Vijay Balakrishnan

CEO

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India17 yrs 10 mos experience
Most Likely To SwitchAI ML Practitioner

Key Highlights

  • Expert in scaling EdTech and employability platforms.
  • Proven track record in driving growth and transformation.
  • Strong leadership in cross-functional team management.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a strategic leader in EdTech and HR Tech, specializing in growth and transformation.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Program ManagementBusiness StrategyProduct DevelopmentSalesBusiness DevelopmentCorporate SalesAssessmentStrategic PlanningDirect SalesSales OperationsMarket ResearchFmcg Sales

Other Skills

Problem SolvingAccount SegmentationCustomer Segmentation StrategyProject PlanningProject ManagementCoachingBusiness TransformationBusiness-to-Business (B2B)Brand ManagementStudent EngagementBusiness PlanningSoftware SalesLeadershipArtificial Intelligence (AI)GenAI

About

I work at the intersection of growth, transformation, and product-led scaling within the education, assessment, and employability ecosystems. Throughout my career, I have helped organisations move from ideas to outcomes. This includes building and scaling products related to learning, assessment, and workforce readiness, designing go-to-market and partnership strategies, and aligning universities, employers, and platforms to drive sustainable growth. My experience encompasses early-career employability, partnerships, alliances, and large-scale education and assessment businesses, where I have operated in both 0→1 product development and scale-up phases. A consistent focus of mine has been translating product strategies into measurable impacts and scalable revenue models, while maintaining credibility and long-term value. Currently, I am most engaged in senior growth and transformation roles, collaborating with leadership teams on: - Growth and transformation strategies for EdTech, higher education, and workforce platforms - Building and scaling products in learning, assessment, and employability - Designing revenue models, go-to-market strategies, and partnership ecosystems By connecting early-career talent outcomes with institutional and enterprise needs, I bring an operator’s perspective combined with a strategist’s approach. This enables a clear direction and practical execution across complex stakeholder environments. If you are building or scaling learning, assessment, or employability platforms, rethinking early-career hiring and university partnerships, or driving growth at the intersection of education and workforce transformation, I would welcome the opportunity for a conversation.

Experience

Tata consultancy services

2 roles

Head -SMB Strategy and solutions

Oct 2023Present · 2 yrs 5 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Program ManagementProblem SolvingAccount SegmentationCustomer Segmentation StrategyBusiness StrategyProject Planning+1

Business Head - National Qualifier Test

May 2022Oct 2023 · 1 yr 5 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

  • Lead the National Qualifier Test business unit at a national scale, driving P&L ownership, growth strategy, and market expansion across industries and academic institutions.
  • Designed and executed a scalable go-to-market model that expanded NQT adoption to 500+ universities, 3,000+ corporate recruiters, and over 1 million candidates annually. Increased corporate participation by 45% YOY and improved campus-to-corporate conversion rates by 30% through data-driven talent matching and assessment personalization.
  • Owned end-to-end business strategy — from market penetration and pricing optimization to partner ecosystem development and customer success.
  • Collaborated with CXOs, CHROs, and academic leaders to position NQT as the primary gateway for hiring pre-assessed talent, reducing client hiring cycles by up to 35% and cutting recruitment costs by 40%.
  • Mentored and scaled a cross-functional national team spanning sales, marketing, product, operations, and customer success, instilling a performance-driven culture and consistently exceeding revenue targets.
  • Regularly analyzed market intelligence and hiring trends to refine value propositions and maintain NQT’s position as the most credible and scalable assessment brand in the country
CoachingCustomer Segmentation StrategyProduct DevelopmentProject PlanningBusiness StrategyBusiness Transformation+1

Calyxpod

Associate Vice President

Nov 2019Apr 2022 · 2 yrs 5 mos · India · Hybrid

  • Driving growth and revenue by leading enterprise client relationships and enabling intelligent hiring solutions through CALYXPOD’s AI-powered campus and lateral hiring platforms.
  • I lead end-to-end enterprise sales and client success strategies, partnering with Fortune 500 enterprises and leading Indian corporates to streamline hiring for both fresh graduates and experienced professionals. Achieved 35% faster onboarding cycles, improved fulfilment rates to 97%+, and reduced early attrition by 22% through data-driven recruitment funnel optimization.
  • Built and executed customer account plans that maximized platform adoption, enhanced employer branding, and delivered measurable ROI — including a 25% increase in candidate quality scores and 40% increase in client engagement within the first year.
  • Proactively ensured partner and client satisfaction by resolving recruitment bottlenecks, unlocking performance insights, and providing real-time analytics dashboards to hiring leaders.
  • Collaborated with marketing teams and industry stakeholders to drive impactful employer branding campaigns, increasing campus engagement rates by over 50%.
  • Mentored cross-functional teams across pre-sales, implementation, and customer success to scale delivery capability, strengthen client trust, and consistently exceed performance benchmarks.
AssessmentBrand ManagementSalesStudent EngagementStrategic PlanningAccount Segmentation+9

Hiremee

Head - Corporate Partnership

Aug 2017Dec 2018 · 1 yr 4 mos · India

  • Spearheading corporate onboarding and end-to-end partnership strategy across India, enabling organizations to fulfill CSR goals through inclusive employability initiatives.
  • Led the corporate sales team across India, driving YoY revenue growth through new business development, account expansion, and strategic territory planning.
  • Successfully onboarded 2,300+ corporate clients by building scalable engagement models and customized outreach strategies.
  • Acted as the key liaison between product, tech, and clients to continuously evolve the HireMee platform in alignment with employer needs, enhancing adoption and value delivery.
  • Played a pivotal role in achieving ISO certification for both the organization and the platform, reinforcing operational excellence and compliance.
  • Point of contact for a couple of Government initiatives for Hiremee growth.
AssessmentCoachingSoftware SalesCorporate Sales

Expertrating inc.

Head of Strategic Planning

Apr 2016Aug 2017 · 1 yr 4 mos · Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India

  • Led the South India business for assessment solutions, building the region from the ground up into a profitable revenue center within 18 months. Owned P&L management, delivering double-digit YOY growth and ensuring sustained profitability.
  • Drove enterprise sales and strategic account management across corporate companies, schools, colleges, hotels, and hospitals, enabling them to streamline and automate recruitment and learning & development processes. Achieved over 30% reduction in client hiring cycles and improved candidate-job fit scores by 25%, resulting in measurable workforce productivity gains.
  • Specialized in helping organizations hire from a pre-assessed talent pool, improving talent quality while reducing hiring costs by up to 40%. Partnered with CXOs and HR leaders to design custom assessment frameworks, ensuring clients secured “best-fit” candidates and enhanced employee retention.
  • Mentored and developed a high-performing sales team, equipping them with consultative selling skills and market penetration strategies. Successfully expanded regional footprint, adding multiple Fortune 500 and large Indian enterprises to the client base.
  • Collaborated with technology teams to tailor assessment platforms to client requirements, integrating AI-driven analytics and role-specific evaluations to maximize candidate performance insights.
Marketing StrategyStrategic PlanningCustomer Relationship Management (CRM)Business StrategyAccount ManagementManagement+3

Self-employed

Co-Founder

Nov 2015Nov 2017 · 2 yrs · Singapore, Singapore · Remote

Aspiring minds

Senior Manager

Dec 2010Apr 2016 · 5 yrs 4 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India · On-site

  • Responsible for maintaining relationships with enterprise accounts , while achieving an assigned sales growth goal. Primary responsible to drive sales and revenue and ensure operational efficiency of the team. Responsible for selling and supporting the firms complete products and services in Focusing on customers with high-value, strategic growth opportunity.
AssessmentSalesAnalysisAccount ManagementForecastingLeadership

Niit limited

Business Executive

Aug 2009Dec 2010 · 1 yr 4 mos · Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

  • Conceptualizing and executing sales promotion schemes to increase the brand visibility in Karnataka, Kerala and Goa.
  • Managing development of all creative materials (POP & POS) for brand to assure correct presentation of the brand’s trade dress and accurate and effective communication of the brand’s positioning, features and benefits.
  • Aligning brand objectives and marketing strategy with the right public imagery.
  • 360 degrees marketing support to create brand presence across all market segments.
  • Focused positioning through creating media properties.
  • Providing direction to execute promotions as part of brand building & market development effort.
  • Analyzing the database to identify the market requirements and forecasting the market trend.
  • Conducting competitor analysis by keeping abreast of market trends and competitor moves to achieve market share metrics.
  • Responsible for presentations to corporates and college for campus connects.
  • Identifying and developing new streams for revenue growth and maintaining relationships with customers to achieve repeat/ referral business.
Direct SalesSales OperationsRetail SalesProduct Certification

Cavinkare

Management Trainee

Jun 2007Aug 2009 · 2 yrs 2 mos · Greater Chennai Area

  • The project gave an understanding of the usage and attitude level of INDICA.With respect to various hair dyes. The project was based on a questionnaire which got analyzed and interpreted. The output of the project was handed to the organization with a suggestion to implement them.
MarketingFast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) SalesFast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)Market ResearchFMCG Sales

Education

The University of Waikato

PGP

Jan 2005Jan 2007

Landmark worldwide

Graduation — SELP

Sep 2015Mar 2016

Thiagarajar College

Bachelor of Commerce - BCom

Jan 2003Jan 2005

TVS Matriculation Higher Secondary School

12 th grade

Jan 2001Jan 2003

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