Balu leads the CEGIS engagement with the Government of Karnataka.  He is responsible for maintaining relationships with officials at the state across departments and levels, and leads a team in diagnosis and delivery of solutions to enhance state capacity  in Karnataka. 

He comes with over three decades of leadership experience spanning corporate and development sectors. 

Previously, he was a fellow of the inaugural The/Nudge Indian Administrative Fellowship (IAF) where he worked with the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission - 2 (KARC - 2) working with the former chief secretary, Government of Karnataka.  He has also held leadership roles at Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Board levels, both in Strategic and Operational roles over the years. His experience spans across companies in the technology and operations space, banking and financial services with experience in managing start-up, steep growth as well as evolution/value creation phases of an enterprise. In his last corporate role, he was the CFO and Board Member at Fidelity Investments.

He is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Cost and Management Accountant, and a leadership and communication coach.