Leadership
Pratham UK is a volunteer-driven charity, set up in 2003 to raise awareness and funds for Pratham's ground-breaking work in the field of education in India. The idea to set up a UK-based charity came from Dr Viral Acharya who was a professor at London Business School at the time. Initial board members included Lakshmi Mittal and members of the Hinduja family. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength and is now one of the leading Indian children's charities in the UK.
Our events and activities engage the local South Asian diaspora and foster relationships with corporate and institutional partners. Our leaders are available for comment on Pratham's programmes and global impact. Please contact us at hello@pratham.org.uk
Pratham India - Leadership
A former faculty member at Mumbai University. A social worker and educationist. An economist. An activist. These are Pratham’s visionaries who have been with the organisation from the beginning and have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of India's children.
Rukmini Banerji is the Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation. Rukmini Banerji was trained as an economist at St. Stephen’s College (Delhi) and the Delhi School of Economics. She was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford... Read profile
With 25 years of experience as an education and social activist, Farida Lambay co-founded Pratham in 1995 with Dr. Madhav Chavan. She heads the Pratham Council for Vulnerable Children and is also responsible for Pratham’s... Read profile
After obtaining a PhD in chemistry from Ohio State University and serving on the faculty at the University of Houston, Dr. Madhav Chavan returned to India where he worked in the slums of Mumbai as... Read profile
Pratham UK - Board of Directors
Our board members hail from the upper echelons of a diverse range of industries and sectors within the UK. Their guidance and strategic decision-making—as well as their financial commitment—inspire us and help steer Pratham toward our goals.
Sakate is the founder and senior partner of Khaitan Legal Associates. He has extensive experience advising leading global and Indian business’ on M&A, JV’s, PE/VC investments, structured products, pre and post default restructuring, prepacks, schemes, insurance,... Read profile
Suresh Kanwar is a Partner in Deloitte Consulting, leading the U.K. Capital Markets Consulting Practice and overseeing complex business transformation underpinned by technology and workforce-reengineering in this sector. Throughout his 22 years in consulting, he has... Read profile
Manisha Bharti, MPH, MBA, is the first CEO of Pratham USA and Global Executive and brings over 25 years of professional experience in global development. A seasoned executive, Manisha has demonstrated a keen ability to build... Read profile
Alpona Banerji has 22 years of experience in the area of international finance and risk management working in multilateral organisations such as the World Bank Group in Washington DC, as well as at international financial... Read profile
Most recently Dixit Joshi was the Chief Financial Officer at Credit Suisse. Prior to this, he was Group Treasurer of Deutsche Bank AG which he joined in October 2010 from Barclays Capital to... Read profile
Karthic Jayaraman is Partner and co-head of Global Healthcare for TPG Capital based in their London office. Prior to this he was at The Carlyle Group, as co-head of Carlyle Global Partners. Prior to a... Read profile
Kalpesh Ramniklal Solanki is Group Managing Editor of Asian Media Group which publishes a stable of market leading B2B and consumer titles in print and digital reaching several million readers each month including Eastern Eye,... Read profile
Kanesh Balasubramaniam is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. He represents multiple top-tier financial sponsors on many of the market leading European and North American leveraged buy-outs,... Read profile
Most recently Manish Gupta was a Partner at EY LLP, one of the “big 4” global professional services firm, with a primary focus on Infrastructure sector. Through his nearly 30 years of professional career (including... Read profile
Sam is a senior investment banker who grew up and later worked in India. After graduating from Cambridge, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse. Subsequently he worked at Jardine Fleming, JP Morgan,... Read profile
Shailesh is executive editor of Asian Media Group, Britain’s biggest Asian publishing house. Established in 1968, the group publishes a stable of market leading consumer and business titles which include Garavi Gujarat and Eastern Eye... Read profile
Sunayna is the head of strategic communications for the UK government’s research and innovation agency, UKRI. She is adept at securing impact through communication and positioning strategies and has extensive experience in integrated... Read profile
Pratham UK - Staff Team
Nick’s interest in education, and in India, stemmed from six months volunteering at a school in Kalimpong, West Bengal, during his gap year. He later studied a... Read profile
Tijana is an experienced fundraising professional who spent last 15 years working in both not-for-profit and for-profit sectors. Over the years, she worked in many different areas of high-value giving managing major donor, corporate and... Read profile
Shaefali’s drive to enter the not-for-profit sector largely stems from her undergraduate degree in International Development, where she developed in-depth knowledge on a range of topics, from gender issues to social innovations for development. She... Read profile
Melissa joined Pratham UK in May 2023 to develop and implement digital marketing campaigns and communications strategies. Prior to joining the team, she worked at Action for Global Health as Digital Campaigns and Communications Officer where... Read profile
Membership
Supporters of Pratham UK can become members of the charity if they have given £50 within the last 12 months and email office@pratham.org.uk saying that they wish to be added to the register of members.
Board members and paid-up members of the Vision India/Pratham young professionals scheme are automatically considered members.
Membership ensures the right to vote at our AGM.