Benson Neethipudi

Age: 29

Home Town: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

Education: Masters in Engineering Management, Duke University

Specific Field Interests: Social Innovation, Impact Investing, Livelihood Development, Internet Economies, Inclusive Solutions

Placement: Wadhwani Foundation, New Delhi

Area of Focus: Livelihoods

Highlights: Benson comes to AIF with a background in product development, project management, and strategy consulting. Most recently, he was with Moody's Structured Analytics and Valuations group, where he was facilitating the development of their online portal for portfolio and risk management. Prior to his stint in financial services, he was working in a public sector focused management consulting firm, where he was supporting New Jersey Department of Education's data driven policy change initiatives. The efforts resulted in New Jersey's first High School Graduation report. As a firm believer in the idea of quality education as a pathway to social mobility, Benson actively volunteers his time teaching and mentoring middle and high school students. He has volunteered with Boston Partners in Education teaching mathematics to at risk students, and has volunteered with Citizen Schools teaching robotics in an after school program designed to expose students from low income households to tech careers. While his professional conversations revolved around product new features, data quality, and strategy solutions, his personal conversations centered around his desire to understand the continual presence of social hierarchies in modern India, need for inclusive growth, digital divide between India's urban and rural populations, and rise of internet economies and how their benefits could be extended to the larger society. Benson has a Masters degree from Duke University and a Bachelors of Engineering degree from Anna University. Benson is excited to return to India in the capacity of a Clinton Fellow, and he is looking forward to explore the possibilities in social innovation, skills development, and impact investing.