Alumni in News ! Rajiv Kaul ! Accomplished Global Leader !Tech | Private Equity | Payments Exec Vice Chairman & CEO, CMS Info Systems | ex Partner – Actis Capital | ex CEO Microsoft India Rajiv Kaul (Batch of 1985) is a accomplished Global IT leader. Rajiv’s link with AFBBS is still very strong for the simple reason that his two closest friends, Archana Kumar & Sapna Chuggani are from the ’85 batch. The three make it a point to meet at-least once every year. While hazy on other specific memories, he does remember nursing unrequited crushes, bunking with the gang and heading to Lodi, or hanging out at his friend Sandeep Munjal’s Kashmir Diary store in Khan market, along with escapades at Taj Machan ordering soup and the free bread. In the time leftover, and mostly thanks to some studious and steadfast friends, he managed to do a little of studying.Rajiv completed his MBA from XLRI with a gold medal in Marketing and joined ITC where he worked for 4 years before joining Microsoft in 1996. Within a span of 5 years, he was appointed as the CEO of Microsoft India at the age of 33. During his tenure, the India business was the one of the fastest growing operations globally. He fondly remembers the crazy Dot Com days and also the various interactions with Bill Gates. He is also proud of launching Project Shiksha, focused on technology enablement and training to millions of public school teachers and students, with an unprecedented Rs. 100 Cr grant. Post his India stint, he also worked at Seattle HQ, as Senior Director of Emerging Markets.After spending a decade in MSFT, Rajiv joined a leading Private Equity firm in London, Actis Capital, which helped him shape his journey to becoming an entrepreneur. In the midst of the global financial crisis in 2009, he partnered with The Blackstone Group to buy a majority stake in CMS Info Systems. He was able to turnaround the business and transform it into the worlds 5th largest ATM Cash Management company. Blackstone exited its stake in 2015 at an estimated $300Mn valuation to his new partners, Barings Private Equity Asia.Rajiv has always been deeply involved with the industry bodies focusing on the longer-term goal of building sustainable, well governed industry ecosystems. He has served on the national committees for CII and NASSCOM, been a board member of CATMI and also as a member of RBI Committee for currency movement. He continues his passion for improving education as a Trustee at The Art1st Foundation, which is driving a fresh pedagogy in education at leading private and municipal schools across India.He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Comp Sc from BIT, Mesra, and maintains a strong connection with his alma mater as a member of the General Council of the Univ.Kudos & Best Wishes !Team OSA