Vatsala Joseph is currently appointed as Interim CEO of Shakti. Vatsala joined Shakti in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer and lead Shakti’s financial strategy and managed all financial activities ranging from budgeting, internal controls, compliance, legal, reporting, monitoring and audits including grant and contract management. Prior to joining Shakti, Vatsala has worked with Care, Oxfam and AIACHE. With over 27 years of experience, Vatsala specialises in financial planning, process and procedure implementation, fund management, budgeting, donor financial contract management, audits, taxation and general administration. She has extensive experience in administering large budgets funded by donors like USAID, DFID, British High Commission, European Union, ECHO, UNICEF, UNDP and CIDA.

Koyel Kumar Mandal provides strategic leadership and guidance to Shakti across programme verticals. Koyel brings to this position over 15 years of leadership experience in designing and implementing programmes in climate resilient infrastructure and international climate finance, and developing financial and policy ecosystems for decentralised renewable energy. Prior to joining Shakti in April 2021, Koyel worked with the Institute for Financial Management and Research as Head of Programmes, GIZ as Senior Advisor, and G20 Saudi Arabia as Policy Expert. Koyel holds an M.SC degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Wisconsin, USA, a Post Graduate Diploma in Natural Resource Management from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, and a B.SC degree in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta.

Surendra Singh leads Shakti’s Human Resources and Organisational Development strategy for sourcing, developing, rewarding, engaging and retaining quality talent. With over 20 years experience in HR, Surendra specialises in organisational design, leadership development, talent management, change management, employment law and establishing effective HR systems. Prior to joining Shakti in July 2012, Surendra worked with the British High Commission, ActionAid and the Population Foundation of India. Surendra holds a Post Graduate degree in Business Management with a specialisation in Human Resources Management from the Institute of Management Technology and a Diploma in Training and Development from the Indian Society for Training and Development. He is a certified Coach from the Neuro-Leadership Institute.

Shubhashis Dey provides strategic planning, leadership and guidance to Shakti’s Climate Policy and Climate Finance Programmes. Shubhashis is a climate change and energy efficiency professional with twenty years of experience in advising government, multilateral, bilateral organisations and business in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Jordan, Mauritius and United Kingdom on projects related to energy efficiency and climate change policy in sectors such as industry, transport, forestry, water, urban infrastructure and buildings. Prior to joining Shakti in September 2016, Shubhashis was working with Ernst & Young as Manager–Climate Change & Sustainability Services. Shubhashis hold a Post Graduate degree in Energy Management from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM) and BE in Electronics Engineering from RCOEM, Nagpur University.

Manu Maudgal leads Shakti’s Corporate Engagement and Fundraising function. With over two decades of experience in climate change mitigation interventions across key sectors including lighting, smart meters, solar rooftop PV and cooling, Manu has in depth knowledge of environment and renewable energy from the perspectives of policy, consulting and auditing.  Prior to joining Shakti in March 2021, Manu worked with GIZ as a Programme Advisor from 2008 to 2020.  Manu holds a degree in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, a Post Graduate Diploma in Environment Management from Indian Institute of Environment Management and and a B.Tech degree in Chemical & Bio Engineering from REC, Jalandhar.  

Vivek provides leadership and guidance to Shakti’s Climate Insight function, which includes Research and Advisory, Knowledge Management, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. He also leads two other programs—the Cities and Climate Action Programme, and Critical Raw Materials Programme. Vivek has expertise working on policies related to low-carbon growth, electrification of transportation, clean air, city climate action, transit-oriented development, and street design.  Prior to joining Shakti in December 2017, Vivek worked at C40 Climate Leadership Group as City Director (Jaipur) and OSD to Jaipur Smart Cities Limited, visiting faculty and researcher at CEPT University, and has also worked with WRI-EMBARQ and Agenda for Bangalore Infrastructure Development (ABIDe). He has a master’s degree in Urban and Transport Planning from CEPT University, Ahmedabad, and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore.

Atima Mankotia has over 25 years of experience in communication, digital media, advocacy, brand building, corporate communications, editing and writing. Atima has previously worked with United Nations Environment Programme as a Communication and Advocacy Lead, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited as AVP-Corporate Affairs and Communications, and NDTV as Editorial Advisor and AVP-Corporate Affairs and Communications. Atima has a Master’s degree in History from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, a Post-Graduation in Human Resource Management from XLRI and a Diploma in Journalism from The British Institute. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Communication on Gender-based Employment Inequity in India from IILM University, Gurugram.

Amit leads Shakti’s Clean Power Programme.  An energy and environment professional, Amit has over 12 years of experience in climate change and sustainable development.  He holds a Ph.D. and M.Tech degree from IIT Bombay and Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from RGPV, Bhopal. Prior to joining Shakti in November 2022, Amit worked with Institute for Sustainable Communities, cKinetics Consulting Services Private Ltd, InsPIRE Network for Environment and Siemens, Corporate Research & Technology. He brings a deep understanding of energy and environment incorporating interventions related to research, policy, implementation and development of innovative business models.