Shekhar Purohit

Mumbai, India

Secured $300K in initial financing and an additional $1M financing to launch India's leading online media platform to discover aspiring talent and connect them with the casting community throughout digital, music, film, television, print, events, and advertising entertainment groups country-wide.

CO-FOUNDER CEO (July 2015 to Present)

Lead, mentor, and supervise a team of 50 employees across the firm. Collaborated with global partners to create the world's first online ecosystem for worldwide talent via an online casting network, an online television channel, similar to TED Talks, and an online university.

♦ Conceptualized and created IPs to facilitate the company's ability to more effectively manage the discovery, launch, and management of talent within singing, dancing, acting, designer discovery, and script writing categories.

♦ Surpassed user base of 170,000 talents with over 1000 posted casting opportunities and an annualized revenue run-rate of $2M at end of FY2017.

♦ Manage six-member board of directors that includes entrepreneurs, bankers, and CEOs in Europe, the Middle East, and the US.

Independent Consultant Corporate Advisor

Co-founded and acted as CEO for three firms including an online media/entertainment app platform that curated GEC content (Bollyverse), India's first online men's curated styling services (Dapper Don), and India's largest online studio (Talentnext.com).

CO-FOUNDER ACTING CEO (March 2014 to December 2015)

Held PL responsibility, securing financing rounds, drafting a business plan, directing the product launches, and securing sales and the marketing pipeline. Co-managed 30 employees within the three firms' BPO, sales marketing, and technology departments.

♦ Directed successful launch of all three firms; secured exit for Bollyverse within 15 months of launch at six times the revenue valuation.

♦ Cultivated strong partnerships for each firm including securing a preloaded app deal on 200 million Samsung smartphones; initiating India's first global day-date online release with Netflix of "BrownNation;" discovering, launching, and managing six lead actors in a feature film.

♦ Negotiated and secured a deal with India's largest brand partner, Reliance Brands, for sourcing rights to Diesel, Brooks Brothers, Hugo Boss, Thomas Pink, Zegna, and SuperDry.

♦ As Board Advisor to remuneration committees for the top Indian MNC and senior management advisor to chief people officers, created value and wealth sharing plans for top 50 global executives of a $20B global oil gas firm.

♦ Aligned short- and long-term incentive plans of global conglomerate by building a performance measurement system.

♦ Developed a goal-setting process for a leading retailer connecting its performance management system to the annual strategic business planning process.

Mumbai, India

Led the India division charged with developing the country's entrance business strategy within film production, creating original TV content, and capitalizing on the online media platform EPIX HD.

MANAGING DIRECTOR, India (July 2013 to March 2014)

Solicited and established strong working relationships with all major studios, production companies, and channel heads within the Indian film industry including Yash Raj Films, UTV/Disney, Reliance DreamWorks, Salman Khan Productions, Starz, Zee Network, Colors, and Sony.

♦ Leveraged a $50M budget to combine Bollywood and South India content that reinterpreted and remade Hollywood films like Warrior and Dirty Dancing and produced original cross-content features that highlighted 21st century India.

♦ Generated television and digital licensing deals for existing Lionsgate IPs that generated instant profitable revenue.

Chicago, IL San Francisco, CA

Collaborated with two consultants to generate $2M within one year of opening the San Francisco office.

MANAGING DIRECTOR | SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE DIRECTOR (April 2011 to June 2013)

Provided consultancy services focused on strategy, corporate governance, talent, organizational human capital consulting, and Board Advisory Services to local, regional, and global clients in the software, retail, venture capital, and media and entertainment industries.

♦ Redirected and developed new corporate strategy focused on expanding into ancillary human capital consulting services, including MA due diligence and executive human capital, new industry verticals, and geographic expansion.

♦ Built and fostered an exclusive advisory relationship with the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford Business School and Stanford Law School, serving as guest lecturer to provide executive education on global corporate governance and entrepreneurship.

♦ Championed and initiated development of an overseas office, cultivating key relationships with partner firms in India China that led to the acquisition opening of a London-based consulting firm.

Mumbai, India

Provided leadership and expertise on developing and improving human capital consulting, corporate strategy, global executive compensation, total rewards, leadership, and organizational development.

PRINCIPAL | GLOBAL CONSULTING LEADER (September 2009 to December 2010)

Directed 15-member global leadership executives that generated $120M+ revenue and 3,000+ professionals to develop and deliver annual global compensation consulting and organizational strategies that aligned top revenue markets with global firm vision. Advised multiple global firms within the US, Europe, and India.

♦ Pitched, sold, and managed two $10M HR transformation contracts that included consulting to improve global strategy, total rewards, compensation benefits integration, HR capability development, and HRIS systems implementation, to a Middle East global petrochemical business.

♦ Managed global relationships for six key clients in financial services, retail, pharmaceutical, and oil gas, coaching each client to successfully improve its organizational development, HR systems and policies, including compensation and benefits.

Directed development of Asia's performance and rewards practice by collaborating with local and regional teams to sell, develop, and implement project focused on broad-based and executive compensation, corporate governance, sales force effectiveness, and salesforce compensation. Assisted clients in retail, pharmaceutical, media entertainment, financial services, high-technology, and oil gas industries.

♦ Led team of 25 personnel across five regions in Asia tasked with providing client-faced consulting, internal and external content development, and staff development to deliver an annualized revenue base of $15M.

♦ Served as consulting lead client relationship manager for several top revenue-producing Asian clients.

♦ Created and executed the Private Equity Practice for the Asia Pacific region, consulting for US-based and local firms' portfolio companies to improve their overall business strategies, leadership development, equity ownership, and talent management-related issues.

♦ Conceptualized, developed, and launched the next evolution of "Hewitt Academy," which served as a "one stop shop" for HR practitioners seeking continuing education and professional development.

Chicago, IL

Provided end-to-end organizational leadership, offering executive-level guidance on corporate governance, executive compensation, and salesforce effectiveness and compensation strategies.

CO-FOUNDER | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (July 2003 to February 2007)

Directed firm management, business development, revenue enhancement, and client management for the retail, pharmaceutical, financial services, technology, and BPO sectors.

♦ Generated $5M revenue in fewer than two years while managing a team of five personnel.

♦ Leveraged expertise in corporate governance and executive compensation, with a focus on transaction-related opportunities including buyouts, MA, and divestitures, to advise boards within the PE back firms, technology, retail, and bio-tech industries.