About

by Saurav Shekhar

Saurav Shekhar

India · (902) 682-9525 · saurav.shekhar.phe13@iitbhu.ac.in · linkedin.com/in/simply-shekhar/

 

 

Education

 

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, (Banaras Hindu University)        Varanasi

Bachelor’s degree,                                                                                               2013-17

Top 0.1% AIR in IIT JEE, 8.3 GPA, KVPY (All India Rank – 834), Silver medalist, A* (Distinction) in Environmental Studies

Active in Cricket & Entrepreneurship Club(s), Honda Young Engineer and Scientist (YES) Award 2016

 

Experience

 

Adara Partners – AI Strategy consulting firm for SME founders founded by K. Siva (ex-CEO, Aranca)                                                                                          India

Founding team                                                                                    Feb 25 – Present

  • Support strategy for 3 SMEs (U.S. cybersecurity, home décor, solar EPC), aiding fundraising, expansion, and operations.
  • Build network of 50+ independent consultants to enable multi-sector delivery.
  • Develop IPs for Strategy Realization Office, CoS AI agents and “Sell in India” program to grow venture portfolio.

 

YCP Holdings Co. Ltd. – $6bn listed holding firm with interests in strategy consulting & buyouts.                                                                    India / ASEAN / SG

Team Lead                                                                                            Jan 23 – Feb 25

  • Lead turnaround of Indonesia’s first privatized airport amid post-COVID recovery, unlocking $4.2mn revenue in 6 months.
  • Supported $20B demerger of GMR Group (airports and power).
  • Lead PMI of Piramal Foundation & CARE, securing $30M BMGF grant through integrated strategy.
  • Drove GTM and product strategies across Indian airports, fintech, and infrastructure; impact $100M+.

Associate Consultant                                                                         May 21 – Dec 22

  • Built GTM Strategy for Al-Ghanim Industries, addressing structural gaps & creating a SEA growth roadmap of $50M
  • Supported the establishment of a loyalty program (Aeroknots) within the conglomerate, with revenue potential of ~$300 mn
  • Designed & executed the NEOM inspired $50mn Smart Airport City Project for 5,000 acres of land.
  • Lead divestment of multiple infrastructure assets ($500M) under “Asset light, Asset right” program of GMR.

 

YuvaMitra Foundation – Tata Trusts backed NGO focused on urban slum relief & community resilience                                                                                         India

Senior Program Manager (promoted from Program Manager)        Jan 19 – May 21

  • Secure ₹50M grants from Tata Trusts, NABARD, etc. for water security and women’s hygiene programs.
  • Lead multi-sector initiatives reaching 20,000+ in slums, building KPIs and dashboards for governance.
  • Supported end-to-end planning, execution, and budgeting of multi-sector programs across Maharashtra and Haryana.
  • Capacity development of youth volunteers in Pune’s slums to run ration, hygiene, and vaccine-awareness during COVID-19.

 

Aurum Equity Partners LLP – Ambit ($2bn, largest IB/PE platform of India) backed boutique investment bank.                                                                         India

Investment Banking Analyst                                                             May 17 – Dec 18

  • Support $40M M&A (JK Agri Genetics acquisition), conducting valuation, synergy analysis, and structuring.
  • Assist $3M fundraises for Zappfresh with Dabur promoters/SIDBI, preparing models and materials.
  • Contribute to restructuring practice launch for $500M debt ed-tech; build DCF/comps models and due diligence.
  • Prepared board-level and investor presentations, information memoranda, and data-room materials for client and investors.

 

 

Entrepreneurship/Investing/Advisory

  • CEOFactory.vc: Pro-bono advisor/co-founder alliances arm, supporting startup incubation to $1M ARR (2025–Present).
  • AffordNames: Co-founder of research driven & ICANN compliant digital asset micro-fund, manage $100K+ domain portfolio with 80+ global clients; top GoDaddy reseller (2017–2020).
  • Yemedy: Co-founder, hyperlocal e-pharmacy; Y Combinator finalist; scale to $10K MRR and exit to local chain (2015–17)

 

 

Extra-curricular/Awards

  • Awarded Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) fellowship from IISC Bangalore
  • Selected for Yuva Prerna Yatra (YPY’16) – a social entrepreneurship journey with 100 young leaders from across India
  • Won the Microsoft Code.Fun.Do hackathon in “Best Idea Category” in 2016.
  • Honda Young Engineer and Scientist (YES) Award 2016 – top 5 in IIT BHU
  • School topper in Class XII (94.6%) in 2013 and Class X (10/10 CGPA) in 2011; Science Olympiad (2013) – district rank 1.
  • Half Marathon medalist, Sundown Gurugram 2023
  • Special recognition from Pilar Dieter (CFO, YCP Holdings) for musical performance in annual offsite.