VP Sharma is a technology professional with over 34 years’ global experience in Telecommunications / Networking domains. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, Pune, he served in Indian Army (Corps of Signals) for 16 years from 1985 to 2001. During his career in Army, he has served in many operational assignments and military technology projects in India and internationally.

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He transitioned to corporate world in 2001. From 2001 to 2010, he worked in telecom sector during the years of hyper-growth. During this period, he worked for Airtel, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks and Cisco Systems in senior positions.

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In 2017, he left his corporate career and along with three of his close friends to take up social entrepreneurship full-time through two ventures - Gramonnati Trust and Gratitude Farms with a goal to develop 10,000 rural entrepreneurs over the next five years from amongst youth, women and ex-soldiers.

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He lives in Pondicherry.

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He is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur (M Tech, EE), and Military college of Telecom Engineering (BE, E&C).

A proven leader at senior, strategic positions in  large, global,  geographically dispersed and complex organisations, Shekar has about three decades of work experience at large,  diverse multinational corporations covering General Management across various functions and Industries like Automotive, Technology, Telecom and Retail. 

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Shekar has managed large and geographically diverse global teams.  He has traveled widely and has a sound understanding of various cultures across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Understanding people & their drivers is his passion.  He is an active Coach and has been  mentoring several people over the years.  Transformational Leadership is his specialty; driving change is what he finds most exhilarating at work.   He currently runs his own consulting firm which specializes in Startup advisory, Shared Services and Business Transformation and has a diverse set of clients from global leaders in Aviation and Consumer Durables to a series of early stage start-ups.

Brig Rakesh Kaul has over 33 years of distinguished military experience as an officer in the Corps of Signals, Indian Army. He has led major communications and networking projects for the Army over the years in various parts of the country. He joined Gramonnati after his retirement in Mar 2018. He is also a wildlife enthusiast and is a post graduate in Eco-Tourism. Presently he is Co-founder at Gramonnati and Gratitude Farms.

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He has now settled in Pondicherry permanently post his retirement from Indian Army.

 

Educational Qualifications: B Tech, M Sc (Ecotourism)

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Ayushi Sharma is a graduate from Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE), Pondicherry. She has done her Masters in Energy Strategies from MINES ParisTech, France. Her interests are in the field of micro/nano- grids for rural communities and plans to set up her own social enterprise. She is currently working as a research engineer in the renewable energy startup, SunMoksha.

She is developing technologically advanced but affordable water management solutions for our organic farms.

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