Educational Initiatives (EI) appoints Pranav Kothari as Chief Executive Officer

Mumbai: Educational Initiatives (EI) today announced the appointment of Pranav Kothari as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Co-founder & current CEO SriniRaghavan will assume the role of Chief Mentor and continue to serve as a shareholder and board member.

Pranav has been associated with EI for over a decade and has made significant contributions to the company through his involvement with EI’s adaptive learning product, Mindspark, and as the head of HR, Gifted Student Education, and, most recently, EI’s Large Scale Education Programme division.

Commenting on the appointment, SriniRaghavan said, “Pranav’s deep passion for student learning, staunch commitment to EI, sharp business acumen, and wide acceptance within the company as well as with external stakeholders will go a long way in shaping EI’s exciting future.”

Pranav spearheaded the deployment of Mindspark which is recognized as the only software-based EdTech tool to have demonstrated significant learning impact as measured by independent third parties including J-PAL. He is a thought leader in the industry, having led teams that scaled high-quality student assessments, personalized adaptive learning, and impact evaluation services for governments, CSR funders, and philanthropic foundations. Pranav is a TEDx speaker and an INK Fellow and has been named by The World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation as the Corporate Social Intrapreneur of the Year in 2019.

On his appointment, Pranav said, “I’m excited about EI’s timeless vision of creating a world where children everywhere are learning with understanding. I am inspired by the wonderful work that teachers do and will ensure that our products elevate their impact. My source of energy is the diligent team that works with schools to meaningfully improve learning outcomes so that India can be in the top quartile of PISA.’’

EI’s co-founder Sridhar Rajagopalan said “Covid has taught us the importance of true learning with understanding (rather than just marks) as well as the power of EdTech. I am confident that under Pranav, EI will continue to work with schools and governments around the world and strive to ensure high-quality learning for every child.”

Pranav studied Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and MBA at Harvard Business School. Prior to EI, he worked at GTI Capital and the Boston Consulting Group in five countries. Pranav is only the 3rd CEO in Educational Initiatives’ 20-year history.