Our Team

Nagaraja Rao Padavala

L & OD Professional, Coach, and Technologist Facilitator & Consultant, TAC Global

Nagaraj is a L & OD professional and a Technologist with over 26 years of experience with over 11 years in designing, developing and delivering learning interventions for all levels including senior executives and developing role-based competency development frameworks and learning solutions.

He is the founding partner of Pragna Services (2014), which specializes in capability development initiatives for corporations as well as Rural Alive Ventures, a social venture that focuses on Rural education and employability skills.

Prior to founding Pragna Services and Rural Alive Ventures, as a technologist, he has managed large scale ERP implementations globally, built an integration technologies practice from ground-up to profitability, and lead large multi-cultural and globally dispersed teams. He also led change initiatives impacting large teams in excess of few thousands in multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions through success.

Nagaraj has over 11 years Learning & OD experience – delivering end to end capability development solutions both in professional development areas as well as in leadership development areas. He has successfully facilitated mind-shifting interventions for senior executives, hard core technologists as well as banking professionals using unconventional and out of the box solutions. He has also designed and delivered business transformation initiatives for country leadership teams in both services and retail sectors.

He has lead and facilitated global initiatives focusing on diversity and inclusion such as Taking the Stage, Different Strokes, and Perceptions & Paradigms at global IT product and services organizations. He has introduced, using optical illusions and mind conditioning puzzles, initiatives to unmask perceptive errors in human relationships for executive leadership teams.

He has masterfully implemented a combination of neurolinguistics practices and traditional questioning paradigms into his coaching practice to address behavioral challenges at core values and beliefs level for long lasting results.

In his illustrious carrier that spans over 26 years, he has travelled across geographies, led team and worked across cultures including USA, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Philippines, Brazil, Sweden and Paris. Bringing those experiences, and business context to learning interventions is his forte.

Nagaraj has a bachelor’s in engineering from Andhra University and Masters in Technology from IIT-Delhi. He is accredited with MBTI-Type II suite of instruments, and DiSC. He is a certified Scrum Master and was a certified PMP till 2012. He is also an authorized Executive Coach & Results Coach using whole brain thinking methodologies by Neuro Leadership group, certified NLP Master Practitioner by NFNLP, Florida, certified NLP Coach, certified Instructional Designer and certified in Outbound & Experiential Interventions.

Sandeep Nair (he/they)

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Expert

With over 13 years of work experience, Sandeep has worked as an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Consultant for over a decade. He is experienced in working with various organizations across the India and Asian regions and delivers a global perspective on EDI when delivering as part of the TAC Global team. Sandeep's work focuses largely on creating an inclusive workplace environment for all, with a focus on the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and people with disabilities. Sandeep has led programs, campaigns, training and consulting services to drive EDI strategy across various organizations globally and is open to sharing his lived experiences, as well to drive the importance of allyship.

Sandeep has played a key role in developing three key research publications on 2SLGBTQIA+ Inclusion, to achieve success in creating a safe and inclusive society. He contributed his expertise at the global summit by Out & Equal for two consecutive years. Sandeep also led the, This is Me campaign which centres on the sharing of stories and lived experiences of disability and mental health, an initiative by the Lord Mayor's Appeal in London.

Sandeep's commitment to inclusion also extends to volunteering with youth and teens as a mentor with Vancouver Island BigBrothersBigSisters Foundation, and is part of the EDI committee for Volunteer Canada. He is also a volunteer with an organization working towards senior well-being. Sandeep is part of RAHM Community which is a global community of groundbreaking LGBTIQ+ leaders and was part of a global movement called It Gets Better Project. He was on the board of Nanaimo Pride Society and SIETAR BC (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research).

Being a temporarily abled, gay, person of color with a vibrant cultural and ethnic background, Sandeep understands the role organizations can play in harnessing the power of business for a positive social change and full talent engagement. Sandeep moved to Canada from India with his husband in 2019 and has recently become an adoptive parent to an 11-year old child.

Pooja Shahani

Equity and Inclusion Strategist, TAC Global LLC

Pooja Shahani, partners with TAC Global as a global diversity, equity and inclusion strategist with experience working with multinational organizations and non-profits across the globe including in India, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US.

In her previous roles, she led Diversity and Inclusion for Goldman Sachs India and was the Country Manager for Community Business in India, a D&I consulting practice headquartered in Hong Kong.

Pooja has received the Global Diversity Leadership award by the World HRD Congress for her contribution in the diversity space in 2015 and 2016. She is the co-author of a publication called Diversity & Inclusion: Building the Business Case - Stories from India.

Pooja holds degrees in English and Economics from Middlebury College and is an alumnus of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Ignite Program. Pooja is also a certified coach and employs a range of methodologies to serve CXO clients across geographies.