Bringing over two decades of leadership experience across business development, digital platforms, and venture scale-up, Devadas will lead The/Nudge's fundraising and development
BENGALURU, India, Jan. 8, 2026 -- The/Nudge Institute, an action institute working to build resilient livelihoods and alleviate poverty at scale, announced the appointment of Devadas Krishnan as its Chief Development Officer. In this role, Devadas will lead The/Nudge's partnerships, strengthening the organisation's ability to mobilise long-term, values-aligned resources to support large-scale livelihood initiatives.
"As The/Nudge continues to deepen and scale its work across livelihoods, building a strong, principled development function becomes critical," said Atul Satija, Founder & CEO, The/Nudge Institute. "Devadas brings a rare combination of operating rigour, leadership experience and a founder's mindset. His ability to build partnerships and institutions for long-term growth will be invaluable as we work towards sustainable, population-scale impact."
Devadas brings over 20 years of global experience across leadership roles in media, telecom, SaaS, consumer and digital businesses, with deep exposure to P&L ownership, business transformation and venture scaling. Most recently, he was the Founder & CEO of Brihaspati AI, where he led the development of generative AI solutions, built global partnerships, and scaled early-stage products with a strong focus on operational efficiency and sustainable growth.
Prior to this, Devadas served as CEO of IndiaDotCom, the digital arm of Zee Media, where he scaled revenues, expanded digital reach to hundreds of millions of users, and led new product and platform initiatives. Over the course of his career, he has also held senior leadership roles at organisations including Peppertap, HandyTrain, Symphony, Vodafone and G4S, building and leading high-performance teams across diverse sectors.
Reflecting on his appointment, Devadas Krishnan said: "What drew me to The/Nudge is its ambition combined with a deep sense of integrity. The opportunity to build long-term, values-led capital for livelihoods — at a scale that truly matters — feels both humbling and meaningful. I come into the development sector with curiosity, a learning mindset, and the hope that my experience as an operator and founder can help strengthen partnerships that enable lasting impact."
New to the development sector, Devadas sees his role as building a thoughtful, partnership-driven fundraising function — one that aligns patient capital with The/Nudge's mission of enabling dignity, resilience and opportunity for underserved communities.
About The/Nudge Institute
The/Nudge is an action institute building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. We work with social entrepreneurs, women, farmers, tribals and youth on rural development, agriculture, skilling and economic inclusion, along with 15 central and state government partners. Set up with support from 135+ eminent philanthropists, 40+ corporates and 15+ foundations, The/Nudge is contributing towards a 'poverty-free India, within our lifetime'.
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