R U Coached!
The case for executive coaching as a high-leverage leadership act.
AwarenessThe 32-Year Journey
Pharma sales. Healthcare data. Global IT delivery. Then — coaching.
I have lived inside companies for most of my working life. I know what a senior leader is actually facing — because I have been one.
In 1994, in my mid-twenties, I joined pharma as a Medical Representative. The role is widely misunderstood. In 1990s India — before Google, before online medical journals, before a phone in every doctor's pocket — Medical Reps were the way working doctors stayed current. We sat with surgeons and physicians between their cases, explaining new drug-delivery systems, treatment protocols, clinical-trial outcomes. Education first. Everything else followed.
By 2000 I was Area Business Manager for combined Andhra. There I launched a new pharma division — Eidikos (Lactodex infant formula, paediatrics, gynaecology) — and we ended that year as All India No. 1. In 2004, promoted Zonal Business Manager for Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Cut attrition 27% → 15% across the zone — not by lecturing, but by coaching. Without knowing it then, that was the first time I did what I do today.
In 2009, Tata Consultancy Services brought me in for a very specific reason. The Wolters Kluwer account — a $25 million engagement — was on the verge of being pulled back. Eleven simultaneous tracks. 125 people. Five managers reporting in. I had six months to stabilise it. I lifted the gross margin from 25% to 65%. I reported directly to Abid Ali Z. Neemuchwala, then CEO of TCS BPO.
Once Wolters Kluwer was steady, TCS moved me to Pune for the Microsoft account. It was $80,000 when I arrived. By the time I left TCS in 2016, it was $30 million — and the team had grown from 15 to 125. Somewhere in there I won TCS's Best AI Project of the Year, 2014. Then a year as Senior Director at Course5i, running a $10M+ digital-analytics P&L across US, UK and India.
Because somewhere inside twenty-three years of selling, scaling, rescuing and turning around, I had come to a quiet conclusion. The real problem a senior leader faces is almost never strategy. It is almost never scale. It is the unspoken thing.
That is the room I sit in now. Since 2017, as Founder of Nirvedha Executive Coaching Solutions — Nirvedha is a Sanskrit word meaning deeper thoughts and insights — I have worked one-to-one with 180+ senior leaders. Helping them cross the ceiling they couldn't name.
1994 – 2005 · Pharma
Bliss → Raptakos → Bharat Serums → Wallace
Started as a Medical Representative at Bliss. Joined Raptakos in 1995. Promoted Area Manager (1997), then Area Business Manager for combined Andhra (2000) — where I launched a new division called Eidikos (Lactodex infant formula + paediatrics + gynaec) which stood All India No. 1. Promoted Zonal Business Manager (2004) for Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Cut attrition 27% → 15%, business +20%.
2006 – 2009 · Data + KPO
IQVIA · PharmaForce
Crossed industries to learn how to read healthcare data. At IQVIA: lifted operational accuracy 62% → 89%, launched India's first Nursing Home Census, rated Best Zonal Manager. At PharmaForce: set up a Knowledge Process Outsourcing operation from scratch, won the first project in 30 days.
2009 – 2016 · TCS
Wolters Kluwer rescue → Microsoft growth
Onboarded specifically to save the $25M Wolters Kluwer account — GM 25% → 65% in six months, 11 tracks, 125 people, reported to the CEO of TCS BPO. Then moved to Pune for the Microsoft account: built it from $80K to $30M by exit. Team scaled 15 → 125. TCS Best AI Project of the Year, 2014.
2016 – 2017 · Course5i
Senior Director — Digital Practice
Owned a $10M+ profit-and-loss across US, UK, India for digital analytics. Clients: Microsoft, GE, Walmart, HUL, MetLife, Lenovo, Autodesk, Seagate, Sun Pharma, CVS. Last corporate role.
Jan 2017 → present · Nirvedha
Founder & Executive Director
Founded January 2017. Practice scaled 4× to ₹1.2 Cr revenue. 180+ leaders coached. ₹32 Cr added to client compensation. 92% repeat ratio. 5.8 months median time to a CXO promotion. Five books published. Eight peer-reviewed papers. Three coaching frameworks. Four AI products.
