Strategist, Thinker and Leader in Sustainable Development Sector; Country Director, India for Digital Green
Achiever's Success Story
Contribution for the humanity
Krishnan envisions a future where agenda of just and equitable social development is decided through informed engagement of the most vulnerable people. His vision, nervous energy and passion rubs on others – institutions and individuals alike, to find creative solutions at scale to big problem that humanity faces. With never-die faith in human capacity to excel and exceed, he often says that ‘We will achieve our dream of a just and prosperous world only when we overcome our tendency to think that poor and hungry are a part of the problem and thus should be mere recipients of aid and support. Rather, they should be at the apex of finding and guiding us towards lasting solutions.”
Krishnan is a sustainable development leader, thinker and strategist, having experience of varied geographies, contexts and sectors from disaster risk reduction and climate change to livelihoods and tech for development. He also serves on the board of Humanitarian Aid International and is a mentor to the new social start up Netri, an organisation that works for women’s role in political leadership.
Inspired by teachings of Gandhi, Krishnan took the bold decision of leaving a promising career in marketing to dive into the then unknown area of social development, a call that came after his chance visit to Sunderban delta in 1993. Since then, as an activist, facilitator, thinker and leaders, Krishnan’s contribution to the sector has been manifold, helping organisations, movements and ideas to emerge, take shape and inform thinking and action. This includes championing collective action on disaster risk resilience in Nepal during 2007 to 2010, highlighting the plight of Afghan Women into European political leadership that led to the formation of European Parliamentarians Network for women in Afghanistan in 2012 and his efforts from 2014-2016 to position off grid clean energy system as a win-all solution to ensure energy access and energy security in India.
Krishnan’s contribution to the sector can be measured by the influence and impact he have had on various institutions and individuals. He brings into the sector is a freshness in thinking and approach to finding lasting solutions to some of the global problems, encouraging and inspiring innovations that are empowers poor and vulnerable as active partners in the development discourse
Currently, as one of the senior leaders in Digital Green, he is guiding the India operations of this award winning institution to apply technology and data driven solutions to the problems faced by the 120 million strong small scale farming community, to strengthen their agency, leadership and resolve to become active stakeholders in contributing to India’s aspirations and growth.