Mar 2024 – Present · 2 yrs 1 mo · Kochi, Kerala, India · Hybrid

• Founder & CEO | Building a New-Age Game Services Startup
• Stepped into full-time entrepreneurship with Okimi Studios. A creative and operational journey that’s constantly challenging, evolving, and deeply rewarding. As CEO, I’m building the company from scratch, wearing multiple hats across sales, operations, partnerships, and growth strategy.
• 🔹 Leadership & Vision
• Leading the company’s direction, growth, and market positioning while exploring the full spectrum of what it takes to build a startup from the ground up.
• Drawing from past scale-up experiences to set up core infrastructure — from labs, hardware procurement, team building to facility setup — with long-term sustainability in mind.
• 🔹 Sales, Strategy & Market Engagement
• Taking on sales and outreach hands-on — a new frontier despite years of working alongside BD teams. Every pitch is a learning curve and an opportunity.
• Expanding networks and meeting incredible minds across the global games industry, bringing in valuable conversations, insights, and collaboration opportunities.
• Exploring partnerships across geographies and disciplines — turning ideas into actionable projects.
• 🔹 Culture, Operations & Learning
• Building a company culture that reflects the values I believe in — integrity, grit, curiosity, and people-first thinking.
• The unpredictability of startup life is exhilarating! Every day brings new terrain, much like hiking Annapurna in the monsoons: unpredictable, demanding, but deeply worth it.
• There’s no ceiling anymore! My imagination and ambition set the pace.
• 🔹 Legacy in Progress
• Still early days, but the goal remains clear, to give back to the industry that’s shaped me, by building something meaningful, supportive, and world-class.

Aug 2021 – Feb 2024 · 2 yrs 6 mos · Bangalore Urban, Karnataka, India · On-site

• Kwalee – Built & Scaled Global QA, Customer Support, and Ops Across India | UK | Portugal
• Core contributor in setting up and scaling QA and Customer Support from scratch. Led team growth from 0 to 82 across three countries, with hands-on ownership across hiring, delivery, operations, and cross-functional execution.
• 🔹 Product & Delivery Impact
• QA across Casual (internal/publishing), Hyper/Hybrid Casual (internal), PC/Console (publishing), and TicTales (subsidiary).
• Built milestone-based QA gating for third-party publishing—helped scrap low-potential titles early, saving major costs.
• Strengthened backend QA for mobile pipelines, improving test coverage and release quality.
• Set up QA compliance team for PC, Console, and Mobile—achieved first-submission passes from the very first project.
• 🔹 Publishing & Decision-Making
• Created title sign-up and evaluation process to decide which third-party games move forward.
• Collaborated closely with production on milestone tracking and timely delivery across internal and external teams.
• 🔹 Customer Experience
• Built CS team supporting all departments: Zendesk ticketing, app store responses, and user sentiment analysis to improve live games.
• 🔹 Ops, Infra & Scaling
• Partnered with Tech/IT teams to set up QA labs for PC/Console/Mobile, including specialized NPT and performance testing capabilities.
• Scaled hiring from 5/month to 5/week.
• Drafted key ops policies (WFH, HR, employee protocols).
• Initiated org-wide L&D programs, including leadership tracks.
• Resolved cross-functional delivery and ops challenges across Console, Mobile, and Publishing.
• 🔹 Legacy
• Left behind a scalable, sustainable model that continues to grow and deliver value across Kwalee’s global operations.

Apr 2015 – Aug 2021 · 6 yrs 4 mos · Gurgaon, India

• Scaled Game QA & CS Ops from Ground Up | 20 to 225+ Team | €5M+ P&L
• Took full ownership of QA and Customer Support operations post-acquisition from Quatrro. Scaled the India studio from 20 people in 2015 to 225+ by 2021, driving growth across delivery, operations, infrastructure, and leadership.
• 🔹 Studio & Operational Leadership
• Solely led studio during the transition, managing all functions end-to-end (Ops, HR, IT, InfoSec, Cost, Recruitment).
• Built infra and policies enabling scalable hiring, onboarding, and delivery.
• Designed and built a facility to support 200+ FTE operations.
• Negotiated with vendors and set up systems for IT, infra, and daily ops.
• 🔹 Compliance, Infra & Scale
• Part of the CDSA and InfoSec Committee; played a key role in securing CDSA certification.
• Built import workflows compliant with Indian regulations, enabling smooth procurement of dev/test devices.
• Worked with IT to establish QA labs and specialized testing capabilities.
• Oversaw €5M+ P&L, budgeting, and cost planning across departments.
• 🔹 People & Capability Building
• Hired, mentored, and built leadership across QA and CS.
• Launched L&D programs to accelerate internal growth and upskilling.
• Fostered high-performing, multi-functional teams across locations.
• 🔹 Client & BD Impact
• Managed a portfolio of 20+ clients and projects.
• Collaborated with global BD/sales teams on proposals, solutioning, and client onboarding.
• Partnered with dev teams and producers to improve quality and delivery outcomes.
• 🔹 Industry Recognition & Legacy
• Speaker at IND GDC (2016, 2018), Games Forum & Global Games Conf (Seattle).
• Regular gaming and leadership blogger.
• Left behind a scalable, sustainable studio now independently led by the team I built and mentored.

Jul 2013 – Apr 2015 · 1 yr 9 mos · Gurgaon, India

• Babel Media India (Quatrro Golbal Services)– Rebuilt Game QA Operations | Core Team for Future Scale-Up
• Played a foundational role in restarting Babel Media’s India gaming operations post-acquisition by Quatrro. Contributed across delivery, recruitment, infrastructure, business development, and compliance—laying the groundwork for future expansion under Keywords Studios.
• 🔹 Studio Rebuild & Team Formation
• Helped restart gaming operations from the ground up as Babel transitioned under Quatrro.
• Recruited and trained the first batch of 20 QA professionals, building the team from scratch.
• This core group became the baseline team scaled up under Keywords Studios in later years.
• 🔹 Delivery & Client Management
• Managed multi-client operations across 3 shifts and 6+ clients, balancing delivery timelines and team productivity.
• Collaborated with QA and tech teams to set up the initial QA lab, enabling service delivery across mobile and console platforms.
• 🔹 Business Development & Strategy
• Worked closely with the sales team on client pitches and project proposals.
• Represented Babel Media at industry events and conferences, helping position the company as a trusted service provider.
• Supported business development efforts aimed at client acquisition and operational scale-up.
• 🔹 Compliance, Security & Innovation
• Member of the ISMS committee; contributed to achieving ISO:27001 information security certification.
• Selected by the CEO to join the Innovation Committee, where I worked on initiatives to foster a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement.
• 🔹 Legacy
• Helped lay the foundational structure and talent that enabled Babel’s transformation and eventual integration into the Keywords Studios ecosystem.

May 2011 – Jul 2013 · 2 yrs 2 mos · Gurgaon, India

Apr 2009 – May 2011 · 2 yrs 1 mo

• Managed the team of 150 Quality Assurance professionals, while working on the biggest (AAA) titles in the gaming industry.
• My major achievements during my tenure included building up a solid world class team of QA professionals while starting from scratch. I also worked to groom and develop a strong leadership structure and operations/QA practices that helped the team to excel on the biggest projects in the gaming industry.

Jun 2007 – Apr 2009 · 1 yr 10 mos

• Worked to build up a strong QA team from absolute scratch, whilst taking up delivery, hiring and operations responsibilities.
• Key responsibilities included Creating Test plans, Test Budgeting, Technical and Mastering lab setup, Creating Reporting templates, Client Communication and Management, Hiring, creating training documentation and practices, managing compliance and operations..

Jan 2006 – Jan 2007 · 1 yr

• Foundational Team Member | Tech & Talent Lead in Early Growth Phase
• Joined as one of the first two leads at GameShastra’s QA division, helping lay the foundation for its early growth. Played a hands-on role across team building, training, technical infrastructure, and client delivery during the company’s formative years.
• 🔹 Team Setup & Talent Development
• Helped recruit and onboard the first batch of 50 testers, building the QA function from the ground up.
• Designed and conducted training programs across PC, Console, and Mobile QA, preparing the team for global client delivery.
• Fostered a high-ownership, positive work culture—emphasizing discipline, accountability, and team engagement from the start.
• 🔹 Technical Leadership & Infrastructure
• Acted as Tech Lead for the setup of the Premastering Lab, meeting strict compliance and technical standards.
• Led coordination with the IT team and vendors for technical procurement, ensuring the right tools and infrastructure were in place to support growing QA needs.
• Personally involved in direct procurement processes, ensuring speed and cost-efficiency.
• 🔹 Project Delivery & Client Success
• Managed and delivered key QA projects across shifts, adapting to evolving client timelines and technical demands.
• Gained exposure working directly with production and development teams, learning from some of the brightest minds in the industry—an experience that deeply shaped my early career.
• 🔹 Legacy
• Helped shape the DNA of GameShastra’s QA operations—creating a strong, technically sound, and motivated team that formed the foundation of its early client success.

Apr 2003 – Oct 2006 · 3 yrs 6 mos