Sharat Potharaju

Sharat Potharaju has a diverse work experience in various industries. Sharat co-founded Beaconstac HQ in 2009 and served as the CEO. Beaconstac is a platform that enables digital connections between physical objects and consumers through smartphone technologies. Prior to that, they worked as the Head of Marketing & Communications at Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, where they led the Jaago Re! One Billion Votes campaign to encourage voter registration in India. Sharat also spent over three years as a Senior Investment Banking Analyst at Merril Lynch, where they worked on corporate finance and leveraged finance transactions. Sharat was a New Venture Fellow at Duke University, where they commercialized technologies developed in the university labs. Additionally, they served as an Investment Banking Analyst at Fieldstone Private Capital Group, Inc., focusing on energy and infrastructure financial advisory.

Sharat Potharaju completed their education with a Master's degree in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from Duke University in the year 2004. Prior to that, they obtained a Bachelor's of Technology degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, where they studied from 1998 to 2002. Sharat also attended Hyderabad Public School and obtained an I.C.S.E degree. In addition to their formal education, Sharat Potharaju obtained a certification as a Section4 Certified Strategist from Section4 in July 2021.