Alkesh Wadhwani leads the poverty alleviation portfolio for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s India Country Office, which comprises programmatic work in Agriculture Development, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, Inclusive Financial Systems (ISF), and Gender Equality. Before joining the foundation, he worked for McKinsey & Co., where he served clients in India, Asia, Europe, and U.S. in the financial services and pharmaceutical sectors. He co-founded IIT Invest Trust Ltd., with seats on the BSE and NSE, and interests in institutional and retail broking, and investment banking. He has also worked in the Financial Institutions Group of Citibank in Mumbai.