“I was born in India to a family of bankers and entrepreneurs. My parents were very entrepreneurial and had always encouraged me to do something more with my life. So, I moved from the country right after completing my MBA in Engineering and started getting international exposure – I lived and worked in 17 cities globally in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific.
“I was appalled by the sheer disregard of resources and wanted to live a lifestyle that meant less consumerism. I got married and was influenced by my wife’s even greater passion for sustainable, natural, and conscious living. We moved around the world together. We even managed to remove biases about people, culture, and food. We also realised how much we need to live in a place that reminds us of our origins – nature. Munich and then Calgary. We believe in a sustainable lifestyle. We make almost all our food at home, adopted vegetarianism, and spend time outdoors hiking and gardening. We love visiting new places and have a great wish list of travel where we would love to spend time understanding people and cultures.
“We settled in Calgary, Alberta. I love the abundance of nature here, the Rockies, the outdoor lifestyle – nestled in the foothills of the mountains. However, incidentally, and ironically, Alberta is also infamous for oil sands and has one of the dirtiest grids of all North America. So, living here, promoting, and hopefully seeing change in green energy adoption is so meaningful for me.
“I spent the first half a decade of my career working with GE, Cisco, as a supply chain consultant where I was introduced to the concept of energy efficiency. Around 2007/08 the United States started talking seriously about replacing fossil fuel to ensure sustainability, which impacted the energy efficiency plans of these companies – which is how I got into the renewable sector. My real experience in this industry started in Europe when I was finishing my MBA at HEC Paris in 2011/12. We used to hold ‘energy week’ and I was really influenced by the urgency that I felt to change the world for the better by changing the most ubiquitous resource – energy.
“The renewable energy sector is very close to my heart. In fact, my family’s too as my wife heads America’s strategy for a European RE company. Imagining a future, hopefully not so far away, powered by clean/green power and opportunity to revive the lost nature is so fulfilling.
“My journey at Hive began in October 2021. My role is to manage the country operations of Canada. A typical week for me involves exploring and finding new solar, energy storage, or green hydrogen development opportunities. As well as speaking with a number of market players, developers and the likes. Also, a significant part of my days goes into ensuring progress and development of secured projects – securing permits, licences to reach RTB [ready to build] in time, as well as addressing roadblocks, if any, with HQ, legal teams and coordinating with other associates. I also spend time promoting Hive in the market through various corporate, non-government, and government channels and policy makers.
“I like Hive’s entrepreneurial culture. The lack of red-taping, speed, and clarity in decision making from Giles [Hive’s CEO and founder] to everyone I work with creates a progressive work environment. There’s also a great emphasis on mutual trust which creates a setting of autonomy and accountability, where I personally thrive.”
