Ex-McKinsey executive moves back to India after 13 years in US, shares why: 'I always knew I'd come home' Dr Neeraja Nagarajan said the decision was driven by a combination of professional ambition, personal values and desire to be closer to home. Updated on: Aug 4, 2026, 22:55:58 IST A former McKinsey & Company associate partner has shared why she decided to move back to India permanently after spending more than 13 years in the United States. In a LinkedIn post, Dr Neeraja Nagarajan, who recently concluded her 7-year stint at McKinsey, said the decision was driven by a combination of professional ambition, personal values and desire to be closer to home. "Every rational framework - and most well-meaning mentors - said stay. Stay in the US. Stay at McKinsey. I'm three months into having permanently moved to India. Here's why," Neeraja wrote in the LinkedIn post. Neeraja said that she left India more than a decade ago to study and work at some of the world's leading institutions while building an identity beyond her hometown and family. She shared that she began her US journey at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studied public health and learned to challenge her own perspectives. "It's a cliché that some Indians only examine social justice and systemic privilege once they go abroad - better late than never, I was one of them," she wrote, adding that the experience reshaped how she viewed her own responsibilities. She later worked at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where she realised her true calling. "Through a lot of tears and introspection, I realized that as much as I loved bedside medicine, my calling was in systemic change," she wrote. Her final stop in the US was McKinsey & Company. She said McKinsey taught her how decisions are made and how ideas can be translated into action. "McKinsey taught me how the real world actually works - who makes decisions, how they make them, and what moves them. Without quite knowing it, I'd walked into the exact place I needed: where I learned to take good ideas and make them happen," she said. Neeraja said that despite spending over 13 years in the US, she always intended to return to India. "I made small decisions to keep that door open - never giving up my Indian passport (despite a long-standing EB1 green card), telling my now-husband on our first date that I intended to go back and we should only take this forward if he was open to it, even choosing McKinsey (an international firm if ever there was one)," she wrote. Explaining why she finally returned, she said, "I don't believe any decision is purely professional. Everything is a bit professional, a bit personal, a bit political." "My reasons were simple and a multitude at once: to build something that improves access to care in India, to hear Tamil every day, to work with leaders who inspire me, and to wear Indian handloom. That's why I'm here in healthcare, in Chennai, at home - for one reason, and a thousand. Rooted, and building for the world, from India," she added. McKinsey journey. In a separate LinkedIn post shared last month, Neeraja reflected on her final week after spending more than 7 years at McKinsey. Looking back on her time at the company, she credited it with shaping her leadership style and teaching her how to execute large-scale initiatives. Among the achievements she highlighted was supporting efforts that helped vaccinate millions of people. She said that the biggest lesson she would carry forward was about leadership. "Building teams of extraordinary people who collectively do extraordinary things, while staying true to who they are," she wrote.

Former McKinsey operator and exited founder Dipesh Savani launches an ai-native Venture OS for founders and innovators. Venture School launches Venture OS, an AI-native, human-led platform combining proven venture-building frameworks, AI and mentors to help founders build faster. The future of venture building is AI-powered but human-led. Venture OS combines proven frameworks, AI and experienced experts to help founders build with confidence." - Dipesh Savani LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, August 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ - Venture School pairs AI with proven frameworks and experienced mentors to take founders from idea to fundable venture. LONDON, UK - Venture School today announced the launch of Venture OS, an AI-native venture operating system that combines artificial intelligence, proven venture-building frameworks and a network of experienced mentors to help founders, universities, accelerators and enterprise innovation teams build ventures with greater confidence and less guesswork. Every year, millions of people start with an idea for a business. Few build a sustainable company. The problem is rarely the idea. It's the fragmented process of research, validation, planning, fundraising and execution that slows even the most determined founders. Venture School believes there is a better way. The company founded by Dipesh Savani, a venture builder and operator with more than two decades of experience across venture capital, corporate innovation and digital transformation. Most recently, Savani was a founding member of S60 Ventures, where he helped establish the Saudi Investment Bank's US$100 million Corporate Venture Capital arm before leading SAIB Innovate, the bank's AI-driven venture incubation programme. Before that, he spent six years as a Digital Leader at McKinsey & Company, leading digital transformation and venture-building initiatives for financial institutions across more than 25 countries, after establishing the in-house digital studio at Al-Futtaim Group, one of the Middle East's largest retail groups. One pattern followed him throughout his career. "I kept meeting talented founders with ambitious ideas, but the process of building companies was fragmented," Savani said. "People were moving between AI tools, spreadsheets, documents, workshops and mentor sessions that never connected. Great ideas are everywhere. What founders need is a system that helps turn those ideas into real businesses." That insight became Venture School. Rather than another online course or standalone AI chatbot, Venture OS brings together venture-building programmes, an AI-powered workspace and a global network of founders, operators and mentors in one connected platform. Drawing on widely adopted frameworks such as Lean Canvas, Business Model Canvas, Design Thinking, Customer Discovery and Value Proposition Design, the platform helps founders move from idea validation to investor readiness through one structured workflow, where every interview, mentor session, AI interaction and business decision contributes to a connected venture record. At the centre of the platform is an AI Co-Founder that organises research, challenges assumptions, prepares investor materials and keeps founders moving forward. When founders complete customer interviews, the AI captures key insights, links them to venture assumptions and highlights where evidence supports or challenges their thinking. Rather than replacing mentors, it removes repetitive work so human expertise can focus on better conversations and stronger decisions. Venture OS has already been piloted through entrepreneurship and founder programmes, including Middlesex University, where more than 50 founders used the platform to develop and validate their ventures. "What impressed us wasn't just the technology," said Dr. Jaya Sajnani, Founder of GTS and Programme Director of What's Your Big Idea: Pathway to Success at Middlesex University. "The combination of AI, proven frameworks and experienced mentors helped founders move from raw ideas to validated business models much faster, while encouraging more disciplined, evidence-based decision-making." Founder who participated in the pilot described the experience: Founder, EdTech Startup: "The framework gave me clarity from day one. AI organised the work, while mentors challenged my thinking and kept me focused on solving real customer problems." Venture School will initially work with founders, universities, accelerators and enterprise innovation teams through programmes ranging from two-day innovation sprints to twelve-week venture-building cohorts, alongside enterprise access to the Venture OS platform. For Savani, the launch is about more than introducing another software platform. "The next generation of founders doesn't need more information they need better systems for execution," he said. "If we can combine AI, proven venture-building methods and experienced operators into one platform, we'll help more people build ventures with confidence. That means more successful founders, stronger ventures and lasting impact." Build founders. Build ventures. Build the future. About Venture School Venture School is an AI-native venture operating system that helps founders, universities and enterprises move from idea to shippable venture through AI-guided venture building, proven frameworks and experienced human mentors. Founded by Dipesh Savani, Venture School is CPD Accredited by the UK CPD Certification Service. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. The MarCom Journal do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.