) monitored by UNDESA – UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs. He’s also a mentor for Ministry of Tribal Affair’s flagship project GOAL: Going Online As Leaders.

practitioner of yoga, meditation & Holistic Living

Pankaj was born in the Buldhana District - Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, which has important place in Indian mythology. The land is known for spirituality and work done by great Saints such as Gajanan Mahararaj and Gadge Baba. The region is part of Deccan plateau, which is more than 65 million years old. One of the most significant geological features of the region is the Lonar crater lake (35,000-50,000 years old according to NASA).

He spent early years of life in a region with glorious Buddhist and Jain heritage/ traditions and India’s one of the most holy places – Nashik, on the banks of river Godavari also known as the Ganges of South India. Surrounded by World Heritage Sites of Ajanta & Ellora Caves (2BCE-480 CE), the Brahmagiri Hills, forts and temples from the medieval and modern era with beautiful Indian architecture, highly fertile land, lakes and numerous rivers, he developed curiosity about human civilization and a deep connect with mother nature.

Later, spending a lot of time in Pune – Oxford of the East, for education and work, his interest in history, spirituality and its relevance for solving socio-economic issues grew. Pune with its extremely rich intellectual environment, food and cultural traditions drew him closer to yoga, meditation and sattvic diet. Though he has been working in some of the most crowded, chaotic and fast paced cities such as Mumbai and New York, he maintained connect with mother nature....

He has been practicing Hatha Yoga, Meditation for more than 25 years and believes in Holistic Living.

About Pankaj

Academic Journey

Community Development

practitioner of yoga, meditation & Holistic Living

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