With over 16 years of global experience in commercial excellence, sales operations, and leadership development, Divy has worked across FMCG, B2B, and food industries with teams & leaders spanning Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. His journey began with grassroots projects & individual contribution roles in natural resource management and evolved through corporate roles at Tata Trusts, ITC, Bisleri, and Cargill, leading to the current venture: Elevance Coaching & Advisory, which is based in UAE. He has led team size of 400+, built sales operations & enablement functions from the ground up, and worked in capability development & coaching across B2B/B2C channels. An International Coaching federation certified coach, he also engage as guest faculty, panelist, and external examiner at reputed B-schools.
Location: Bangalore, India
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/divyninadkoul
Website: https://theelevance.com/about-us/
Q. Tell us about your School and College before you came to IIFM. How was your experience there? And how did IIFM happen?
A. Before IIFM, I pursued B.Sc. Forestry and M.Sc. in Forest Management. iifm.ac.in was a natural choice at that time given my interest in environmental policy, rural development, and sustainability. It provided the perfect intersection of environment, management, and policy.
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM so far?
A. Transformational. IIFM played a key pivotal role in my interest in management & leadership. From project-based roles at ITC and Tata Trusts to Sales and P&L ownership at Bisleri, and finally, global leadership roles at Cargill-each phase built on the foundational thinking nurtured at IIFM.
Q. How has been your experience in your current Organization? What all areas have you been working here?
A. At Elevance, I coach senior leaders, design transformation programs, and deliver training in coaching skills, commercial excellence, and key account management—impacting strategy, people, and growth. I actively partner with clients from Asia Pacific & Middle East, through executive coaching, leadership development, and transformation consulting, helping them elevate performance and cultivate agile mindset. I try to bring a result-oriented yet deeply human approach blending practical execution with purposeful leadership, which I learnt a great deal at IIFM.
Q. What is the most satisfying part in your career?
A. Empowering others: Be it through coaching leaders, mentoring students, or building high-impact teams that deliver results. It’s immensely fulfilling to guide individuals and organizations at the intersection of strategy, culture, and growth, turning potential into progress every day.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Thanks to IIFM’s dynamic, multidisciplinary culture and social perspectives- I felt equally at ease during a rural focused group discussion or in the corporate boardroom presentation.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.
A. My journey is influenced by a steadfast belief in learning never stops and culture comes first. Transitioning from rural development roles to corporate leadership, I later had the privilege of deploying global capability programs across 26 countries, training diverse teams in culture-driven commercial excellence. My request to IIFM graduates who are starting their career is to be curious, stay humble, and seek diverse experiences before finding out what excites you the most.
Q. How did you decide to go for higher studies post IIFM? And how was the experience?
A. Internship during IIFM opened the doors to corporate stint with ITC which fueled my desire to further delve into management & that led me to pursue an MBA from Symbiosis Pune, followed by advance leadership programs from IIM Lucknow and Cornell University. Each one helped refine my perspective & I continue to learn everyday.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. I have been fortunate to have studied full time in 4 universities. I can say IIFM is one of the most pleasant memories with the most beautiful campus but most importantly the friend from IIFM are the most down to earth & humble. I have many great memories of campus but most interesting one is of internship with ITC where I stayed for about 2 months in a small village mud house in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.
Our Convocation was also fun which was covered by national media too. Click here to see.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM?
A. Too many to name-every batchmate and faculty member as they contributed uniquely. I miss the genuine care everyone had for each other back then.
We lost one of our batchmates in COVID & that still hurts and teaches us that life is very unpredictable!
On the positive side, we still have a WhatsApp group for our batch which is well connected & I am also in touch with few faculty members.
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. Be open to learning from every experience- academic, personal, or extracurricular. Network early, and don’t hesitate to reach out to alumni for guidance as I can see IIFM alumni across countries & industries doing well.
Q. what would be your advise for recent graduates who look for changing their sector after working for couple of years?
A. It’s okay to pivot. Build transferable skills, stay updated, and show how your past experience adds value to your new path.
Some graduates have reached out to me in the past worried that whether any specialisation limits the career options in future. I advise them that embrace small steps- consider entry-level, niche or contract roles as stepping stones, telling a clear narrative that your specialization is a foundation, not a limitation.
Q. And how about weekends, hobbies, family and anything else you want to add?
A. I’m passionate about music, old coins, and exploring new cultures. I have been fortunate to explore 30 states/ UTs of India and more than 20 countries internationally.
Q. Favorite Books, movies, authors?
A. Books: The Culture Map
Movies: The Pursuit of Happyness, Dil Chahta Hai
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students?
A. In the past some of the students across batches have reached out for some advice & guidance. I am more than happy to continue to support mentoring the students, conduct career readiness sessions and offer guest lectures.
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. Trupti Ashtankar (MRM 2006-07) and
Aditya Petwal (MRM 2006-07)
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