My journey since graduating from IIFM has been a continuous effort to apply our core principles of conservation and livelihoods to real-world challenges. For 11 years, I’ve focused on designing market-driven solutions to empower rural communities across the quasi-government, non-profit, and corporate sectors.
I started by architecting the ‘Krushe Marts’ retail network for a World Bank project, a system designed to improve community access to essential health and hygiene products. At Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, I led an agricultural extension program promoting sustainable farming practices and an incubator whose learnings spawned a fintech startup. At EY, I consulted on a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation project before transitioning into the climate sector. There, I managed a carbon program at Nurture Agtech focused on reducing methane emissions from paddy cultivation, and now advise on Nature-Based Solutions at Shell, trying to maximise value generation for all stakeholders, especially farmers.
Throughout this journey, the systems-thinking approach I honed at IIFM has been my guide, and I’m excited to see where it leads next.
Location: Bengaluru
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sireeshy/
Q.Tell us about your School and College before you came to IIFM. How was your experience there? And how did IIFM happen?
A. I completed my schooling from St. George’s Grammar School in Hyderabad, and did my B. Tech in Hyderabad too.I worked in a small company that marketed and serviced advanced scientific and industrial instruments and realised I didn’t want this to be my career. I prepared for the CAT, planning to go to the University of Hyderabad (even paid the fee there!)
Going to IIFM is probably among the most unexpected, yet defining events in my life so far. I didn’t know that such an institute and such a career path even existed, until I came across IIFM on a forum for MBA aspirants called PagalGuy, and somehow got obsessed with it, having been a fan of all things nature and wildlife. I then got onto facebook and bugged a few alumni (Swayam Choudury and Mradul Choubey were the most-bugged :D) and finally applied for the PGDFM program, got interviewed at Bengaluru, and fortunately succeeded, then finally landed in Bhopal.
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM so far?
A. It has been a great ride, and I have been fortunate to have been in organizations and roles that really allowed me to create impact, even at the risk of failing.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. It’s a great question, and when I think about the most important lessons from my journey, one story from right after I graduated always comes to mind. It has shaped my entire approach to development work.
Early in my first job at SERP, I was tasked with designing an enterprise-based solution to improve livelihoods for the Chenchu community in Telangana, a particularly vulnerable tribal group. Fresh out of IIFM and armed with tools like PRA and a belief in business planning, I was eager to make an impact.
I visited a tribal habitation, a ‘Penta’, and learned that the women made brooms from forest grasses and sold them at a market 15 km away, a journey mostly on foot. Their profits were minimal after accounting for travel. My immediate thought was a classic efficiency solution: aggregate their stock, have only one or two people travel, reduce overheads, and increase profits for everyone. It seemed perfect.
Then, during a meeting, a woman raised her hand and asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks: “What use do I have for the money in the village?”
I was dumbfounded. It turned out the market visit wasn’t primarily an economic activity; it was a social one. It was their chance to have fun, eat, drink, and be merry. They lived simple, happy lives without needing to buy much. My “solution” would have taken away this important social outlet. There was no felt need for my idea because I had completely misunderstood their purpose.
That was a profound lesson in humility. Ever since, I have made it a core principle to first check my assumptions and truly understand the circumstances, values, and needs of the communities I work with before ever thinking about problems and solutions.
At Jabalpur for a field visit
Q. How has been your experience in your current Organization? What all areas have you been working here?
A. For over two years as a Commercial Advisor on Shell’s Nature-Based Solutions team, I’ve been responsible for designing new carbon projects and overseeing the implementation of our existing portfolio. Working closely with partners, I ensure timely and high-quality project execution across all phases, from initial outreach to post-planting operations. My role is anchored in ensuring genuine community benefit by upholding the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and maintaining the highest standards for Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE).
Q. What is the most satisfying part in your career?
A. It’s when community members from projects I’ve worked in call me and tell me how they’re doing, or invite me to some family event. It reminds me that I could create a visible impact that mattered to some people, and fills me with confidence as I work on whatever I have at hand.
At my office when my Parents visited to get their flu vaccines
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Absolutely. IIFM definitely taught us a lot about tools, laws, methodologies and business management, but most important of all was the approach to thinking that each of us developed there, as we absorbed and imbibed the experiences of our faculty and alumni. Also, there were some particularly influential courses such as conflict resolution in NRM, people parks and wildlife, public policy and more that helped us understand situations from the perspective of how they impact people.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Of course the time we spent going around campus and Bhopal, eating at Sagar Gaire, Bapu ki Kutia, Angeethi and going to plays at Rabindra Bhavan was great!
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. I think the interactions with faculty and alumni. Coursework (knowledge) can be found in many places, but its the insight and wisdom from our wise faculty and alumni that helped me shape myself as a human being and a professional. All the faculty members were helpful, but if I had to name a few, Professors Yogesh Dubey, PK Biswas, Advait Edgaonkar, AK Dharni, Amitabh Pandey, Prashant Jadhav, Ujjal Sarma and Bhaskar Sinha all offered much time and guidance to me back then, helping me find my way through the fog.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM?
A. I think the best part of the IIFM experience is the camaraderie and sense of community. Among my batchmates, I have great friendships nurtured there with my roommate Sourabh Manac, my friends Sushant, Rupinder, Sahil, Manoj, Nakul, Saurabh Gupta, Shashank, Nitish Shankar, Shantanu (Chowdhury, Tiwari and Sinha), Siddu, Moin, Pragati, Divya, Achin, Prakarsh, Sourav, Rana, Supriya, Sherin and many more, many of whom are still very much in touch, and I’m confident will be there for me any day I need them.
Among my immediate seniors and juniors, I must mention Satyendra, Swapnil, Shivanshu, Arvind, Rohit, Ananya, Neelima, Deepanjan, Abhinav, Shobhit, Ankit, Ram, Vijay Ravi, and Rajaneesh.
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. I have no academic advice to give, but I’d definitely suggest having as many conversations on the sector, the country, the world or anything intellectually stimulating with the faculty there. This is a group of people with vast amounts of experience and great wisdom, who are willing to and happy to impart it to you. It is difficult to find such opportunities, and I advise that while at IIFM, people should make the most of it.
Q. And how about weekends, hobbies, family and anything else you want to add? Favorite Books, movies, authors?
A. I love fantasy, epic and sci-fi books and movies such as the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Blade Runner, Interstellar, Gladiator, Troy, etc. I also love the works of authors like VS Naipaul(A bend in the River), Sudeep Charkravarty (Red Sun), Rahul Pandita(Our Moon has Blood Clots) as well as some dystopian works like animal farm, WE, as well as books on our world and its politics, such as Tombstone and Twilight of Democracy.
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. I’m happy to contribute in any way I can.
Q.What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there? When was the last time you visited IIFM?
A. I hope it is either the same, or has improved! I last visited in 2016. I was traumatized when I was told there was a pink building built in IIFM, and I was relieved when i found out it was repainted. I have nothing against the colour per se, but the architecture of IIFM is iconic (there were even architecture students who were brought on a study tour once while I was there) and I believe any changes must be in tune with the original design language.
I am happy that there are new courses added, and that alumni are now increasingly active and involved too!
Q. Any suggestions on who you want to get profiled/interviewed here?
A. There are many of our alumni who have done exemplary work in their own spheres, such as Amit Vatsyayan, Amit Bajaj and Jayant Prakash who are all partners at EY, Shamik Trehan who is CEO at Dr Reddy’s Foundation, Anish Kumar who cofounded Transform Rural India. I would love to learn more from such alumni who so work that impacts hundreds of thousands of Indian households about what it takes and what wisdom they would like to share.