The/Nudge Institute Appoints Devadas Krishnan as Chief Development Officer

New Delhi, January 08, 2026: The/Nudge Institute, an action institute focused on building resilient livelihoods and alleviating poverty at scale, has announced the appointment of Devadas Krishnan as its Chief Development Officer. In this role, he will lead partnerships and fundraising efforts, supporting the organisation’s long-term resource mobilisation strategy for large-scale livelihood initiatives.

Atul Satija, Founder & CEO, The/Nudge Institute, said, “As The/Nudge continues to deepen and scale its work across livelihoods, building a strong, principled development function becomes critical. Devadas brings a rare combination of operating rigour, leadership experience and a founder’s mindset. His ability to build partnerships and institutions for long-term growth will be invaluable as we work towards sustainable, population-scale impact.”

Devadas brings over two decades of leadership experience across business development, digital platforms, and venture scale-up. His career spans senior leadership roles across media, telecom, SaaS, consumer, and digital businesses, with extensive exposure to P&L ownership, business transformation, and scaling ventures.

Most recently, he served as Founder and CEO of Brihaspati AI, where he led the development of generative AI solutions, built global partnerships, and scaled early-stage products with a focus on operational efficiency and sustainable growth. Prior to this, he was CEO of IndiaDotCom, the digital arm of Zee Media, where he expanded digital reach to hundreds of millions of users, scaled revenues, and led multiple platform and product initiatives. His earlier roles include leadership positions at Peppertap, HandyTrain, Symphony, Vodafone, and G4S, where he built and managed high-performance teams across diverse sectors.

Reflecting on his new role, Devadas Krishnan said, “What drew me to The/Nudge is its ambition combined with a deep sense of integrity. The opportunity to build long-term, values-led capital for livelihoods — at a scale that truly matters — feels both humbling and meaningful. I come into the development sector with curiosity, a learning mindset, and the hope that my experience as an operator and founder can help strengthen partnerships that enable lasting impact.”

New to the development sector, Devadas will focus on building a partnership-driven fundraising function aligned with The/Nudge’s mission of enabling dignity, resilience, and opportunity for underserved communities across India.