Mahesh Yagnaraman

Beginning in 2026, Mahesh Yagnaraman assumed the role of Chief of Operations at Acumen while continuing to serve as the India Country Director. In this expanded capacity, he is focused on driving operational excellence and coherence across Acumen’s global work — spanning Patient Capital investing, with its dual mandate of financial performance and impact outcomes, and Acumen Academy. Alongside these global responsibilities, he continues to lead investing, business development, and Academy initiatives in India. Since joining Acumen in 2018, Mahesh has brought strategic clarity to its India operations, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs and leaders committed to creating lasting change.

Mahesh is an entrepreneur and strategic leader with over three decades of experience across diverse roles and geographies. A deep understanding of how innovative products and ventures can transform the lives of underserved communities has shaped his enduring commitment to the social impact sector. Over the course of his career, he has followed the evolution of this ecosystem closely — and served as a trusted advisor to social entrepreneurs and organizations at many stages of their journey.

Prior to joining Acumen, Mahesh founded First Energy Private Limited, an alternative energy company, where he served as CEO and Managing Director from 2009. Before that, he led BP’s biomass energy venture, focused on providing clean cookstoves and biomass fuel pellets to low-income households. First Energy was acquired by a strategic investor in 2017. Earlier in his career, Mahesh held marketing roles at BP and Castrol India and spent a decade at Unilever across a range of functions and geographies.

Mahesh holds a degree in Economics from Delhi University and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur. In 2015, XLRI conferred on him the Distinguished Alumnus award in recognition of his entrepreneurial achievements and contributions to the sector.