What led you to the social sector?

Growing up, I was a minority in many settings. That experience helped me to develop an inherent desire for “justice” – “fairness” as a concept was important to me, and it became the default lens that I took when trying to comprehend the world. I recall feeling sad and frustrated that so much of a person’s destiny was often determined by circumstances beyond their control – the families and communities that they were born into, their gender, or the color of their skin. It felt terribly unjust, too, that the complex, messy factors that often kept those individuals chained to their destinies were reversible, yet not enough was being done to reverse them.

My own introduction to the social sector was quite accidental. In 2009, having learnt of Teach for America’s success at galvanising a generation of youth leaders to teach in marginalised schools, I wrote a concept note that would eventually become the building blocks for Teach for Malaysia. Co-founding and leading that NGO helped me to learn a lot about myself. It was also a harsh “101” lesson about the sector for me: how acute the needs were across communities we worked with, how difficult it was for those same communities to escape poverty when they had to navigate the full weight of inequitable systems upon them, and how the social sector, in general, was just severely under-funded despite the phenomenally vital role that NGOs play.

Since leaving Teach for Malaysia, I have remained engaged in the social sector across Southeast Asia; first with The Boston Consulting Group, working primarily on addressing socioeconomic issues with governments, then with Dalberg, working primarily with multilateral agencies on poverty alleviation, and now with The Bridgespan Group. It’s difficult for me to imagine working in any other sector these days, given the urgency of challenges before us, the tremendous progress we have seen even in the last few years alone, and the promise of breakthrough solutions ahead given the incredible pace of disruptive technologies on the horizon.

What issues within the social sector are you most passionate about, and why?

If I had to choose one issue, it would probably be education. As we know, poverty is not abstract in most parts of Asia. Despite the tremendous wealth generated in this region over the past few decades, poverty continues to stare at us in the face. If it is not tangible reminders from poor, marginalised communities that we share spaces with, it is the stories shared by generations that have come before us, narratives that can be difficult to comprehend given their stark contrast to our lives today. In many of those stories, as it was for my own ancestors, investing in education helped break the perpetual, stubborn cycle of poverty. Education attainment has and continues to dramatically shift entire generations of Asians out of poverty. 

Having said that, I continue to learn and appreciate how important it is for there to be breakthrough results across many, intermingling issues in the social sector for us to dramatically improve the quality of life for those in need. Excellent, equitable education alone matters less when communities also need greater access to dignified jobs, clean water and air, quality and affordable healthcare and proper nutrition – and for many of the marginalised communities in Southeast Asia, that is their reality. So, regardless of the issue that they are seeking to address, it is a privilege to partner with our clients, who are bold and ambitious with the change they seek to see in the world, each of them seeking to shift the trajectories of millions in this part of the world.

What prompted you to join Bridgespan?

I first came across Bridgespan about 10 years ago, when I was in graduate school in Boston. Having already started a career in management consulting, I found it intriguing that Bridgespan was using management frameworks and concepts to solve complex social issues in a rigorous, analytical manner. At the time, Bridgespan did not have an office in Southeast Asia, and I knew that Southeast Asia would likely be a longer-term home for me.

Ten years later, in early 2023, I joined Bridgespan’s newly launched Southeast Asia office. Beyond my desire to continue partnering with ambitious clients to solve intractable social issues in a rigorous, data-driven manner, I am excited to use the Bridgespan platform to learn and share lessons from the field in Southeast Asia with the rest of the world, and to support local NGOs advance their important work on the frontlines of change.

What do you enjoy most about working at Bridgespan? 

I enjoy working on difficult issues with our clients who are often bold and eager to take calculated risks to advance change. Purpose-driven work deeply motivates me, and I am energised when I spend my time working on issues that lead to changing the lived realities of marginalised communities around me.

Bridgespanners keep me at Bridgespan! It has been a privilege to build, and be accompanied on this journey by a community of some of the smartest people I know, who are also kind. In my experience, striking that balance can be rare, so I feel grateful to be surrounded by such a community daily.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

I enjoy taking walks around our leafy neighborhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with my wife, Joanna, and our young daughter, Ayra. I also love finding and restoring vintage, Asian furniture and have recently rekindled my interest in photography and sketching. On holidays or longer weekends, I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, cooking Jaffna and Kerala cuisine!