Rakesh Mani

Rakesh Mani is a columnist and writer focused on policy and development issues in South Asia. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Project Syndicate, Gulf News & Outlook India among other leading publications.

He is currently an MBA student at the Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, IL where his academic work has focused on Finance & Development. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Chicago International Charter Schools.

Rakesh is currently working on an academic study that explores the technical and vocational education sector in India and advises on policies to improve the quality of graduates that seek employment in the manufacturing sector.

In 2012, between his two years at business school, Rakesh worked at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines where he assessed the potential for implementing a sustainable pan-Asian infrastructure benchmarking initiative. He was also profiled as a

Previously, between 2009 and 2011, Rakesh spent two years as a Fellow with Teach For India in Mumbai, India. Through the fellowship, he taught 3rd and 4th grade students at the Umedbhai Patel School. During this time, he made significant academic gains in English and Mathematics with his students and implemented several social initiatives both at his school and within the surrounding slum community.

Prior to this, from 2006 to 2009, he spent three years working as an Analyst within the Fixed Income & Alternatives division at JPMorgan in New York. During this time, he worked with senior fund managers to invest assets for large pension funds and sovereign wealth funds across an array of fixed income and hedge fund strategies.

Rakesh graduated with a BS degree in Actuarial Science & Mathematics from New York University ('06). During his undergraduate studies, he also gained valuable financial services experience through a stints in risk management at BlackRock and in investment banking at Deutsche Bank, both in New York. He also served on the Advisory Board of NYU's Office of International Students & Scholars.

He currently lives between Chicago, USA and Chennai, India. Follow him on Twitter: @rakeshmani