Rathish Balakrishnan is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Sattva Consulting.

With over 15 years of experience in the social impact sector, Rathish has advised prominent global and domestic foundations, non-profits, think tanks, corporations, and government agencies on their impact and sustainability strategies. He has also designed and implemented collaborative initiatives that bring together philanthropy, civil society, governments, and corporations to address critical issues such as education, skills development, and ecological preservation.

A systems-thinking practitioner, Rathish leverages his experience across sectors and stakeholders to tackle complex problems. He has worked with a wide range of global leaders to apply systems thinking towards scaling organisations and setting up new initiatives that create impact at scale. He played a pivotal role in founding the Sattva Knowledge Institute, which accelerates the development of public goods for social impact.

Rathish hosts Decoding Impact, one of India’s leading podcasts in the social development sector. His writing has been featured in prominent national and international publications, and he has spoken at esteemed platforms such as TEDx, COP, and G20. He has also been a visiting faculty member with the Geneva University on Effective Philanthropy, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and other training institutes. 

Before co-founding Sattva, Rathish spent a decade at SAP Labs India, where he held various roles, including Product Management, Solution Management, and Corporate Strategy. He began his career as a Researcher at INSEAD, France, contributing to global initiatives on knowledge management and e-learning. Rathish holds an Integrated Master’s degree from BITS Pilani.