Ruchira Shukla has over 18 years of experience spanning operational roles, strategy consulting, investment banking and private equity in the US, Europe and Asia. She began her career as an engineer with Engineers India Limited but quickly moved into strategy consulting with the Mitchell Madison Group, the Boston Consulting Group, and Opera Solutions. She subsequently moved to the financial services sector, working with companies such as Lehman Brothers (later Nomura). She was also involved in co-founding a technology start-up providing an online B2B procurement platform to Fortune 250 companies.

In her current position as South Asia lead, technology, media and telecom investments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Shukla is responsible for managing the organisation’s equity and debt investments in telecom, media and technology assets in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. She sees her immediate target as finding appropriate investment prospects that fit IFC’s investment strategy, present opportunities for value creation and are fairly priced.

According to Shukla, the Indian telecom industry is witnessing the emergence and adoption of over-the-top services, which will continue to drive huge growth in broadband data usage. She recently led IFC’s investment in Tikona, a broadband player in the Indian market. “Tikona has a unique wireless broadband technology. I enjoyed working with the management team and co-investors to assess the strength of their technology solution, operational performance, challenges and growth prospects,” she says.

Her biggest strength is her breadth of international business experience. “It helps me quickly develop a perspective on the strengths and risks of a business model and build an investment thesis,” she says. Her international experience has also supported her in developing a strong network in several markets globally, including India, the US, Canada and Europe. She also specialises in formulating growth strategies, managing captive spin-offs, mergers and acquisitions, and achieving operational efficiencies.

Shukla holds an engineering degree from the IIT, Delhi, an MBA from the IIM, Ahmedabad and is a Palmer Scholar from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She is also a chartered financial analyst. Shukla is married to a neurosurgeon based in Delhi. “Despite his busy schedule and my endless work-related travel, we manage to find time for movies during weekends,” she says. She is also fond of reading non-fiction in her spare time.