
- STAR Awards
- SPOT Awards
- Annual Awards
Super Star

Sudeep Mohanty
Senior Consultant, GA
- Sudeep Mohanty has consistently exceeded expectations with his dedication, skill, and leadership. He has flawlessly executed over 10 complex projects for key clients such as Ajinomoto, Unilever, Kemira, and Godrej Chemicals, collectively valued at USD 200,000+.
- His work has consistently earned NPS scores of 9 and 10, reflecting high client satisfaction. Notably, Sudeep has maintained a zero client escalation track record, demonstrating his meticulous planning, proactive problem-solving, and strong client relationships.
- His ability to manage large projects independently while ensuring high-quality output showcases his indispensable role. Sudeep’s exceptional performance and contributions set a benchmark for excellence, making him a deserving candidate for the annual award and an inspiration to his peers.


Pooja Rajan
Senior Consultant, GA
- Pooja has become an indispensable team member, taking full ownership of complex projects with minimal senior oversight. She manages the entire project lifecycle, from planning and execution to stakeholder communication and overall management, consistently delivering exceptional results. Her leadership has earned continuous praise from clients.
- Currently, she oversees two critical projects—one with a leading European auto parts manufacturer and another in the Saudi region—driving both through effective management and strong client relationships.
- Pooja’s ability to lead high-impact projects with ownership and precision has established her as the go-to expert, positioning her for rapid advancement within the organization. Her exceptional performance and leadership have made her a key contributor to the team’s success.


Sumedh Pawse
Senior Analyst, IR
- Sumedh has played a pivotal role in client engagement at AJC, leading quarterly review meetings with the CIO and managing complex tasks such as fund manager queries and client proposals. His initiative to automate regular deliverables demonstrates his commitment to continuous improvement. Despite being fully utilized with 101% for 9 months in FY25, Sumedh has contributed to projects like macroeconomic reports for Mashreq, quarterly reports for Mainstreet Capital, and training sessions for Vunani.
- He took over critical work during analysts' leaves, ensuring seamless delivery. Sumedh has also worked on two pilot projects, a special report on Weight Loss Drugs Market, and participated in Tech Challenge – Innovate.
- His mentorship, learning passion, and proactive approach make him an invaluable asset, deserving of the Annual Superstar Award.


Vinayak Jain
Analyst, IR
- Vinayak has become a subject matter expert (SME) for Banks, Insurance, and REITs. At BNP, he initiated a database covering 80+ EU banks, which supported discussions with management and market participants. He also built financial models for 12+ European insurance companies under the new IFRS17 rule, a new area for both him and the client.
- His presentation on IFRS17’s impact on the European insurance sector was praised by the Head of Global Research, Severine Piquet. Vinayak also initiated models for 10+ European REITs, earning high client satisfaction.
- He contributed to ABK’s private valuation of 10 GCC banks, completing financial models and valuation reports under tight deadlines. Additionally, he helped automate a US bank database with 20+ names.


Rhea Chhaya
Analyst, TRA
- Rhea has demonstrated exceptional dedication, innovation, and excellence throughout the year. She consistently exceeded client expectations by meeting project deadlines and delivering high-quality work. Her communication skills and technical expertise have earned her trust with clients, driving repeat business and strengthening the organization’s reputation.
- Rhea played a pivotal role in securing a new client, Philips, leading to two successful proposals worth $22,000. She showcased leadership on a $35,000 project for Novonesis, resulting in an additional $22,000 in business. Her innovation in creating an AI dashboard and involvement in the tech-brief initiative boosted team productivity and generated 20+ leads.
- Rhea’s continuous growth and adaptability have driven sustained business growth, making her a deserving recipient of the Star Award.


Shashwat Shetty
Senior Consultant, VFA
- Shashwat has significantly contributed to Aranca’s Valuations practice, earning client appreciation for his ability to solve complex problems and build frameworks. He led the Dividend Policy project, creating a financial model that pulled 50+ metrics for 80+ companies, which was highly valued by the client. In a security valuation project, his efforts led to the client adopting Aranca’s PPA benchmarking tool.
- Shashwat also helped secure projects by pitching Goodwill impairment and intangible asset valuations to Genasys, leading to active discussions. With a revenue contribution of ~$60,000, Shashwat excels in complex valuations and modeling.
- He mentors 3 analysts, delivering top-tier results. He successfully managed 2 large portfolio valuation projects for Think Investments and JIMCO, ensuring timely, high-quality delivery and client satisfaction.


Riya Sachdev
Consultant, VFA
- Riya consistently produces high-quality work with minimal review. She excels in 409A valuations, business valuations, goodwill impairments, gift tax valuations, and portfolio valuations, while also gaining expertise in business plans, financial modeling, IMs, and research.
- She handled complex projects like MayFly LLC and Synthon, navigating intricate structures. Time-sensitive projects such as Aldrees, AlSafwa Cement, and M42-Direct Listing showcased her strong analytical skills. Riya’s work significantly reduces review time, and she consistently meets deadlines with high-quality results.
- She earned an NPS of 10 from Sami and positive feedback from AlSafwa. With $120,000 revenue achieved between April–December 2024, Riya also contributes to proposals and marketing tools like flyers for key industries, exceeding her execution target.


Simran Naga
Executive, Human Resources
- Simran demonstrates unwavering dedication and enthusiasm, fostering a motivating work environment. She ensures timely project completion by proactively following up with managers and leads, showcasing exceptional ownership and accountability. She has mastered the maintenance of HR dashboards, delivering critical data to HoDs and saving 10% time for HRBPs and recruitment teams through compliance support.
- Beyond her core responsibilities, Simran has conducted impactful training sessions on PowerPoint and innovative recruitment strategies like QR codes. She builds trusted connections with employees, offering clear guidance on policies while fostering a positive, inclusive work culture with HRBPs.
- Embracing challenges, Simran prioritizes growth and meets deadlines through meticulous time management, balancing professional and personal commitments seamlessly.


Vandana Patil
Frontend Developer, BPA
- Vandana has shown remarkable growth this year, excelling in all aspects of her role. She consistently demonstrates strong analytical skills in every project, delivering high-quality results. Vandana independently managed key projects, including the Aranca Website and PPA Tool, coordinating multiple stakeholders internally and externally, and ensuring timely delivery.
- Her project management skills have significantly improved, as she anticipates challenges and develops effective solutions. Her ability to adapt and stay self-motivated has been highly commendable.
- Vandana's dedication to her work, paired with her proactive approach, has made her an invaluable team member, contributing to the success of the projects she leads. Her performance showcases her capability to handle complex tasks while maintaining excellent outcomes.


Rakesh Pujary
Senior Presentation Specialist, Publications
- Rakesh has made a significant individual impact by independently managing over 22% of all requests, showcasing his strong expertise and dedication. His efforts have not only contributed to a 95% utilization rate but also helped improve team productivity and collaboration. Furthermore, Rakesh stepped up as a backup during an FTE engagement absence, ensuring seamless client support and continuity.
- His perfect NPS score of 10/10 reflects his commitment to excellence, consistently meeting deadlines and exceeding client expectations. Beyond his core role, Rakesh contributed to team objectives by reviewing client emails, providing time estimates, and ensuring clear communication.
- He showcased versatility by delivering high-quality company profiles for prospective clients. Rakesh also boosted team visibility and skills by creating LinkedIn posts, designing templates for the Aranca Toolbar, and producing instructional content, elevating the team's proficiency and profile.


Dixit Chouhan
Assistant Manager, Sales Operations and Analytics
- Dixit has delivered outstanding performance throughout the year, driving significant improvements in processes, team management, and operational efficiency. He established streamlined processes to ensure the timely completion of data requests and high-quality outputs.
- His proactive approach to enhancing monthly and quarterly reports reflects his commitment to continuous improvement. Under his leadership, the team has shown excellent coordination and accountability, supported by effective reporting mechanisms.
- Dixit's vendor management skills reduced errors by 50% and improved project execution. He and his team implemented new tools that automated routine tasks, reducing completion timelines by 80% and boosting productivity. His problem-solving mindset was vital in addressing technical challenges, ensuring seamless support for the Inside Sales team and contributing to Sales efficiency success this year.

Best Leader

Laukik Patil
Manager, Procurement
- Laukik drove 40-50% PR revenue growth (~$800k) and increased ticket sizes by 1.5x ($40-50k FY25). They significantly improved operational efficiency, boosting client satisfaction with 2x client delight (10+ projects, 10 NPS), reducing operational errors to <5%, and saving 20-30% in hours.
- Laukik scaled the PR practice beyond a 10-12-member team by integrating cross-practice initiatives and mentoring leaders. As the sole "Procurement Touchpoint," they collaborated with sales teams across the US, EU, and ME, while also overseeing procurement operations.
- Laukik introduced new service lines like CAPEX and Category Transformation, represented the organization at 10+ procurement events, and led campaigns such as the Price Forecast Series. They modernized PR solutions and the website, organized training programs, earned certifications, and encouraged team participation in extracurricular activities.


Eapen Jacob
Engagement Lead, GA
- Eapen Jacob has demonstrated exceptional leadership and adaptability, successfully managing 10 diverse projects of varying complexity. He consistently led 3 projects simultaneously without compromising quality, independently handling client interactions, team coordination, and execution.
- Under his leadership, projects achieved only positive NPS scores, with several receiving a perfect 10, leading to new client inquiries and additional projects from ALJE, Maag, and PSG. Eapen contributed significantly to the team’s topline growth, maintaining an ARA of ~$7k across his project teams while absorbing a substantial workload.
- Known for fostering collaboration and empowerment, he has also been instrumental in business development by crafting proposals and analyzing market trends. His ability to decode complex taxonomies has enhanced decision-making and problem-solving across teams.


Vishal Kumar
Senior Manager, IR
- Vishal has significantly scaled the ER team’s capability to deliver deep fundamental research for buyside clients. Through multiple trainings, he enabled high-impact projects with positive client feedback on Hintz Capital, DDMM, PCS Research, and Cove Capital, showcasing his commitment to quality.
- He led buyside business development through expertise in US market equities, ensuring the team consistently produced high-quality research, media responses, and data-driven insights.
- Vishal spearheaded key pilot projects like Quantum Partners, DDMM, and PCS Research, while developing a Shariah screening and back-testing tool for asset managers, supporting GCC-focused BD campaigns. Managing $500K+ revenue with a team of ~20, he achieved an NPS of 80, zero cancellations, and initiated AI/automation discussions to enhance client workflows.


Tejas Kasat
Senior Manager, VFA
- Tejas has fully taken control of channel partnerships and the referral network in the USA and UK, successfully establishing multiple new relationships. He has also trained Account Managers (AMs) to play a more significant role in sales efforts within the western markets.
- Tejas has assumed responsibility for maintaining high utilization in the valuation segment of the business, driving key performance results. Despite his strong involvement in business development, he leads a large execution team, balancing both roles effectively.
- His approach to client and partner relationship management has made him a role model within the organization. Tejas’ contributions have been critical in expanding business opportunities and maintaining a strong presence in key markets, helping the company achieve its strategic objectives.


Raah Periwal
Manager, Publications
- Raah has consistently demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to excellence. Her open-mindedness and forward-looking approach resulted in remarkable growth for Publications. Her work for demanding clients, which she identified and diligently pursued until successful acquisition, contributed significantly to total revenue.
- Raah's leadership is also characterized by her ability to empower and uplift the team. She is deeply committed to the personal and professional development of her team and others at Aranca, several of whom have been upscaled and mentored by her.
- Raah's ability to balance multiple responsibilities highlights her exceptional leadership skills and her unwavering resolve and perseverance in the face of challenges. This award recognizes Raah’s dedication, pursuit of excellence, and overall positive impact on the Publications business.

Service Excellence
Shreekar Karambelkar, Santosh Vishwakarma, Chandrakant Chaurasia, Pritesh Arekar, Abhishek Doshi, Jitendra Gadkari, Pushkar Palande
Information Technology Team
The IT Infrastructure and Security team, consisting of seven members, supported over 400 users with 12.5 hours of uninterrupted service daily and no escalations. Key network upgrades included replacing Netgear access points with Aruba Instant-on AP-25 units in May 2024, boosting Wi-Fi speeds by 30% and enhancing network reliability.
Firewall migrations and license updates were executed in Mumbai and Gurgaon with zero downtime. Advanced security measures included renewing Trellix antivirus licenses for three years and implementing Endpoint Web Control, improving threat detection by 25%. Successfully completed the ISO 27001:2022 Surveillance Audit, meeting rigorous security standards.
Expanded SharePoint storage by 1TB and deployed 93 new M365 licenses in June 2024. In August 2024, a secure AWS instance for the PPA tool was launched. Additionally, 243 outdated devices were securely disposed of, ensuring data security and promoting sustainability. Data migration for over 300 users and the SecureDoc server migration to the Zeetora cloud were completed with 100% data integrity.

Best Team
Ankit Sharma, Vishal Lodha, Sana Shaikh, Arun Mantena, Richa Kumari, Akanksha Gupta, Raoul Dcosta
SEC Team, VFA
In just nine months, the SEC Team transformed the Client into one of the company’s largest and most successful accounts, with projected billings exceeding $700,000 in a year—an unprecedented achievement.
Their excellence in service delivery led to deep client engagement across four key divisions, driving significant cross-selling opportunities. Under Arun Mantena’s leadership, the team played a pivotal role in $2 billion renewable energy projects, strengthening Aranca’s brand and attracting high-profile leads.
Their success not only opened new revenue streams but also provided career growth opportunities, with team members gaining onsite exposure and front-end client experience, making them a deserving candidate for this award.

Excellence in Business Development & Sales

Vipul Kumar
Associate Vice President, Procurement
- Vipul transformed a client into a million-dollar ad-hoc account, reaching $1 million in business within a year through exceptional teamwork across four businesses and five continents.
- Success was driven by strategic initiatives, including workshops, stakeholder mapping of over 150 stakeholders, and high-impact meetings with senior leaders across multiple countries.
- By shifting to strategic partnerships and maintaining a 70% win rate on RFPs, the team boosted ticket sizes by 2-3x and outperformed competitors, showcasing operational excellence and strategic account management.

Arancan of the Year

Varun Borkar
Engagement Lead, GA
- Varun has been a driving force behind the growth of the Energy and Sustainability business within the EIM team. His leadership, strategic vision, and expertise have strengthened Aranca’s market presence, securing 4 new client logos, conducting over 125 meetings, and delivering multiple high-impact projects.
- He has played a pivotal role in business development, leading initiatives in green hydrogen and renewable energy, forging global collaborations, and attending international expos. His efforts enabled Aranca’s first-ever €11.8M hydrogen valley project bid.
- Beyond business, Varun has built and sustained Aranca’s hydrogen capability, transforming the Hydrogen Hub into a revenue-generating platform. His contributions to project execution, digital assets, and industry thought leadership have been invaluable. Through dedication and innovation, Varun has set new benchmarks, making him truly deserving of this honor.

Nominations
Previous Winners
FY: 2024-25
FY: 2023-24
FY: 2022-23
FY: 2021-22
FY: 2020-21
Previous Winners
Previous Winners (ANNUAL AWARDS 2020-21)
Impact Awards
Mohak Marwah
Manager, BR
He contributed significantly to churning out marketing collaterals, especially for LinkedIn Ads. He developed the quarterly PE factbook thrice until March-end, in conjunction with our analysts. These were launched on time on our website, and our 2 LinkedIn ad campaigns helped in generating more than 100 leads. He developed a document on M&A in insurance, focused on the digital space, and on an M&A in Japan, both of which were used for LinkedIn ad campaigns. He invested a lot of personal time in developing these, along with completing his regular tasks/duties. From content perspective, he has perhaps been involved in the maximum number of documents/initiatives over the last year.

Mukesh Jaiswal
Manager, BR
Mukesh’s performance this year is nothing short of stellar. In the absence of his Manager, he efficiently handled additional load/responsibilities of the consumer team and surpassed every expectation. Mukesh managed some of the most complex projects on the floor from HIG (Gibraltar) and ALJ. What’s best, every output was high quality. The NPS on all projects are a testimony to the clients’ delight. His effective scoping/prospecting helped us win sizable deals such as Suntory, ALJ, Third Security, etc. Notably, almost all proposals were authored and closed by Mukesh with zero intervention from seniors. Client management/communication is his strongest point: the ability to confidently drive difficult delivery conversations. This, as well as his analysis and presentations, has fetched him rave reviews from senior leaders in client companies. Mukesh is an excellent manager with good planning skills. He not just sets the right example but is also a good mentor. Little wonder then that his team is the strongest on the floor.

Vishal Sanghavi
Senior Manager, BR
- He has been instrumental last year in ensuring that Aranca as well as our automotive practice gets the desired eyeball. It has been a relentless effort. Clarios: His frequent posts/tweets on the automotive industry on his LinkedIn profile got us an enquiry from Clarios. Automechanika Event: This is the third year in a row when Vishal has been invited as a speaker in the Automechanika Middle East Event. Impressed by his presentation, several senior folks in leadership positions at big companies connected with him. Aranca solution/offerings: After the COVID-19 outbreak in early April last year, Vishal created a capability deck highlighting how Aranca’s services could be of help amid the crisis. The deck was highly appreciated by 3M, resulting in us winning a USD100k project from them.
- Customized decks for A grade clients of Industrial team: During the first quarter when business was difficult to come by, Vishal was involved in making highly customized decks for some of our big accounts. This got us a lot of attention and business from Dover in the latter half of the year.
- He led the business plan initiative for the Industrial team and drove it during the Manager’s absence.

Anurag Bhagchandani
Senior Analyst, IR
Anurag’s impact story is that of a turnaround for one of IR’s most demanding sell-side brokerage clients with a history of high analyst churn and low NPS score. Anurag has stabilized the relationship with his engagement level and proactiveness, and consistently high-quality output. Anurag coordinated with other IR teams in building a more efficient process for standard deliverables with significantly reduced chances of errors. Impressed with his work, the client has discussed additions to the current Aranca team.Anurag also arranged for external trainings on databases for Aranca analysts. He will be one of the IR training SPOCs for 2021-22.

Dhiraj Sharma
Senior Analyst, IR
- Dhiraj’s impact in IR over the past year can be easily summed up by his consistent, high quality performance & ownership and visible contribution beyond the defined tasks. While being an IC for a US-based PE, he took up complete ownership of two large and demanding ad-hoc assignments during the year. In both cases, Dhiraj showed exceptional maturity handling multiple stakeholders. Dhiraj onboarded, trained and brought the new analyst to speed. He also trained his peers and juniors in complex financial modelling. His has the right approach to problem solving, proactively coming up solutions that are feasible to implement. He participated actively in firm-wide events, which shows that Dhiraj is not just about ‘all-work-and-no-play’ and can contribute toward building a great work environment.
- Lastly, while clocking over 2,400 hours during the year, he backed his performance with NPS of 9-10 across engagements he has worked on.

Sachin Pawar
Assistant Manager, PS
Sachin singlehandedly added a new revenue stream to the Publications business. His ability to execute projects in Adobe InDesign, which he self-learnt by watching YouTube videos, resulted in ~350 hours of new work and more than $11k to Publications’ revenue in the past year. Besides executing ~500 tickets all through the year, his work with a key client also resulted in a new $15k BoH deal. Along with business development, he consistently comes up with ideas for process improvement, conducts trainings for the team, and creates various dashboards to help track quality metrics, plagiarism, billing, and revenue projections. His contribution to other organization initiatives is also significant. Besides creating LinkedIn ad banners for BR and Publications, he also created 56 birthday and anniversary banners, and certificates for the L&D team.

Ashish Rane
Associate Director, VFA
During what has been the toughest year, all AVPs fought as a highly cohesive unit. Ashish Rane stands out in the group due to his involvement and impact across multiple elements of the business.
Despite the massive pressure on core service delivery engagements across the team for most of the year, Ashish did not take his eye off the ball on driving business development initiatives that increase the sustainability of revenues as well as stickiness with customers. He played a key role in deepening our relationships with local consulting partners in KSA through seamless coordination across practice teams and helped close multiple deals on the larger side. As a business, we are leaning from the start-up ecosystem toward the mid-market and large corporate segment and diversifying into new client solutions. In this regard, Ashish's efforts to launch financial due diligence and close 4-5 deals in the first year have the potential to open new doors. Ashish authored over eight whitepapers/data reports and multiple articles that account for more than half of the Practice's contribution to content marketing. One special piece earned substantial user footfall on our webpage, along with one of the highest engagement rates. Beyond all-round performance, Ashish has an amazing temperament and composure in situations akin to crisis management. His ability to easily multitask and maneuver limited resources instills a lot of confidence in the entire team.

Bhavin Savla
Senior Consultant, VFA
He worked on more than 100 projects during the year and took the load off the team, displaying high efficiency.In almost all projects, he maintained an NPS of 9 and 10, with an exceptional response rate of 70%+. He significantly increased his skills on a variety of projects and expanded his range to handle complex projects and late stage clients. He mentored the data team and junior analysts to work on live projects and scaled them up to manage a variety of assignments.

IT Team Infra
Arunaditya, Chandrakant, Ishant, Narendra, Rajanikant, Shreekar
Arunaditya M, Chandrakant C, Ishant D, Narendra G, Rajanikant K, Shreekar K
IT team has been instrumental in ensuring almost a seamless WFH transition for everyone in the company. The team has been really supportive and patient throughout the pandemic, and played a key role in ensuring business as usual. The team not only provided technical support while working remotely but also saw to it that all desktops and laptops were ready for the current employees and the new joinees from a remote location, and coordinated with the security team effectively for this.
The team has really been on top of all the IT issues and have been quick in resolving them. In addition, they made sure that they complete ISO recertification audit successfully online, moved everyone from Zimbra to O365 remotely, migrated everyone from Flock to MS Teams, and created SharePoint sites for Operation, Finance & Sales team, including design & finalizing site template, configuration & testing the site, deploying finalizing site template, and training respective departmental heads.

Sales Star
Anshuman Gupta
Director, Sales
Anshuman has delivered high sales performance regardless of the external economic environment. He has been a consistent performer. Other than being close to meeting his targets, he has also nurtured few anchor clients that now depend on him and ops for the quality work. This also has helped him maintain sustainability and quality of revenues. Plus, he has consistently managed to bring in new opportunities with huge potential for growth.

Craig Witt
Senior Vice President, Sales
Craig has delivered high sales performance regardless of the external economic environment. He has been a consistent performer. Other than being close to meeting his targets in a challenging year, he has also nurtured relationship with some of the key clients giving top repeat business, who have learnt to depend on him and ops for the quality work. This also has helped him maintain sustainability and quality of revenues. Plus, he has consistently managed to bring in new opportunities with huge potential for growth.

Manan Shah
Sales Development Manager, BD
Manan has been an excellent Inside Sales partner to work with; he constantly looks for better ways to do things and always wants to improve outcomes as a team. His attitude is unflaggingly positive, despite the huge rejection the job requires to endure. He is a valuable partner as we try to crack the US market together, offering excellent suggestions and is always willing to try new ideas, angles, tactics and processes. He has been instrumental in closing almost $90K worth of business from Abbott.

Vinodkumar Nair
Account Development Mngr, BD
Vinod has been catering to our Investment Research services for the US market for almost 5 years now. He has been instrumental in strengthening our foothold in the US. He knows our offerings very well, is versatile and can speak with clients from different segments - investment banking; private equity; asset management; hedge funds or sell side - with ease and is very clear about the value proposition we offer. Even in a pandemic year, he has been able to give us 122 leads in a challenging market.
