Tarun Gupta
Group CEO and Managing Partner
Tarun has had over 20 years of consulting experience with a strong focus on economic development and export promotion. His past experience includes working in Europe as Head of International Business (Trade Finance) team for HSBC and working closely with European companies looking to export to new markets.
Tarun has a proven track record in achieving trade and investment in key markets i.e., Americas, Europe, and India, and has been a keynote speaker at various India group briefings, presentations, and mentorships.
In his free time, Tarun likes to read about the experiences of travellers to offbeat locations and add to his bucket list of places to be visited and experiences to be had.
Saurabh Khanna
Managing Partner – T&A Consulting Americas Inc
Saurabh began his career in international sales and business development for the MENA region. He eventually moved into business consulting in 2011. Saurabh has since advanced multiple levels within T&A's consulting organization and currently serves as the global engagement lead from the company's North American office.
Saurabh has experience working with over 200 foreign companies in the Indian market. Additionally, he has led multiple teams for the coordination and management of various ministerial visits and trade delegations, as well as conducting feasibility studies, managing due diligence processes, and participating in qualification visits on behalf of overseas clients. Saurabh has successfully assisted clients (including Fortune 500 companies and small and medium-sized enterprises) on global manufacturing/supply chain assessments.
Currently based in Toronto, Saurabh supports private companies in their global expansion and North American EDOs in generating investment leads from Europe over the past two years. Despite Saurabh not having a formal education in engineering, mining equipment, machinery, and mining machinery are close to his heart since he began his career in the equipment sales field. Saurabh gained a deeper understanding of Economic Development activities as his career advanced and was instrumental in expanding T&A's client base. Furthermore, he has gained experience in strategic market entry and the generation of investment leads through managing multiple teams and executing long-term projects from Europe and North America.
In addition to his work, Saurabh has a passion for theatre and was part of a well-known theatre group until 2013. In addition to traveling extensively and learning about new cultures, he also has a passion for global cuisine, which motivates him to travel extensively.
Barry Clarke
Partner – International Markets
Following a long career of over 30 years in senior public service promoting economic development for the UK government, Barry joined T&A Consulting as Partner, International Markets in April 2021.
He has successfully built and managed trade, investment and international education teams promoting Northern Ireland in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe. Living and working in Mumbai, Dubai, Shanghai, and London for nearly 15 years he has managed C-level relationships in over 50 countries, helping businesses of all sizes across multiple sectors to grow exports, as well as attracting new investment and building education partnerships. His true passion has always been the manufacturing sector, especially machinery and engineering, but in the latter part of his career, he became and continues to be an advocate for the influence of international education on economic development. Barry believes that the opportunity for young people and adult learners to attend international universities; learn new cultures and work overseas exposes them to influences beyond taught subjects. That experience guides their personal and working lives forever and sets an example for the aspirations of future generations as well as making a meaningful change to the growth of emerging economies.
Knowledge and networks and the application of common sense and integrity are the key ingredients of building a trusted business partnership with clients globally and that’s why he chose to join and augment the already strong and trusted team at T&A Consulting to support their aspirations for further international growth.
Outside of work, Barry has maintained his childhood interests in stamp collecting, or as he calls it his “window to the world” that first inspired him to follow an international career. He now lives by the sea and walks daily with his dog and enjoys the time he now spends with his family in Northern Ireland and Scotland, but his passion for India has never waned after living there for six years.
Andy U. Kasper (PhD)
Partner
Andy has over 25 years of operative experience and business development in international markets with a broad range of industries. He is well networked within the Swiss export industry and acknowledged advisor for FDI and implementation of manufacturing sites in overseas markets mainly in the Middle East, South-Asia and Far-East countries. Andy travels extensively in the Gulf countries and is mandated for selective countries in Far-East.
Andy holds a MSc in Applied Physics from ETH Zurich, earned a PhD from University of Geneva and an executive MBA from City University, Seattle.
He speaks English, German, French and Italian with some knowledge of Arabic and Hindi.
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Anuradha Bhattacharya
Director - Research
Anuradha has 11 years of International Trade Consulting and research focused on business strategy & India Market Entry. Anuradha has worked closely with Economic Development and Trade Promotion Organizations to promote bilateral trade with India. Over the span of her career, Anuradha has carried out more than 100 consulting projects for foreign companies aiming to do business with India.
Anuradha has an in-depth understanding of the multi-cultural business environment and she has been working on international consulting projects from various geographies of the world.
Anuradha is Trained in Foreign Trade and Cross-Cultural Communication from Hamburg, Germany and is certified by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs & Energy.
Anuradha has led consulting projects for foreign companies aiming to do business with India i.e. market entry projects, opportunity assessment studies, technology collaboration, low cost country sourcing and partner identification assignments.
Ashwin Merchant
Partner – Institutional Partnerships
With a passion for trade promotion in a career spanning over three decades promoting Indo-Swiss bilateral trade relations as Local Trade Commissioner, Ashwin Merchant believes in thriving, not surviving. He says, "It’s not just about doing business; it’s about owning your place in a multifaceted market. When I help a client make great strides and really taste success in India, that is when I am content."
True to the saying, ‘Learn something about everything and everything about something’, Ashwin enjoys keeping pace with evolving trends. He regularly seeks out new challenges that help him hone his skills across business arenas. This is precisely how he expanded his areas of expertise to include the promotion of partnerships in the education sector. Similarly, a tryst with film tourism blossomed into long-lasting partnerships with some of the biggest names in the Indian film industry.
Speaking about his work ethos, Ashwin says, "When I undertake a project, I am driven, and with total commitment. I take it on as a personal responsibility. There should be more than just client satisfaction; expectations should be exceeded. To me, that’s true client delivery."
When not at his work desk, Ashwin can be found tinkering with his model trains, indulging in wildlife photography, gardening, and collecting single malts.
Richa Mahajan
Executive Director
Richa has been associated with T&A Consulting for over a decade and leads the OFDI practice in the organization. During her tenure at T&A, she has initially handled trade projects before moving on to expand the OFDI practice under guidance/support from T&A leadership. She is currently working as an Executive Director in T&A’s headquarters in Gurugram. Core of Richa’s work in the present role involves managing team, business development efforts and representing clients to promote their respective investment propositions before relevant stakeholders and across appropriate forums including industry engagements, events, and thought leadership platforms.
Richa believes that the exposure she has received in representing clients both across India as well as in countries like Dubai and Germany amongst others has immensely steered her understanding and approach to a further meaningful discussion on behalf of the clients with potential investors. This in turn has greatly helped Richa in developing strong and trusted relationships with clients at T&A.
As a senior resource who has completed over 12 years with the firm, Richa appreciates the diversity and inclusive spirit at T&A. She enjoys learning from colleagues who have varied backgrounds and joined T&A from various parts of India.
Prior to joining T&A, Richa worked in the domain of market and business research with McKinsey, and Exevo India Limited. Beyond work, Richa has a passion for various forms of dance, and she thoroughly enjoys travelling with her family.
Rachna Gupta
Partner – Human Resources
Area of expertise: HR Strategist I Talent Management I L&D I India Market Entry With over 16 years of experience in HR and compliance, Rachna's expertise lies in aligning the organization’s strategic goals and objectives to improve performance. Designing and executing HR processes to manage employee performance, engagement, learning & development, and structuring compensation & benefits are the core areas of focus for her.
As Ken Robinson famously said, “Human resources are like natural resources; they’re often buried deep. You have to go looking for them; they’re not just lying around on the surface,” Rachna believes the core of a strong human resource practice lies in not just finding the right talent for your organisation, but enabling people to discover their latent skills and find the right fit for that within the organisation.
Apart from having a knack for finding employees with strong communication skills and integrity, Rachna finds satisfaction in creating a workspace where each individual not only strives but thrives and grows. The "human" element in human resources is something Rachna believes is always worth investing in and makes work more rewarding for everyone involved.
Debpriya De
Director – Client Engagement
Debpriya De has around 3 years of experience in trade and investment consulting, which spans manifold industries including logistics, packaging, engineering goods, FMCG, construction materials, IT, specialty chemicals, medical equipment, and automotive parts. The clientele serviced by Debpriya comprises global private enterprises from countries like Finland, the UK, Switzerland, Hungary, Japan, and Israel, as well as Government Trade Promotion bodies promoting bilateral trade with India.
He has a successful track record of driving and achieving success in working with the UK/Republic of Ireland, European, or other SMEs in an international marketing capacity and developing and facilitating trade and international strategic alliances within the last 3 years.
Ashish Vats
Director – Education
Ashish is an Education Consultant with MBA Marketing from Birmingham City University, UK. Ashish comes with over 15 years of cross functional experience across Education, Business Development, Relationship Management, Sales and Marketing.
Ashish has been spearheading Queen’s University Belfast in the Higher Education segment in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka with key responsibility to maintain efficient relationship with nominated agents and other associated partners, including initiative to develop institutional tie-ups with top Indian Higher Education Institutions for twinning programs, Capacity building initiatives, faculty exchange, student exchange, joint research collaborations. Ashish is a regular participant representing QUB in various seminars, education events and spot admission sessions across India in partnership with partner agents to recruit quality students.
Arjun Mukunnd
Associate Director – Client Engagement
Arjun is an experienced destination and hospitality sales and marketing professional with a career spanning over 10 years and with a demonstrated history of working in the Indian outbound travel market. His expertise lies in destination/ hotel sales, marketing, and budgeting. He has been with T&A Consulting for the past four and a half years, leading the Tourism practice in the company. His role involves new business development and client engagement. He is a people person and a firm believer in the adage “Success is relative and transient, relationships are anchored and permanent.”
Over the years, his work has helped him forge excellent relationships with the stakeholders in the Indian travel trade, and is passionate about showcasing destinations and coming up with innovative ideas to help brands increase their presence in the Indian market. He always strives to take that extra mile for his clients ensuring there’s a value added to all his propositions. In his personal life, catching a sunrise, seeing clear blue skies, sending handwritten letters to friends, and enjoying the smell of rain and freshly baked bread are the simple pleasures he loves to indulge in.
He’s always gung-ho about sustainability and is also interested in gardening, interiors, and cooking. He also enjoys pottering around flea and local artisan markets, picking up some interesting bric-a -brac!
Gaurav Singh
Senior Manager – Client Engagement
Gaurav Singh is a senior member of the client engagement vertical at T&A Consulting and heads the business development and client engagement for UK and Ireland markets. Gaurav has over 6 years of experience in strategy consulting, business development, and financial advisory.
Gaurav is part of the strategic team at T&A that advises foreign companies to navigate and explore trade and investment opportunities in India. Gaurav’s core competence is in a wide range of areas covering global strategy, international business, financial management, and corporate and commercial laws.
Mr. Gaurav is actively involved in conceptualizing and implementing market entry strategy, go-to-market strategy, opportunity assessment, technology collaboration, and change management involving publicly listed companies, SMEs, and start-ups. Mr. Gaurav has also addressed webinars and workshops organized by the Economic Development Organization. Speaking about his drive for work at T&A, Gaurav says ‘Consulting is something I am very passionate about as it helps me to develop horizontal knowledge across diverse streams ranging from strategy to marketing, finance, technology, cross-cultural management to leadership and I believe consulting is all about connecting the dots from these wide areas to achieve a well-informed decision”.
On the personal front, Gaurav enjoys travelling to new places, is an avid reader of Indian literature classics, and is a passionate sports lover.
Gaurav is a graduate in Accounting and Finance from the University of Mumbai and an MSc in International Business from University College Dublin.
Neeta Tyagi
Director - Education
Area Of Expertise – International Education Neeta has a master’s degree in International Business from the UK and has been working in the field of international education for over 8 years. In her previous stints as well as her current role she amassed an extensive understanding of working on student recruitment, managing and expanding agent network, enhancing student experience and managing alumni network across South Asia.
Neeta currently heads the South Asia team of Queen’s University Belfast’s based at T&A Consulting wherein she handles student recruitment and the alumni network across the region. Neeta represents Queen’s University Belfast in various seminars and education events across South Asia in partnership with partner agents. Neeta enjoys her work as it aligns with her personal interest of travelling and meeting people, which is a major part of her role leading the Queen’s South Asia Office. Being a people’s person Neeta goes an extra mile to support prospective students looking to study abroad.
She is a firm believer in “Karma – what you do will come back”. In her personal life Neeta loves spending time with her family. She also loves charity work where she spends time with kids at an orphanage and elderly people at old age homes.
Akshay Sharma
Associate Director – Operations
With over 14 years of experience in operations and logistics management, Akshay Sharma has a proven track record in the management consulting industry. His skill sets include negotiations with vendors, transport and travel management, event implementation, and operations management. He has successfully managed various trade missions to India, including ministerial and gubernatorial delegations and university faculty visits, and has thus helped more than 100 companies explore the Indian market.
Akshay manages contracts and relationships with customers, vendors, partners, and stakeholders for multiple clients. He is also responsible for administering expenses and budgeting to optimize costs and benefits ensuring the smooth operational flow of matching and exceeding clients’ expectations. He has provided thought leadership, counselling, and management advisory support to clients and acted as a liaison and negotiator between customers and suppliers. He is the man to go to for end-to-end logistics support.
Pooloma Ghosh
Manager - Research
Pooloma worked in the development sector with a special knack towards public policy in livelihood and education before joining T&A Consulting in August 2019.
In T&A, she has worked closely with development agencies and trade organisations from Europe and Latin America. Her expertise lies in the identification of gap areas and diversification of trade basked between India and its bilateral trade partner countries.
Currently working as the Team Lead-Research, Pooloma has successfully led the ideation and execution of multiple projects with respect to opportunity identification and assessment across sectors such as Cleantech, MedTech, Food and Beverages amongst others.
Her inherent interest in understanding consumer psychology as the prime driver towards the expansion of a market has driven her towards exploring the depths of market research and extrapolate the reasoning with the opportunities for expanding trade relations.
Pooloma strongly believes in the words of Helen Keller--"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
Outside of work, Pooloma is a cycling enthusiast and has recently become a Randonneur. When not on the saddle, Pooloma can be found exploring the glorious music from the 60s and 70s and using her paintbrush to illustrate her imagination in colour. In her free time, she has been volunteering with regional NGOs to rescue street dogs and find them new homes.
