Unpacking Governance Consulting in India with Samagra CEO Gaurav Goel

Key insights and mental models:
1. Pivoting to unconventional and unchartered career paths
2. Understanding the governance consulting models and landscape in India
3. Unit and scale of change in the context of governance in India

Gaurav Goel is the Founder & CEO of Samagra | Transforming Governance, a mission-driven governance consulting firm. Gaurav holds a dual degree in Computer Science & Engineering from IIT Delhi and an MBA from IIM Calcutta. After graduating from IIM Calcutta, he joined McKinsey & Company as a Management Consultant where he worked across sectors and geographies, solving diverse corporate problem statements. While he was enjoying his stint at McKinsey, he knew that eventually he wanted to use his skills towards improving the lives of Indian citizens by engaging with the governance process. In 2012, he set up Samagra so that he could translate his passion into reality and create impact at scale. Samagra is currently driving 9 state-wide transformations across diverse domains, while also working with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and NITI Aayog at the Centre. Through its engagements, Samagra is impacting the lives of more than 65 million citizens. Gaurav's path-breaking efforts to tackle intractable governance challenges led him to be recognized in BusinessWorld’s 40 Under 40 list of changemakers in India in 2019.