About me
Arjun Puri was born and raised in Kolkata and schooled at the prestigious La Martiniere for Boys, where he was appointed the 167th school captain in 2002-03. He graduated from the University of St Andrews in 2007 and worked with Merrill Lynch International Bank in London for nearly five years before realising it was not for him. He moved back to India in the fall of 2011. He joined one of India’s largest conglomerate organisations ITC, where he worked for rural development and farmer empowerment programme, E-Choupal, and his research took him to the remotest parts of the country.
Arjun then spent time in Delhi as Chief Strategy Officer at a leading college counselling start-up before joining one of India’s leading private universities, OP Jindal Global University. He was appointed the youngest Director of Admissions and Outreach and spent more than 4 years working on institution-building for nation-building. He also taught at the Liberal Arts and Humanities programme, focusing on Food and Culture studies. He then moved to one of the oldest residential schools in Asia, Woodstock School (Mussoorie), as their Director of Development.
A unique opportunity presented itself in late 2019 to associate with the world-renowned Aga Khan Development Network and contribute towards realising His Highness the Aga Khan's vision. Arjun is now part of the Senior Leadership Team at the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad, where he is the Dean of Admissions.
He launched his first book at the prestigious Jaipur Literature Festival in 2015 with the renowned artists Thukral & Tagra (T&T). He continues to write, giving his opinion on most things: food, culture and cricket. With a book on its way, the times ahead are both nervy and exciting. Arjun has delivered hundreds of talks across India and the world, including three TEDx talks. Arjun spoke at the Open Apply conferences in London and Vienna and received praise, love and support from colleagues across the world.
